Golden Four (Paraguay)
The term Cuatrinomio de Oro (Spanish for Golden Four, referring to the four sides of a square) refers to a group of influential Paraguayan politicians of the 1960-1980s, representing the closest allies of the dictatorial President Alfredo Stroessner. The group included three members of the government and the presidential secretary. Under the leadership of Stroessner, members of the "Golden Four" stood at the highest levels of the regime, determining the policy of the state and the Colorado Party. They became infamous in the country due to their involvement in political repression and corruption. After the fall of the regime, they were prosecuted. Composition and function Following the 1954 coup d'état, major general Alfredo Stroessner was elected President, and was soon able to place his supporters in positions of power in the provisional government and in the Colorado Party, culminating in Stroessner securing power for himself and establishing the longest dictatorship in the history of Paraguay and Latin America. The one-party state regime was characterized by severe human rights abuses, implacable anti-communism, harsh political repression and large-scale economic projects. The dictatorship gained most of its support from the military-police command, the state bureaucracy, the Colorado Party apparatus and various paramilitary organizations