Latin America

Dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner

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On 4 May 1954 Stroessner ordered his troops into the streets and staged a coup. Fierce resistance by police left almost fifty dead.[2]

As the military strongman behind the coup, Stroessner was able to place his supporters in positions of power in the provisional government. He then quickly made moves to secure power for himself. About two months later, a divided Colorado Party nominated Stroessner as their presidential candidate for the 1954 elections. The Colorados had been the only legally permitted party since 1947, so this effectively made Stroessner president. For many party members he was a temporary choice, as Morínigo had been for the Liberals in 1940. When Stroessner took office on 15 August 1954, few imagined that this circumspect, unassuming forty-one-year-old would be a master politician capable of outmaneuvering and outlasting them all—[2] or that they were witnessing the start of the fifth and longest of Paraguay's extended dictatorships.

Early rule
The use of political repression, threats and death squads was a key factor in Stroessner's longevity as dictator of Paraguay. He had virtually unlimited power by giving a free hand to the military and to Minister of Interior Edgar Ynsfrán, who began to harass, terrorize, and occasionally murder family members of the regime's opponents.[2]

Stroessner's rule took a hard-line stance from the beginning. Soon after taking office, he declared a state of siege, which gave him the power to suspend constitutional freedoms. Under the state-of-siege provisions, the government was empowered to arrest and detain anyone indefinitely without trial, as well as forbid public meetings and demonstrations. It was renewed every 90 days until 1987, except for a brief period in 1959. Although it technically only applied to Asunción after 1970, the courts ruled that anyone charged with security offenses could be brought to the capital and charged under the state-of-siege provisions—even if the offense took place outside the capital.[3][4] Thus, for all intents and purposes, Stroessner ruled under what amounted to martial law for nearly all of his tenure.

The retirement of González and the death of Molas López had removed two of his most formidable opponents and the September 1955 Argentine coup that deposed President Perón deprived Méndez Fleitas of his main potential source of support. Perón fled to Asunción and the new Argentine junta compelled Perón to depart Asunción for Panama in November. Méndez Fleitas prepared to stage a coup in late December. As a result, Stroessner purged the military of Méndez Fleitas' supporters and sent him into exile in 1956.[2]

Stroessner was at the time barely in control of the Colorado Party, which was split in competing factions by rival politicians, while the army was also not a dependable supporter of his rule. The economy was in bad shape and deteriorating further, with inflation growing. His economic austerity measures proved unpopular with the nation's military officers, who had long grown used to getting soft loans from the Central Bank; with fiscally dodgy businessmen, who disliked the severe tightening of credit; and with increasingly poor workers, who organized 1958 Paraguayan general strike demanding increased pay. In addition, the new Argentine government, displeased with Stroessner's cordial relations with Perón, canceled a trade agreement with Paraguay.[2]

Guerillas
1958 elections gave Stroessner the second Presidential term. The vote was fixed to favor the regime and opposition blossomed into a guerrilla insurgency soon afterwards. Sponsored by exiled Liberals and febreristas, small bands of armed men began to slip across the border from Argentina. Venezuela sent large amounts of aid to these groups starting in 1958. The following year, the new Cuban government under Fidel Castro also provided assistance to the United National Front.[2]

The guerrillas received little support from Paraguay's conservative peasantry. The Colorado Party employed its own militias, the peasant py nandí irregulars ("barefoot ones" in Guaraní) had a well-deserved reputation for ferocity in combat, torture and executing their prisoners. Growing numbers of people were interned in jungle concentration camps. Army troops and police smashed striking labor unions by taking over their organizations and arresting their leaders.[2]

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship_of_Alfredo_Stroessner




Dictator Alfredo Stroessner with Spain's fascist dictator Francisco Franco



Dictator Alfredo Stroessner with US President Nixon's blood-thirsty Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet