The Circuits of Anti-Communist Repression between Asia and Latin America during the Second Cold War: Paraguay and the World Anti-Communist League

Abstract

This article studies the relationships established between the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) and South-American and Asian anti-Communist organizations and military dictatorships in the 1970s. The proposed hypothesis is that these anti-Communist regimes intensified the ties between them to obtain legitimacy since they faced increasing allegations of human rights violations and reduced international diplomatic recognition. This Asian-Latin American alliance was established and strengthened when the US government began to oppose to these anti-Communist regimes. The Twelfth WACL Congress, held in Asuncion in 1979, is offered as a case study.This article studies the relationships established between the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) and South-American and Asian anti-Communist organizations and military dictatorships in the 1970s. The proposed hypothesis is that these anti-Communist regimes intensified the ties between them to obtain legitimacy since they faced increasing allegations of human rights violations and reduced international diplomatic recognition. This Asian-Latin American alliance was established and strengthened when the US government began to oppose to these anti-Communist regimes. The Twelfth WACL Congress, held in Asuncion in 1979, is offered as a case study.