December, 1949

Few ever call the Colorado Party by its official title. The National Republican Association doesn't quite roll off the tongue. Yet it is doubtless that they are the epicenter of power in Paraguay.

Broadly described as right wing, the Colorados have been a part of Paraguayan politics since the late 1800s, rising to prominence as the premier representative of the Paraguayan right. Ruling on-and-off for nearly thirty years, the party was briefly unseated and partially banned 1904 by the Liberal Party, only to return to prominence in the aftermath of the February Revolution of 1936, joining with Rafael Franco's Febreristas, then siding with Higinio Morinigo's broader military-nationalist movement and the Guion Rojo.

But now it is 1949. The Colorados, once a remarkably united republican party, has steadily devolved into worsening factionalism. There is something remarkable that the only legal party in Paraguay is incapable of creating real unity within itself, let alone throughout the country.

There are three primary camps within the Colorados:

The Traditionalists: The party old guard. An alliance of politicians, intellectuals, and military who have been with the party since the open of the century, who have led the party through the dark years under the Liberals and joined with Franco's revolution. Catholic conservatives with something approaching a legitimate belief in the republican dream, the Traditionalists have been increasingly alienated since the Morinigo Years. Despite their waning, the Traditionalists still make up the bulk of the party's officials. Generally led by President Chaves, the Traditionalists are heavily internally divided over those who see the one-party state as essential and those who adhere to the restoration of opposition.

The New Nationalists: Less an official title and more a colloquialism. The "New" Nationalists are generally those who joined with the party during Morinigo's government, inspired by the then-President's fascination with Nazism. A great number of them are former members of Juan Natalicio Gonzalez's Guion Rojo paramilitary who joined with the party after the group's dissolution following Gonzalez's deposition from the Presidency last year and subsequent exile. While they are few, there are enough of them within the party to hamstring efforts to establish unity.

The Military: The only group with some semblance of central leadership. The "military clique" of the Colorado Party is closer to an informal group, comprised of current general staffers with party membership who don't directly engage in party machinery unless the military itself is the subject. They are currently under the leadership of Chief of Staff Alfredo Stroessner. As has been the historic position of the Paraguayan Military, their primary aim is to maintain, if not increase, the military budget to uphold their power within the nation. Beyond that, they are somewhat apolitical, and a fair number of the officer corps still remember the Franco government with fondness.