1945-1954 since 1989







Paraguay 1945-1970



"This landlocked shoebox of a country has the most resonantly martial history in South America, a passionate patriotism, no TV, no stock exchange, and no income tax. Paraguay is one of the least-known nations in the world, far off the beaten track, derelict and remote." .. John Gunther, 1964


Administration . Dictatorship under General Alfredo Stroessner from 1954 to 1989.

Political History . Stroessner's Colorado Party dominated, the Liberals having been a tolerated and controlled opposition. In 1960 a Christian Democratic Party was formed. In 1967 a new constitution was introduced.

Foreign Policy . Following the establishment of the Communist Castro dictatorship on Cuba, the U.S., fearing the spread of Communism in Latin America, supported anti-Communist regimes in the region; the Paraguayan dictatorship, while exposed to international criticism because of her infringement in the citizens' civil liberties and because of her poor human rights record, escaped political isolation. In the 1980es the U.S. administration shifted away from supporting military dictatorships in Latin America, and the end of the Stroessner dictatorship coincided with the fall of Communism in Eastern Central Europe (1989).

The Economy . Paraguay is landlocked; much of the country is covered by tropical rainforest. When Stroessner began his presidency, the infrastructure was poor, the population density low, the economy mainly based on agriculture. In the 1970es hydroelectric power stations were constructed, agricultural production expanded. Wheat production rose from 2,000 metric tons of wheat in 1954 to 7,000 in 1964, 35,000 in 1974, 140,000 in 1984 to 432,000 in 1989 (IHS p.184). Soy beans and cotton were grown for export. The country suffered from the oil crisis; Paraguay's main trade partners are Argentina and Brazil. The Bolsa de Valores in Asuncion (stock exchange) was established in 1977. Until 1963, the import of Coca Cola was not permitted.

Social History . The country's population rose from 1.53 million in 1954 to 1.81 million in 1962 (census), 2.35 million in 1971 (census), 3.47 million in 1983 (census), 4.18 million in 1989 (J. Lahmeyer).

Cultural History . Paraguayan athletes participated in the Summer Olympics in Mexico City 1968, München 1972, Montreal 1976, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988; Paraguay boycotted the games held in Moscow in 1980.
Television broadcasting began in 1965.





EXTERNAL
FILES 		Articles History of Paraguay, Paraguay at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Paraguay at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Paraguay at the 1976 Summer Olympics, Paraguay at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Paraguay at the 1988 Summer Olympics, from Wikipedia
Paraguay, in : Kenneth Janda, Political Parties : A Cross-National Survey
DOCUMENTS Paraguayan Statesmen : from World Statesmen (B. Cahoon)
Historical Population Statistics : Paraguay, from Population Statistics (J. Lahmeyer)
Constitution of 1967, from Political Database of the Americas at Georgetown Univ., in Spanish
REFERENCE IHS : B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics : The Americas 1750-2000, NY : Palgrave MacMillan 5th edition 2003 [G]
Links to books on Paraguayan history etc. from Latino World
Chapter 13 : A Semi-Affectionate Look at Paraguay, pp.238-256 in : John Gunther, Inside South America, NY : Harper & Row 1964 [G]
Article : Paraguay, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1955 pp.598-599, 1956 pp.535-536, 1957 pp.599-600, 1958 pp.532-533, 1959 p.531, 1960 p.532, 1961 p.540, 1962 p.530, 1963 pp.632-633, 1964 pp.642-643, 1965 pp.615-616, 1966 pp.597-598, 1967 p.606, 1968 p.605, 1969 p.586, 1970 p.596, 1971 pp.574-575, 1972 p.539, 1973 pp.527-528, 1974 pp.533-534, 1975 p.544, 1976 pp.550-551, 1977 p.551, 1978 pp.577, 578, 1979 p.568, 1980 p.566, 1981 p.567, 1982 p.569, 1983 pp.562-563, 1984 pp.561-562, 1985 pp.586, 758, 1986 pp.585, 757, 1987 pp.553, 725, 1988 pp.506-507, 677, 1989 pp.508, 677 [G]
Article : Paraguay, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1961-1962 pp.1303-1310, 1970-1971 pp.1211-1217, 1973-1974 pp.1227-1233, 1975-1976 pp.1222-1227, 1976-1977 pp.1220-1226, 1978-1979 pp.967-972, 1979-1980 pp.973-979, 1980-1981 pp.974-979, 1981-1982 pp.977-983, 1982-1983 pp.978-984, 1983-1984 pp.970-975, 1984-1985 pp.970-975, 1985-1986 pp.970-975, 1986-1987 pp.971-977, 1987-1988 pp.976-981, 1988-1989 pp.978-983, 1989-1990 pp.990-995 [G]
Article : Paraguay, in : Americana Annual 1957 pp.609-610, 1958 pp.599-600, 1959 pp.576-577, 1960 pp.583-584, 1961 pp.575-576, 1962 pp.583-584, 1963 pp.517-518, 1964 pp.513-514, 1965 p.547, 1966 p.530, 1967 p.526, 1968 p.521, 1969 p.525, 1970 p.530, 1971 p.526, 1972 p.527, 1973 p.530, 1974 p.463, 1975 p.461, 1976 p.446, 1977 p.396, 1978 p.393, 1979 p.396, 1980 p.397, 1981 p.428, 1983 p.404, 1984 p.408, 1985 p.409, 1986 pp.414-415, 1987 p.420, 1988 p..417, 1989 p.420 [G]
Article : Paraguay, in : The World in Figures 1st ed. 1976 pp.140-142, 2nd ed. 1978 pp.140-142, 4th ed. 1984 pp.140-142 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on September 28th 2007

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