"Under the Sign of Scorpion" by Juri - Gnostic Liberation Front

was above all the totalitarian and theocratic rule, which the Jesuits
enforced, in spite of the Spanish central power, in Paraguay in 1609. This
slave state existed officially for 159 years, up to 1768 when Weishaupt
was a twenty-year-old student. The Jesuits called this serfdom enco-
mienda, meaning mission or protection.
The facts I found in Carl Morner's dissertation "An Account of the
History of Paraguay and the Pertaining Jesuit Missions from the
Discovery of the Country to 1813" (Uppsala, 1858, pp. 92-102) call for
consideration. According to Morner, every mission had a municipal
council, which carried out the Jesuits' orders. The Jesuits followed a kind
of communist method, using cunning and violence. Guarani Indians of
both sexes and all ages were put to forced labour for the mission. The
Indians did not have any personal property. All the produce was gathered
in communal storehouses. Whatever food and clothing the Indians needed,
as well as the general needs of the commune, were distributed from these.
The Jesuits oversaw the work in a factory manner.
The Jesuits had introduced work duty. The supply of food and other
necessities to the Indians depended on the results of production. The
power structure was centralised and work was performed in groups. The
commune even organised entertainment. When punishment was meted out,
the Indians were made to kiss the hand of their executioner, thank him and
express their remorse.
The commune leadership was comprised of Jesuit priests from Italy,
England and Germany. They had cordoned off the area in a manner remi-
niscent of a ghetto or Eastern Europe behind the iron curtain. All this
strengthened the idea that the Jesuits aspired to create an independent
state.
"Savage" Indians from nearby areas were tempted into the enclosed
communes with good food, kindness, parties and music. There was no
suggestion of the coercion and servitude to come. Then the trap closed
around them. The Jesuits distributed the "savages" among the missions on
the Parana River. Many fled home into the jungles only to be enslaved
again later.
The Indians were turned into helpless, dependent creatures. Their
chances for spiritual development were curbed. Special Jesuit priests (like
politruks) indoctrinated the Indians not to express their dissatisfaction.
Christianity, originally a religion intended for slaves, was used cunningly.
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