Andrés Rodríguez (President)

Andrés Rodríguez Pedotti (June 19, 1923 - April 21, 1997) was the President of Paraguay from February 3, 1989 to August 15, 1993. He assumed the presidency in a coup d'état against Alfredo Stroessner.

1989 Coup d'état

Rodríguez had been Stroessner's closest confidant for 35 years. It therefore came as a surprise when Rodríguez overthrew Stroessner in a violent coup d'état, on February 3, 1989 when the rebel troops and tanks surrounded the headquarters of the Presidential Guard in Asuncion (where Stroessner had sought refuge) with the backing of much of the Roman Catholic Church and of the United States, who no longer valued Stroessner as an ally against international Communism. With this support, the coup quickly succeeded, with Stroessner fleeing the country within days.

Rodríguez presidency

In order to satisfy his backers, Rodríguez canceled most of Stroessner's most repressive measures, abolished the death penalty and tried and imprisoned some leading members of the Stroessner government. He also ended the nearly continuous state of emergency under which Stroessner had ruled the country since coming to power.

In elections held later that year, Rodríguez was elected to a full term as president as the Colorado Party candidate, winning over 70 percent of the vote.

Soon after the ouster of Stroessner, the Rodríguez government was contacted by representatives of the People's Republic of China, inviting Paraguay to end its long-standing diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) and to recognize PRC instead. However, Rodríguez accepted the arguments of the Taiwanese ambassador Wang Sheng that continuing the relationship with ROC, and thus keeping Taiwan's development assistance and access to Taiwan's markets, would be more advantageous for Paraguay.^[1]

End of rule and death

In 1992, Paraguay adopted a new constitution. It limited the presidency to a single five-year term. The term limitation applied to Rodríguez, even though he had promised on his word of honor as a soldier that he would not run for reelection in 1993. Fears of a coup were only allayed when he signed the new constitution into law on June 22. He was succeeded by Juan Carlos Wasmosy, who like Rodríguez was a member of the Colorado Party.

Rodríguez died in New York City in 1997 after a long battle with cancer.

References

External links

• [1] John Kerry's 1988 committee on foreign relations report (about the drug trade).