Alfredo Stroessner
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| Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda | |
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| In office August 15, 1954 – February 3, 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Tomás Romero Pereira "Interim President" |
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| Succeeded by | Andrés Rodríguez |
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| Born | November 3, 1912 Encarnación, Paraguay |
| Died | August 16, 2006 Brasilia, Brazil |
| Political party | Colorado Party |
Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda, whose name is also spelled Stroessner, Strössner or Strößner, (November 3, 1912, Encarnación - August 16, 2006, Brasilia) served as President of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989.
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[edit] Early life
President Stroessner's parents were Hugo Stroessner, who emigrated from Hof, Bavaria, Germany and worked as an accountant for a brewery, and Heriberta Matiauda, who grew up in a wealthy Paraguayan family. He joined the Paraguayan army in 1929, becoming a lieutenant in 1931. He fought in the Chaco War against Bolivia in 1932 and then rose stadily in rank over the next few years until he became a brigadier and the youngest general officer in South America in 1948.
Stroessner became overcommandant of the army and, in 1954, the government appointed him Divisions general. He forced Federico Chávez out of office in a coup d'état on 4 May 1954.
[edit] Presidency
Paraguayans elected Stroessner President in 1958 and then re-elected him seven times; in 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, and 1988. In many of these elections, he had no opponent or observers found the election unfair and disputed the official results. He served for 35 years, with only Fidel Castro having a longer tenure among 20th century Latin American leaders.
[edit] Politics
Stroessner, an energetic leader, began his day at 4 a.m. by giving orders from his bed and going to work in the government palace no later than 6 a.m. Although he took a three-hour break at mid-day, Stroessner reportedly worked until 1 a.m. He never took holidays off work while President.
Stroessner made many state visits, including to Emperor Hirohito of Japan, President Johnson of the United States, President Charles de Gaulle of France and several visits to West Germany, although over the years his relations with West Germany soured. Since he had always been known as pro-German, this worsening of relations, combined with his feeling that the U.S. had abandoned him, were regarded as personal blows to Stroessner.
[edit] Anti-Communist
Stroessner despised communism and his regime thus found itself friendly to United States interests. During Stroessner's rule, no Communist nations had embassies in Paraguay, with the sole exception of Yugoslavia.[1] He was respected for his success in repaying loans granted to the Paraguayan government by the World Bank and other institutions, thus keeping the currency stable.
Strong Paraguayan-U.S. relations continued until the Carter Administration. The Reagan Administration began to boycott his regime and country.
[edit] Dictatorship
Although Stroessner was a very strict autocrat, he did become more tolerant of political opposition over the course of time. However, it is estimated by some that his regime, which took part in Operation Condor with Augusto Pinochet and Jorge Rafael Videla, cost the lives of between 400 and 3,000 people due to strong-arm tactics during his 35-year rule.
His regime is also blamed for torture, kidnappings and widespread corruption, of which the "terror archives", discovered in 1992 in Lambaré suburb of Asunción, gave proof; he did not dispute charges of corruption at some levels in his government. Corruption even extended to the highest echelons of the government, including Stroessner himself; estimates of the Stroessner family fortune run as high as $300 million. [2]
Stroessner also had very poor relations with the Roman Catholic Church and is blamed for numerous actions against the church.[3] Some maintain that the Catholic Church is the only reason Stroessner did not have absolute control over the country. After the destruction of Asuncion University in 1972 by police, the Archbishop of Paraguay excommunicated the minister of the interior and the chief of police, and proscribed the celebration of Holy Mass in a sign of protest against the Stroessner regime. When Pope John Paul II visited Paraguay in 1988, his visit energised Paraguayan dissidents, and bolstered what was already a robust anti-Stroessner movement within the country. [4]
Stroessner showed definite sympathies to ex-Nazis and ex-Fascists, many of whom were in the approximately 200,000 Germans who came to Paraguay after the World War II, a group that included the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele, for whom Stroessner repeatedly denied extradition requests to Israel. After twice denying extradition requests for Mengele, Stroessner was heavily criticised by the world media. Stroessner also used ex-Fascist officers and soldiers in the army of Paraguay, some of whom belonged to the Ustaše like the army officer Baresíc.[5]
His regime also lost foreign support after the allegedly genocidal acts it committed against the Aché by New Tribes Mission. These acts and accusations however were never proven. Some of the Aché were tortured in the infamous Tecnica torture centre as well, according to some reports. Others dispute these events.
[edit] Economics
Stroessner was, however, known for several positive economic policies, including the building of the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world in Itaipu, with which he exported electricity to other countries, developing Paraguay's economy. Although Paraguay received only 2% of the energy and 15% of the contracts, it was a major factor allowing the country to have the highest rate of growth in Latin America for most of the 1970s.[6] He was also known for many infrastructure projects that improved the country's highway system. Another programme that Stroessner supported was the granting of twenty hectares of arable lands for a nominal price to any soldier who completed military service, provided that the soldier would use the land for farming purposes. Over 10,000 soldiers took up this offer.
[edit] Downfall
On February 3, 1989, after 34 years and 9 months in power, Stroessner was ousted by a coup d'état led by General Andrés Rodríguez, and he fled to Brazil, where he lived in exile for the next seventeen and a half years.
The eastern city Puerto Flor de Lis was renamed Puerto Presidente Stroessner in his honour, but in 1989 was then again renamed Ciudad del Este.
Paraguayans remain divided on Stroessner and his controversial legacy. Many feel a strong sense of distaste toward him, perceiving him as a widely corrupt, authoritarian dictator. However, those who defend his legacy cite the political stability and economic progress that prevailed under his rule. Stroessner died of a lung complication on August 16, 2006, in Brasília, at the age of 93. The immediate cause of death was a stroke. He had been suffering from pneumonia after undergoing an earlier hernia operation. [7]
President Nicanor Duarte has preemptively dismissed any suggestions for honouring the late dictator within Paraguay.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+py0106)
- ^ http://www.servihoo.com/Aujourdhui/kinews/afp_details.php?id=132326&CategoryID=74
- ^ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+py0100)
- ^ http://www.nysun.com/article/38108
- ^ Exhibit -Paraguay Welcomes Croatian Terrorist, State Dept., Dec. 1987, State dept. report on welcoming of paroled Croatian terrorist by Paraguayan government, also noted that Baresic was an officer in the Paraguayan Army
- ^ http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7826946
- ^ http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14379677/
[edit] External links
- Obituary at BBC News
- Paraguay's archive of terror
- The Presidential Papers of Dwight D. Eisenhower Official letter to President Stroessner (1959)
- Paraguay seeks Stroessner return
- Ex-Paraguay dictator dies in exile at 93, 16 August 2006. A blunt obituary assessment.
- Obituary in The Guardian
- Alfredo Stroessner, 93, Old-Style Military Dictator of Paraguay
- Obituary in The Economist
- New York Times: Stroessner, Paraguay’s Enduring Dictator, Dies
[edit] Sources
- Paraguay Under Stroessner, by Paul H. Lewis
- Stroessner Era: Authoritarian Rule in Paraguay by Carlos R. Miranda
| Preceded by: Tomás Romero Pereira |
President of Paraguay 1954–1989 |
Succeeded by: Andrés Rodríguez |
| Presidents of Paraguay |  |
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| C.A. López | F.S. López | Machain* | Rivarola | Jovellanos* | Gill | Uriarte | Bareiro | Caballero | Escobar | J.G. González | M. Morínigo* | Egusquiza | Aceval | Carvallo* | Escurra | Gaona* | Báez* | Ferreira | González Navero* | Gondra | Jara* | Rojas* | Peña* | González Navero* | Schaerer | M. Franco | Montero* | Gondra | Eus. Ayala* | El. Ayala* | Riart* | El. Ayala | Guggiari | Eus. Ayala | R. Franco* | Paiva | Estigarribia | H. Morínigo | Frutos* | J.N. González | Rolón* | Molas | Chávez | Romero* | Stroessner | Rodríguez | Wasmosy | Cubas | González Macchi | Duarte * acting, interim, or provisional |
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