So then day two in Asuncion, let's see if there are other sights besides the beautiful squares and the friendly people.
Alfredo Strössner - Dictator for life
If you want to understand the city (and the country), you have to browse through the history book.
Even if you don't know much about Paraguay, sooner or later the name Stroessner shows up, Alfredo Stroessner. Dictator for life (he thought). His father originated from some dump in Bavaria, from where he moved at the end of the 19th. Century to Paraguay. 1912 young Stroessner was born there, went to the army, where he made an impressive career, crowning 1954 with the coup against the acting president.
He then ruled the country until 1989, when he was expelled from office and dignity.
The city of Puerto Flor de Lis in eastern Paraguay, which Stroessner had renamed Puerto Presidente Stroessner, was renamed Ciudad del Este in 1989. Asunción's airport, which was named after him during his dictatorship, was later renamed Aeropuerto Internacional Silvio Pettirossi.
Stroessner died due to pneumonia in August 16 at the age of 2006. He was buried in a cemetery in the south of the Brazilian capital Brasília.
Why am I telling you all this? More on that later.
Poor people and fashion chains
But first thing in the morning, coffee and cake at my favorite ladies little café, which at this early hour still seems quite sleepy. So I set out with some empanadas for the small hunger in between.
The midday heat is still a few hours away, so the walk to the city center, already stored in my geographical memory, is, unlike the first time, a pure pleasure. But of course, the second time you find new ways, unexpectedly discovering the actual commercial center in the city center, teeming with stores and all the well-known international fashion chains.
Despite the shabby sidewalks in front of the entrances, the buildings exude something chic here too. Not for everyone, actually for very few. Hardly anyone has enough money to go anywhere near these stores.
For the less wealthy people, street vendors are available. Their goods are cheap and of reasonable quality.
Money Exchange
A few streets ahead there are the Casas de Cambio, which I have been looking for in vain.
But of course the mobile money changers are also represented in large numbers. They see me coming from far away and drop on me like a swarm of flies on cow dung. But I am careful about changing money on the street, being a rather burned child. Even knowing every possible and impossible trick, in most cases you still get ripped off.
However, I ask for the course, check it briefly in the corresponding app and oh wonder - it's good, even better than the daily rate given on the internet. For a moment a greedy little devil tries to persuade me to close the deal, but then a red light comes on and stops me.
In the nearby Casa de Cambio, where everything is done properly, they charge me the same course without blinking an eye. Amazing! Usually it is the other way around.
Alfredo in the concrete
A little later, I almost walked past, I notice the strange green thing standing almost unnoticed at the edge of a small square. Eureka!
At Wikipedia you can find all the dirty details about Alfredo in full length, but what interests me is a small detail after his disempowerment. A few years after his emigration to Brazil, where he spent the last years of his life, the huge statue was taken off the pedestal and cut into pieces.
And here it is: the remains of the statue were molded into a concrete block placed in a small square where anyone passing by can take a scornful (or regretful, depending on political orientation) look at it.
So here is Alfredo or what is left of him. In fact, two hands look out of the stone, next to them the face, and clearly, not surprisingly, it shows a somewhat strange expression, somehow pitiful, as if he were just realizing with horror what has happened to him.
What an extraordinarily creative way to get rid of a hated dictator by simply ridiculing him. The only really working method, which would be an adequate way for many a dictator (or similar fellow) to forget him for all eternity.
The dead and the missing
In a small park I come across strange crosses and plaques whose meaning escapes me at first sight. But then it quickly becomes clear that they are in honor of the countless murdered and disappeared people. Sadly a common phenomenon on this bloody continent.
"Disappeared in January 1977, identified 2016". Hundreds of these crosses and commemorative plaques bear witness to unspeakable crimes committed in the name of Alfredo Strössner and his entourage. Argentina or Chile come to mind, where similar crimes with the same political background came to light years later. In these moments one wonders what the human species really is like, and if the question whether the human species would better disappear is not justified after all.
Rusting remnants of a bygone era
The way leads me further on towards the Rio Paraguay, where I get the impression that time has stood still here. Huge cranes, their arms stretched out wide, are in a state of increasing decay. It looks as if they have not been used for years.
The reason is a mystery to me, even if it is clear that the country's economic problems are also reflected here.
But the government building has to shine
It's like everywhere. Even if the economy, society, education goes down the drain - the official representation of the state in the form of swanky buildings needs to shine. That's the way it is here, too. The government building is pompous, well-kept, with a strong appearance. So are the skyscrapers in the economic center of the city, where poverty has no place.
Youth and the police
Not far from the government district lies a park where a group of young people have gathered, guarded by a numerically almost equal group of policemen. A phenomenon that can be observed everywhere in the city. Army and Police. They are everywhere, in every nook and cranny.
The most positive effect is that Asuncion is one of the safest cities in South America. On the other hand, it is not difficult to realize that Alfredo has simply been replaced by another Alfredo.
The end
And so my visit to Asuncion, i.e. Paraguay, comes to an end. There is still a lot to tell, but much of it is depressing and sad.
Tomorrow morning I'm flying to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and once again I'll say goodbye, with mixed feelings, but the bottom line is positive, though not due to the political system, but solely due to the friendly inhabitants of this strange little town ...
Mileage: 2434
Matching Song: The Beatles - Revolution
And here the journey continues ... to Bolivia
