1887–1989 The party, though founded only in 1887 as an answer to the foundation of the
Liberal Party in that same year, already informally existed from the late 1870s onward, as a political group centered around
Bernardino Caballero,
Cándido Bareiro and
José Segundo Decoud. It formally ruled the country from its foundation until 1904, when it was overthrown in the
Revolution of 1904. It became the dominant political force in the country when it rejoined the government in 1947, following the conclusion of the
1947 civil war, during
Higinio Moríñigo's rule as president. During this time, the party operated
multiple paramilitary wings. From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party ruled
Paraguay as a
one-party state; all other political parties were illegal. In 1962, all national parties were nominally legalized; the Communist Party being deemed "international" remained illegal and its adherents repressed by the Paraguayan state. In practice, however, Paraguay remained a one-party military dictatorship, with the Colorado Party serving as one of the "twin pillars" of
Alfredo Stroessner's rule, who had assumed the presidency following a coup in 1954 and lasted until 1989, one of the
longest in history by a non-royal leader. During Stroessner's rule, all members of the armed forces and government employees were required to be members of the Colorado Party. Dissident groups within the party were purged, and two (
Movimiento Popular Colorado and
Asociación Nacional Republicana en el Exilio y la Resistencia) acted as opposition groups in exile until the 1980s. In 1987, there was a rift in the party between a hardliner faction supportive of
Stroessner's rule and a traditionalist faction. This rift was primarily over the issue of Stroessner's succession and was a large contributor to the
1989 coup d'état led by General
Andrés Rodríguez, himself a traditionalist, which ousted Stroessner from power.
Since 1989 In 2002, the
National Union of Ethical Citizens split from the party. During the
2003 Paraguayan general election, at the legislative elections the party won 35.3% of the popular vote (37 out of 80 seats) in the
Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay and 32.9% (16 out of 45 seats) in the Senate. Its candidate at the presidential elections on the same date,
Nicanor Duarte, was elected with 37.1% of the popular vote. On 20 April 2008, for the first time in 61 years, the Colorado Party lost the presidential elections to an opposition candidate from the
centre-left,
Fernando Lugo, a
Roman Catholic bishop, a first on both accounts (free election of an opposition candidate and of a bishop to the office of president in Paraguay). The Colorado Party was represented in these elections by
Blanca Ovelar, the first woman to run for the presidency. Fernando Lugo, who had renounced the cloth before the elections so that he could become eligible under Paraguayan law, was formally released from his vows by the Vatican before his inauguration as president on 15 August 2008. According to Antonio Soljancic, a social scientist at the Autonomous University of
Asunción, "in order to get a job, you have to show you are a party member. The problem Paraguay has is that, although Stroessner disappeared from the political map, he left a legacy that no one has tried to bury". The party has notably promoted
Paraguay's close relationship with Taiwan, promising to retain Paraguay's status as the only Latin American country to recognize the
Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. == Electoral history ==