Archive for July 2011

The Sound and Fury and Twisted Logic of the EPP, the Paraguayan People's Army

The EPP, Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo, is an armed fringe leftist guerrilla (rebel army) in Paraguay who are good at making their presence felt through high-profile kidnappings (and executions). Though some of the leadership is imprisoned, members live on the run, hiding in the forests and countryside.*

Kidnappings serve a dual purpose for the EPP. They provide income (supplementing what the EPP likely gets from Colombia's FARC and Venezuela's government and maybe Bolivia) and allow the marginal EPP to influence the political agenda in the country. Paraguay has a long history of terror (much of it coming directly from the rightwing government of the 50s to the 80s) and the politics of fear play a huge role still. And so, when María Edith Bordon de Debernardi was kidnapped in 2001 and found alive but still clearly bearing the psychological trauma of her experience, when Cecilia Cubas was kidnapped in 2004 and later found dead in a hole in the ground (after her family had paid a ransom), and when Fidel Zavala was taken in 2009, the sense that no one is safe and unseen assailants are watching, plotting has a powerful effect.

But the EPP is not popular in Paraguay. The average Paraguayan is more politically conservative than their counterparts in other Latin American countries and much of the left has repudiated any politically-motivated violence (including people like Ananías Maidana--the president of the Communist Party of Paraguay--who was incarcerated for 20 years and tortured during the Stroessner dictatorship, a man with the moral high ground who unequivocally denounced all political violence).

The ironic (or perhaps intended) outcome of the EPP's actions is that campesino (peasant-farmer) communities who are not involved suffer reprisals, since they are suspected of having leftist sympathies. The twisted logic appears to go like this: since Paraguayans are not sympathetic towards Marxist uprisings, the way to make them sympathetic is to provoke the government into repressing campesinos (much of Paraguay is rural), and a good way to do that is to kidnap and threaten the elites.

Most recently, the EPP has been in the news because its jailed leader, Alcides Oviedo, just published a book explaining the group's ideology. Some sought to ban the book, censorship was decried, and the NYTimes covered the story--all in all, an effective strategy for the EPP, since, at $13 a copy (50 mil guaranies), the book is too expensive for the poorest of Paraguayans (supposedly their intended audience) to purchase. $13 represents more than a week's worth of income for 1/3 of Paraguayans who live on less than $2 a day.

My take on this is that the EPP's strategy won't work--they've been blinded by trauma and anger, but terror doesn't win hearts and minds.

*(Paraguay offers good hiding, as Nazi war criminal and naturalized Paraguayan citizen Josef "Angel of Death" Mengele was pleased to find.)

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MEVES: the chilling virtual museum of "Memory and Truth about Stronismo"

A torture device (la picaña--the cattle prod, used to deliver electric shock to the victim's genitalia).

"Satire of Stronismo"-- Alfredo Stroessner as an octopus with tentacles reaching into every part of the state and of person life.


MEVES, the online museum of Memoria y Verdad sobre el Stronismo, has just launched a brilliant website that is well worth visiting. General Alfredo Stroessner orchestrated a coup (golpe) in 1954 that brought him to power in Paraguay. He ruled for the next 35 years, renewing a 90-day "state of siege" every three months (although he'd lift it for one day--election day--so that he could be re-elected president every five years) until the late 80s.

"Stronismo" is the philosophy and style of government of Stroessner and featured heavy persecution of all kinds of opposition under the guise of anti-communism. Not only was communism made illegal (punishable by 20 years incarceration), but anyone opposed to Stroessner's regime was labeled a communist, including members of Stroessner's own Colorado Party who disagreed with him. 90% of all political prisoners were tortured.

Key to all of this was a sophisticated Intelligence Service run out of the Ministry of the Interior, which spied on, detained, tortured, executed, and disappeared tens of thousands of Paraguayans (and not a few foreigners) from 1954-1989. This period is referred to as the "terror" and is documented in great detail by that very regime in its police/investigation/military archives known as the "Archive of Terror" (Archivo del Terror, which was unearthed in 1992). In addition to forced confessions, psychiatric evaluations of prisoners, and confiscated mail, it also contains thousands of reports from secret informants and even (unheeded) requests from the BDR to help locate Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.

MEVES chronicles the deterioration of human rights during the Stroessner regime.

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Liveblogging Copa America: Paraguay vs Venezuela

So, I'll be liveblogging the game this afternoon. You can watch it here on Univisión for free (with me, too). As always, I'm not a soccer/futbol expert, but it's great fun to watch.

And we're off!

3:25 Roque Santa Cruz takes a shot at the goal, but it goes too high. This is the same line-up that tied Brazil.

5:25 and Venezuela gets a Goal. 1:0 Paraguay needs to either tie this or win it in order to advance to the next round.

32:00 Paraguay GOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

39:59 Haedo starts warming up.

41:35 Haedo (18) replaces Santa Cruz (9), who apparently has some sort of pain problem.

And it's the half.
1:1

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Paraguay's Megapancho: Guinness record for world's longest hotdog.


As part Expo 2011 (a.k.a. Paraguay's annual Disney-like tribute to cattle-ranching and cellphone companies), organizers and sausage company Ochsi are attempting to break the world record for longest hotdog (a record currently held by Spain) by cooking one that's 200 meters long.

Here they are testing the equipment. (h/t: ABC Color)

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