ABSTRACT
The Paraguayan model of democratic transition is a metaphor, in exaggerated form but also applicable to most of Latin America at the dawn of the twenty-first century, for lingering authoritarianism, brooding praetorians, and precarious democracy. Landlocked, semitropical Paraguay is bordered by Argentina to the south and west, Bolivia to the north, and Brazil to the east. Paraguay's political experience is largely a history or dictators, coups and political instability, and bloody international wars. The subsequent chronic political instability of the post-war years in Paraguay reflected the jarring impact of one of the greatest military disasters in modern history. General Stroessner gradually consolidated his dictatorship, becoming, by 1989, longest-ruling leader in Paraguayan history and the longest-serving leader in the Western Hemisphere. Paraguay's greatest test of its new democracy occurred in April 1996, when President Wasmosy dismissed army strongman General Lino Oviedo, who refused to step down.
