“I took him down live and direct.” Presentation and representation in an episode of political iconoclasm in contemporary Paraguay: inauguration, demolition and resignification of a statue of Alfredo Stroessner, 1982-1996 (Argentina, 2024)

Abstract

In October 1991 - almost three years after the recovery of democracy in Paraguay - a statue of the dictator Alfredo Stroessner that was part of a larger construction, the “Monument to Victorious Peace”, located on the top of the Hill Lambaré since 1982 was demolished. Five years after its demolition, it was redefined as a work of art that warns about the danger of authoritarianism. This brief article aims to analyze this episode as an empirical case of contemporary political iconoclasm in Paraguay and link it with the theoretical reflections offered by studies from the field of visual culture. Through the concepts and categories from this field, related to the double character of the image - representation and presentation -, an attempt is made to demonstrate how the traumatic past maintains its presence in Paraguay.