2 Generals Were Once Firm Allies : Stroessner’s Name Will Be Hard to Erase

If his successors want to obliterate the stamp that Gen. Alfredo Stroessner put on Paraguay, they will have to take down hundreds of pictures, rename towns and schools, and change the thinking habits of two generations.

One of the biggest towns in this landlocked nation is Ciudad Presidente Stroessner. Asuncion’s international airport bears his name, and a huge neon sign overlooking this capital’s central plaza bears the declaration, “Stroessner: Peace, Work and Well-Being.”

He seized power in August, 1954, and ruled for nearly 35 years--longer than any other leader in the Western Hemisphere--with a canny blend of military force, political patronage and self-discipline.

The red-haired son of a Bavarian immigrant, whose mother was of Spanish heritage, Stroessner, 76, began his military career at age 20 and quickly distinguished himself.

During his long rule, Stroessner (pronounced STRESS-ner) oversaw Paraguay’s transformation from a backwater, where the capital city had open sewers and no running water, to a relatively prosperous and modern nation.

Stroessner won eight presidential elections as the candidate of the traditional Colorado Party, but not until recent years was there even a token opposition candidate on the ballot.

Even his critics admit he helped stabilize Paraguay. In the 31 years before he took over, it had 22 presidents.

Accused of Corruption

Yet, he also was accused of brutal repression and corruption, and his country became a haven for fugitive Nazis, drug traffickers and former dictators.

Among the refugees over the years were Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz death camp doctor who became a citizen of Paraguay in 1959 and was befriended by Nazi sympathizers; Edward Roschmann, the Nazi “Butcher of Riga”, and fallen dictator Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua, who was assassinated in Paraguay.

As tools for keeping order, Stroessner used an almost perpetual state of siege in parts of the country and Law 209--the Law for the Defense of Democracy--which critics charged gave his government the power to make sure there was no democracy to defend.

Stroessner’s approach to governing included the making of many speeches, sometimes lasting hours, in which he often would list his public works projects in great detail.

He attended hundreds of ground-breakings and other public ceremonies throughout the country every year. He served regularly as a witness at weddings, even when he didn’t know the bride or groom, and he was always present at important parades and peasant fiestas.

Spartan habits and a busy schedule were the reasons for his longevity and energy, he said.

Public dissatisfaction with the government became increasingly evident in the mid-1980s, when protesters and police clashed in the streets.

The Roman Catholic Church intensified its criticism of the president, and even a faction of the Colorado Party began openly criticizing him.

Human rights groups said many of Stroessner’s foes were tortured and killed during his early years in power.

He was a determined anti-communist and staunch ally of the United States, but the general’s relations with Washington cooled after the Reagan Administration referred to his government as a dictatorship.

In one respect, Stroessner was a rarity in the lengthy roll of Latin American military officers in politics--he was one of the very few who had ever commanded troops in combat.

Stroessner is said to have been ill since a prostate operation five months ago. His apparent slow recovery increased demands by opposition leaders for the army and the Colorado Party to spearhead a transition to democratic rule.