Military Coup in Paraguay 1948

General Higinio Morinigo (1897-1983), named president of Paraguay in 1940, suspended the constitution and ruled as a military dictator... Morinigo remained in office until ousted by a military coup on June 6, 1948. Paraguay had five presidents in the next 15 months.

The hardline guionistas, headed by the fiery left-leaning nationalist writer and publisher Natalício González, opposed democratic practices. The moderate democráticos, led by Federico Chaves, favored free elections and a power-sharing arrangement with the other parties. With Morínigo's backing, González used the Guión Rojo to cow the moderates and gain his party's presidential nomination. In the Paraguayan tradition, he ran unopposed in the long-promised 1948 elections. Suspecting that Morínigo would not relinquish power to González, a group of Colorado military officers, including Stroessner, removed Morínigo from office.

References

Dictionary of Wars, 353; Paraguay - A Country Study.

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