4 ms·

I spent time in Paraguay back in 2003. There was a similar attitude towards Alfredo Stoessner amongst many Paraguayans who were old enough to remember his regim

I spent time in Paraguay back in 2003. There was a similar attitude towards Alfredo Stoessner amongst many Paraguayans who were old enough to remember his regime (ended in 1989). Here the driver I was most aware of was street crime: robbery was commonplace, and many of the criminals carried guns and weren't afraid to use them. Whereas in Stroessner's time you could walk the streets at night in safety because the criminals would all have been imprisoned or killed. (18 years later I have no idea how the situation might have changed.)

Nux 5y ago
Very similar situation in Ceausescu's Romania (which also ended in 1989), in broad terms. Many people (unhappy with their current quality of life) are still nostalgic of the old days. Low criminality, low unemployment, high home ownership (still the highest in the world even now) were some of the upsides.
- FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
  If you read interviews with Afghan women (outside a small urban elite), they mention similar upsides to the Taliban. At least they prevent crime. At least they have principles, however harsh. At least they're predictable. At least they forced out the thugs that the Americans had backed.
  - bartread 5y ago
    I'm from the UK rather than the US and, although I'm no fan of the way we pulled out of Afghanistan (it has a certain sense of washing our hands of the situation about it given how involved we were in creating that situation), in general I do think we might be better to stop meddling in the affairs of other countries that we ill-understand. The other most obvious canonical example here would be Iraq. Saddam was a complete scumbag but, honestly, WTF were we thinking? We basically had a very large hand in giving birth to IS and allowing them to spread, and look at all the trouble that's caused.
    - lostlogin 5y ago
      > I do think we might be better to stop meddling in the affairs of other countries that we ill-understand. It’s been hundreds if not thousands of years at this point. Leaving it behind seems incredibly unlikely. Ditching empire and empire building by a few countries would be an amazing thing to observe. My fear would be the various groups and countries that would likely seek to fill the void.

Nux 5y ago

Very similar situation in Ceausescu's Romania (which also ended in 1989), in broad terms. Many people (unhappy with their current quality of life) are still nostalgic of the old days. Low criminality, low unemployment, high home ownership (still the highest in the world even now) were some of the upsides.

FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
If you read interviews with Afghan women (outside a small urban elite), they mention similar upsides to the Taliban. At least they prevent crime. At least they have principles, however harsh. At least they're predictable. At least they forced out the thugs that the Americans had backed.
- bartread 5y ago
  I'm from the UK rather than the US and, although I'm no fan of the way we pulled out of Afghanistan (it has a certain sense of washing our hands of the situation about it given how involved we were in creating that situation), in general I do think we might be better to stop meddling in the affairs of other countries that we ill-understand. The other most obvious canonical example here would be Iraq. Saddam was a complete scumbag but, honestly, WTF were we thinking? We basically had a very large hand in giving birth to IS and allowing them to spread, and look at all the trouble that's caused.
  - lostlogin 5y ago
    > I do think we might be better to stop meddling in the affairs of other countries that we ill-understand. It’s been hundreds if not thousands of years at this point. Leaving it behind seems incredibly unlikely. Ditching empire and empire building by a few countries would be an amazing thing to observe. My fear would be the various groups and countries that would likely seek to fill the void.