Andrés Rodríguez Pedotti (June 19, 1923 – April 21, 1997) was a military officer and politician, being President of Paraguay from February 3, 1989, to August 15, 1993.

Matters came to a head in January 1989, when Stroessner relieved several generals of their commands and replaced them with men thought to be unquestionably loyal to him.

On February 2, Stroessner summoned his former ally and gave him an ultimatum—either accept appointment as defense minister (which would have effectively been a demotion) or retire.

Rebel troops and tanks surrounded the headquarters of the Presidential Guard in Asunción (where Stroessner had sought refuge).

The coup had the backing of much of the Roman Catholic Church and of the United States, who no longer required Stroessner as an ally in the Cold War.

Ynsfrán had served as interior minister during the most repressive phase of the Stronato, but had switched to supporting Rodríguez and now favored a more humane approach to governance.

[2] He abolished the death penalty, freed political prisoners, and tried to imprison some leading members of the Stroessner government.

He formally canceled the state of siege that had been in place for virtually all of Stroessner's rule; while it had nominally been repealed in 1987, its substance had remained in place in the form of draconian security laws and close restrictions on press freedom (opposition leaders had been arrested, and the Colorados had been the only party that had been allowed to campaign unmolested in the 1988 elections).

Over the course of the following week, the military was purged of Stroessner's loyalists, and the commanders of the six rebellious army divisions were promoted to replace them.