1976 Argentine coup d'état
The 1976 Argentine coup d'état overthrew Isabel Perón as President of Argentina on 24 March 1976. While it had some right-wing elements, such as its emphasis on order and security, it was not a traditional right-wing coup and did not adhere to a specific ideology. A military junta was installed to replace her; this was headed by Lieutenant General Jorge Rafael Videla, Admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera and Brigadier-General[4] Orlando Ramón Agosti. The political process initiated on 24 March 1976 took the official name of "National Reorganization Process", and the junta, although not with its original members, remained in power until the return to the democratic process on 10 December 1983. The coup was planned and executed within the framework of the Condor Plan, a clandestine system of repressive coordination between Latin American countries promoted by the United States, as part of the national security doctrine, which generalized dictatorships in Latin America in order to maintain the control over those countries during the Cold War.
The military coup had been planned since October 1975; the Perón government learned of the preparations two months before its execution. Henry Kissinger met several times with Argentine Armed Forces leaders after the coup, urging them to destroy their opponents quickly before outcry over human rights abuses grew in the United States.[5][2][3]
Given the systematic persecution of a social minority, the period has been classified as a genocidal process.[6][7][8] This has been established in the sentences of the trials of the perpetrators for crimes against humanity.[9][10][11]
Prelude to the coup[edit]
When president Juan Perón died of natural causes on 1 July 1974, he was succeeded by his wife (then vice-president) Isabel Perón, also known as "Isabelita." Despite her claim as the country's rightful ruler, she rapidly lost political gravitas and power. A group of military officials, tasked by Perón to aide the vice-president, took control in an effort to revitalize Argentina's deteriorating political and social climate. This shift in governance paved the way for the ensuing coup.
On 5 February 1975 Operativo Independencia was launched. This Vietnam-style intervention aimed to eliminate the guerrillas in the Tucumán jungle, who had maintained strongholds in the area as early as May 1974. In October the country was divided into five military zones, with each commander given full autonomy to unleash a carefully planned wave of repression.
On 18 December, a number of warplanes took off from Morón Air Base and strafed the Casa Rosada in an attempt to overthrow Isabel Perón. The rebellion was brought to a halt four days later through arbitration by a chaplain.
However, the military did succeed in removing the only officer remaining loyal to the government, Air Force commander Héctor Fautario. Fautario drew harsh criticism from the Army and Navy owing to his vehement opposition to their repressive plans, and for his refusal to mobilize the Air Force against the guerrillas' strongholds in the north. Fautario was Videla's final obstacle in his pursuit of power.
By January 1976 the guerrilla presence in Tucumán had been reduced to a few platoons. Meanwhile, the military, fully backed by the local élite, along with Chilean strongman Augusto Pinochet, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the administration of President Gerald Ford, bided its time before ultimately seizing power.[2][12][13]
Isabel Perón's loss of legitimacy[edit]
Peron's loss of power, besides the public ridicule, was magnified by the loss of her congressional majority. In addition, her popular support was reduced to a right wing section of Peronism.[14] By February 1976, three service commanders had requested that she resign from the presidency. Another issue with Perón's presidency was the ongoing guerrilla warfare. Throughout her presidency, Perón struggled against both the Montoneros and People's Revolutionary Army (ERP) left wing guerrilla organizations as well as the right wing Alianza Anticomunista Argentina group (AAA). A clear example was the 25 political murders between March 20 and 21st in 1975, which had victims on both the left and right wing.[14] Only in late May 1975 did her Social Welfare minister, López Rega, announce an investigation of the AAA group, though the group had been active for 550 days without a single arrest. As the government finally addressed the AAA, it indicated public dissatisfaction with the current regime’s treatment over the AAA.[15] By late March 1976, local press was open reporting on a coup happening within hours, which led to ramped up political violence between left and right, as those were interested in "settling scores" which led to about 165 people killed from the start of the year until then, of which the Perón regime was powerless to stop.[15]
Subsequent events[edit]
The Junta assumed the executive power until 29 March when Videla was designated president. Congress was disbanded with senators, deputies and staff members being arrested, brutally beaten and thrown out of doors and windows of the Congressional Palace. An entity known as Legislative Assessment Commission (in Spanish: Comisión de Asesoramiento Legislativo - CAL), composed entirely of officers from the military and police, assumed a Legislative role.[21]
Human rights activists state that in the aftermath of the coup and ensuing Dirty War, some 30,000 people, primarily young opponents of the military regime, were "disappeared" or killed.[22] Military men responsible for the killings often spared pregnant women for a time, keeping them in custody until they gave birth, before killing them and giving their infants to childless military families.[22] Kissinger privately assured the military regime that they would have the full support of the United States government in their war and associated actions, a promise that was opposed by the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina at the time, Robert Hill.[2]
The dictatorship counted on the complicity of civil and ecclesiastical sectors, therefore it is usually characterized as a civic-military-ecclesiastical-business dictatorship.[23][24][25][26]
The Junta remained in power until Raúl Alfonsín, democratically elected, took office as President of Argentina, in December 1983.
The 24 March anniversary of the coup is now designated in Argentina as the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice.[27]
US interest in regime change[edit]
The American government paid close attention to any changes in regime in Latin America, and had been carefully watching Argentina throughout Peron's presidency. Guerrilla warfare under Perón's presidency had resulted in serious political violence, as well as the murder of John Egan, a US consular to Córdoba, by the Montoneros, which contributed to a feeling of insecurity among Americans in Argentina, as well as the possibility of Americans being the target of guerilla warfare.[28] The American government also predicted a possible regime change as Peron's regime began to lose political power, noting that in February 1976 the military "dissatisfaction is so pervasive and intense that one [a coup] could occur at any time".[18] Another worry with a possible regime change from the US was the protection of US interests, those being economic investments in Argentina, from Ford and General Motors to Exxon industrial centers, but those in the US State Department were not worried about major fundamental changes, citing that left wing groups did not have enough support for a coup and the military was not interested in making sweeping reforms.