From 1947 until 1962, the Colorado Party ruled Paraguay as a one-party state; all other political parties were illegal. In 1962, all national parties were nominally legalized; the Communist Party being deemed "international" remained illegal and its adherents repressed by the Paraguayan state. During the rule of Alfredo Stroessner all members of the armed forces and government employees were required to be members of the Colorado Party. In the late 1980s, there was a rift in the party between a hardliner faction and a traditionalist faction. This rift was primarily over the issue of Stroessner's succession and was a large contributor to the 1989 coup d'état led by General Andrés Rodríguez, himself a traditionalist.