Ándrés Rodríguez was born in San Salvador de Guairá, Paraguay in June 1923. In 1942, Rodríguez joined the army, and in 1947 he participated in the Paraguayan civil war. Seven years after his mentor General Alfredo Stroessner took power, Rodríguez was promoted to full colonel and commanded the Cavalry Division. In 1970 he was promoted to general and head of the first Army Corps.

Rodríguez's loyalty to his mentor finished the night of February 2, 1989 when he launched a coup d´état that collapsed the 35-year Stroessner dictatorship. Rodríguez assumed the presidency, formalized by a presidential election in May 1989 with 75 percent of the popular vote. Rodríguez undertook a liberalization program that eliminated some of Stroessner's most repressive policies and changed the old ways to political democracy. During his presidency he freed the press, permitted the return of exiles, and removed the most corrupt and brutal associates of Stroessner. Rodríguez died in 1997 in New York City, United States.

Alfredo Stroessner was born in Encarnación, Paraguay, in November 1912. At the age of 17, he joined the army and became a lieutenant after two years.

Stroessner was successful in the army. His skills were very useful to the Paraguayan president, Higinio Moringo, who promoted him rapidly. Stroessner became a brigadier and the youngest general in South America. He participated in the Chaco War as well as the Paraguayan civil war, making him a formidable political and social player.

In 1951, Stroessner joined the Colorado Party and in 1954 was elected president, assuming the presidency in August 15. Though he brought electrification to Paraguay, for 35 years from 1954 to 1989, Stroessner’s rule whas characterized by an economy based on contraband and a government system reinforced by terror of a network of spies and secret police. He was friendly with other South American dictators, including Videla and Pinochet.

In February 1989 Ándres Rodríguez, friend and father–in-law of Stroessner’s son, overthrew the regime. After the coup-d´état, Stroessner went into exile in Brazil, where he died on August 16, 2006.