Under the Flags, the Sun
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Dictator Alfredo Stroessner ruled Paraguay for nearly 35 years, beginning in 1954. This makes him one of the longest-ruling dictators of the modern era, and his Colorado Party remains in power in the country to this day. Although Stroessner’s presence was felt everywhere in Paraguay, only a limited amount of audiovisual material from his reign has survived.
This is precisely what makes Juanjo Pereira’s documentary Under the Flags, the Sun so distinctive. The film is assembled from archival materials found in collections across different countries, forming a collage-like portrait of a nation where dissent was not tolerated. The damaged condition of much of the footage gives the film its own texture: images are often distorted or decayed. Perhaps this is fitting for an exploration of a dictator’s era.
Paraguay is a poor, landlocked country in the heart of South America, whose circumstances created particular challenges for the right-wing dictator supported by the United States. Like many other dictatorships in the region, Paraguay was part of Operation Condor, aimed at suppressing leftist movements and communism. While in Argentina dissidents were flown out to sea and dropped to their deaths, in landlocked Paraguay prisoners were killed by being thrown from aircraft into the jungle. Although Stroessner has since been overthrown, dictators like him still exist elsewhere in the world. For this reason as well, the film remains strikingly relevant.
Juhana Pettersson (translated by Anni Rossi)
