Political Parties

Abstract

A culture of fear permeated Paraguayan society throughout most of the thirty-five years of authoritarian rule by General Alfredo Stroessner (1954–89). Under his regime an elaborate legal framework masked the systematic denial of all forms of representative democracy (Delich, 1985; Rouquié, 1984). Stroessner was periodically ‘re-elected’ in ritualistic elections the outcomes of which were cynically negotiated with the co-opted opposition parties, while the abstentionist parties were systematically persecuted (Arditi, 1992). Coercion and patronage were combined effectively in order to control the citizenry.