Paraguay, unlike Uruguay, had a thriving economy at the time. This was called to the attention of Brazil and Argentina, who wanted to keep the economic dominance of the La Plata River for themselves. Aside from this, ships that wanted to arrive at Cuiabá (capital of Mato Grosso, Brazil) had to travel through Paraguayan territory because there was no inland access. And the Paraguayan government began to make travel difficult. Things became tougher when, in April 1864, Brazilian minister José Antônio Saraiva…