|
The harsh regime of General Alfredo Stroessner (1912-), who had ruled
Paraguay since 1954 and been criticized for violations of human rights, was
toppled in a revolt led by General Andres Rodriguez (1923-), Stroessner's
second-in-command, on February 3, 1989. Military forces loyal to Rodriguez
violently seized control of the government in Asuncion, the capital, where an
estimated 300 people, both civilian and military, were killed. Stroessner was
placed under house arrest and allowed to go into exile abroad; Rodriguez, an
alleged cocaine trafficker, became president, vowing to restore democracy and
respect human rights. In 1993, he was succeeded by Juan Carlos Wasmsoy (1939-),
Paraguay's first ever democratically elected civilian president, who faced a
struggle to control the military and its authoritarian influence.
|
