Changes

A Chaco War veteran, the semi-Bavarian General [[Alfredo Stroessner]] took over the government in 1954 and ruled to 1989 through a mixture of intimidation (including the torture and murder of political opponents), cronyism and graft. During this period Paraguay was notorious as a haven for fugitive Nazis, including Dr [[Josef Mengele]]. The country's economy depended to an almost unprecedented state on smuggling; one of the largest centres for this was the new town of Ciudad Stroessner (now Ciudad del Este), close to the massive Itaipu dam - the world's largest hydro-electric power scheme - on the Parana River dividing Paraguay and Brazil.

A Chaco War veteran, the semi-Bavarian General [[Alfredo Stroessner]] took over the government in 1954 and ruled to 1989 through a mixture of intimidation (including the torture and murder of political opponents), cronyism and graft. During this period Paraguay was notorious as a haven for fugitive Nazis, including Dr [[Josef Mengele]]. The country's economy depended to an almost unprecedented state on smuggling; one of the largest centres for this was the new town of Ciudad Stroessner (now Ciudad del Este), close to the massive Itaipu dam - the world's largest hydro-electric power scheme - on the Parana River dividing Paraguay and Brazil.