The paint on my stucco on concrete block house is chalky and peeling
and even cracking in a couple of places. Everyone here, in south
Florida, seems to pressure wash stucco before painting, but I am
wondering whether scraping then scrubbing with bleach and detergent
would be just as effective.

Here's a link, hopefully, that shows the cracking paint:
http://i51.tinypic.com/16hte2f.jpg

The stucco has what is referred to as a smooth finish, though I've
also heard it called a sand finish. But it's basically pretty smooth,
especially with several layers of old paint on it.

If a pressure wash is the way to go, what power of washer would be
necessary to clean it up?

If scrubbing would work, what kind of mixture would be best?

Thanks.