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Paraguay's Stroessner: Odd Man Out?
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12624 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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6 / 1987 |
2,183 Words |
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Luis E. Aguilar
Luis E. Aguilar is professor of history at Georgetown
University. |
Gen. Alfredo S. Stroessner is one of two contenders for the Latin American dictator longevity record held by Mexican Porfirio Diaz (1875-1911). Sixty-one-year-old Fidel Castro has been in power for almost three decades; the much older Stroessner (his age is a matter of dispute) has ruled Paraguay for thirty-three years.
Bettors are hedging toward Castro, since the Paraguayan dictator appears to be in deeper trouble. An economic recession, newly established democratic governments on all borders (Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina), and hostility from the United States and the Catholic Church have encouraged the opposition. Democratic groups in particular have increased the pressure for change. The situation seems ripe for a final push. "It is high time Paraguay joins the democratic wave sweeping our continent," declared a noted anti-Stroessner leader recently.
A glance at Paraguay's history will show that the realization of such noble, justified aspirations will demand from Paraguayans much more than either the will to topple Stroessner's regime or enthusiasm for democracy. Authoritarian personalism, usually mixed with democratic rhetoric, has been the rule in the beautiful country. "Perhaps someday a genius may be able to tell us just what a Paraguayan politician means by democracy," commented historian Harris Gaylord Warren in 1949.
In the sixteenth century, conquistadores, impressed with the beauty of the landscape and nobility of the Guarani Indians, settled in Paraguay (named after the Indian words for "crowned river" or "land of water"). Possibly their isolation and esteem for the natives encouraged a process of racial and cultural
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