The Curuguaty Massacre: A Bloody Legacy of Paraguay’s Dictatorship

Seventy years since General Alfredo Stroessner seized power in Paraguay, the memories of his brutal dictatorship and the massacre it triggered in 2012 continue to haunt the nation. The tragic event, known as the Curuguaty Massacre, unfolded on June 15, 2012, when a unit of 350 armed Special Police Forces surrounded Marina Kue, a disputed land lot in eastern Paraguay. Their mission was to evict 60 landless peasant families who had claimed access to the property.

The land in question, known as “Farm No 53,” was part of Stroessner’s controversial land distribution program and agricultural colonization scheme. It had been incorporated into the program despite a 1999 verdict by the Commission of Human Rights of Paraguay, which ruled that the property was public land. Many of the dispossessed peasants had been living on the land since the late 1960s when it was returned to the state by the Paraguayan Navy.

However, a powerful businessman named Blas Riquelme, a member of Paraguay’s right-wing Colorado Party, had other plans for Marina Kue. He intended to lease the land for growing genetically modified crops. The police forces present during the eviction were acting under his command.

The events of that fateful day were described by Nestor Castro, a survivor and small-scale farmer who had built his house on the disputed land. He recalled the peaceful atmosphere before the violence erupted, likening it to a silent movie. The landless peasants had little means to defend themselves against the heavily armed police forces. Snipers hidden in the bushes added to their vulnerability, resulting in the deaths of eleven peasants and six police officers.

Shockingly, despite Castro’s lack of involvement in the violence and his unarmed status, he was charged and sentenced for instigating the massacre. Alongside other peasants, he continues to bear the official responsibility for the atrocity. United Nations human rights experts have criticized the resulting legal process, calling it a cover-up that remains unresolved.

The Curuguaty Massacre marked the end of any progressive turn in Paraguay. President Fernando Lugo, who had won the presidential election in 2008 with promises of land reform, was toppled in a parliamentary coup just one week after the massacre. The right-wing opponents used the tragedy as a pretext to halt reform packages and environmental laws, paving the way for the expansion of genetically modified crops.

The legacy of General Stroessner’s dictatorship and his land distribution program continues to shape Paraguay’s political and economic landscape. The country remains plagued by unequal land distribution, with a mere 12,000 people owning 90 percent of all Paraguayan land. The landless peasants, like Nestor Castro, continue to fight for their rights and survival, occupying disputed lands to cultivate and fend off hunger.

The Curuguaty Massacre remains a topic of taboo and controversy in Paraguay. The victims’ calls for justice and proper investigation have largely been ignored, while the economic and political system established by Stroessner has been reinstated by the right-wing Liberal Party and the Colorado Party.

Seventeen symbolic crosses now stand on the slope where the massacre occurred, serving as a reminder of the lives lost. Marina Kue remains an occupied lot, surrounded by expanding fields of genetically modified crops. The risk of new prison sentences for “occupying private land” looms over the landless peasants, but they have no choice but to continue living and fighting for their rights.