ABSTRACT
Party politics in Paraguay exists within an authoritarian tradition; from 1954 to 1989 the country was controlled and manipulated by the hemisphere's longest-surviving dictator, Gen. Alfredo Stroessner. Party politics in Paraguay has been defined by the 35-year dictatorship of Stroessner; its legacy suggests a sustained period of change and instability. Paraguayan politics has been affected by international influence and intrigue, particularly that initiated by Brazil and Argentina, whose governments have often viewed Paraguay as a fertile land for their own economic exploitation and political hegemony. The United Liberal party leaders accepted Stroessner's invitation to return to Paraguay and to compete in the 1968 national elections. Like most Latin American nations, Paraguay has a small Communist party, which enjoyed legal status only for about a year in 1946. Elections were a highly controlled process in Paraguay having little or no governmental significance.
