The 1958 Paraguayan general strike was a

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

organized in Paraguay in August 1958, marking the first national general strike in the country. The strike was called by the Confederación Paraguaya de Trabajadores (CPT; 'Paraguayan Workers' Confederation'), with demand such as a 30% raise in salaries, a general declaration of amnesty, a lifting of the

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

, a more equitable economic policy, securing the freedom to participate in political and trade union activities and the holding of a constituent assembly.''El autoritarismo en la historia reciente del Paraguay''. Asunción: Comisión de Verdad y Justicia, Paraguay, 2008. pp. 41-42 The strike was organized in the backdrop of an internal

power struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...

within the Colorado Party, between the civilian wing led by

Epifanio Méndez Fleitas Epifanio Méndez Fleitas (7 April 1917 – 22 November 1985) was a Paraguayan musician, writer and poet, and twice the president of Central Bank of Paraguay: from 1952 to 1954 and in 1955. He fled Paraguay during the Alfredo Stroessner years and i ...

and the Colorado elements in the armed forces led by General Alfredo Stroessner. The CPT leadership was closely connected to the Méndez Fleitas faction.Alexander, Robert Jackson, and Eldon M. Parker.
A History of Organized Labor in Uruguay and Paraguay
'. Westport, Conn. .a. Praeger, 2005. pp. 121-122 Pro-strike committees were formed in preparation for the strike, one 96-member committee was organized by the CPT and others were set up by the CPT affiliate unions. ''

Acción Católica Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, It ...

'' also voiced support for the strike. Around 10,000 workers gathered on August 26, 1958, for a meeting at the CPT central office in Asunción were a four-member strike committee was elected. The strike call had caught the Alfredo Stroessner government by surprise. Initially it responded by offering the CPT a 15% salary raise, an offer that the four-member strike committee rejected. By mid-night August 26–27, 1958 the general strike was called. The response on behalf of the state was swift. A workers' rally was dispersed by police. The CPT headquarters were surrounded by army and police forces. Over 200 trade union leaders, mainly from CPT, were arrested during the protests.Mora, Frank O., and Jerry W. Cooney.
Paraguay and the United States: Distant Allies
'. Athens .a. Univ. of Georgia Press, 2007. pp. 148-149 Even the CPT general secretary was arrested (who, as a member of parliament, enjoyed

parliamentary immunity Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians such as president, vice president, governor, lieutenant governor, member of parliament, member of legislative assembly, member of legislative council, s ...

). Offices of trade unions were closed down.

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

leaders such as

Antonio Maidana Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

, Julio Rojas and Alfredo Alcorta were captured and would remain jailed for two decades.Rossi, M. Laura.
El desarrollo de la enseñanza social de los obispos del Paraguay (1940 - 1993): un compromiso progresivo con la dignidad de la persona humana
'. Tesi Gregoriana, 1. Roma: Ed. Pontif. Univ. Gregoriana, 1998. p. 79 Following the strike, the Paraguayan labour movement found itself in shatters and without a functioning leadership. The government seized control over CPT. Exiled trade unionists in Argentina reorganized a 'CPT-Exile' (CPT-E) in response.Jelin, Elizabeth, and Azun Candina.
Las conmemoraciones: las disputas en las fechas "in-felices"
'. Madrid: Siglo Veintiuno de España Editores, 2002. p. 151 Partially as a consequence of the crackdown on the strike and the closure of legal means to voice protest, many labour movement activists came to consider that armed struggle was the sole measure of organizing resistance to Stroessner.

References

{{Authority control Paraguayan_general_strike, 1958 Paraguayan General Strike, 1958 1958 labor disputes and strikes Labor in Paraguay