The Dirty War

During the twentieth century, Argentina has had a long and problematic history of military intervention in politics. This is something we are unfamiliar with in the US. Can you imagine the leaders of the army, navy, and air force invading the White House and telling the president to leave the country? That happened in Argentina in 1976. The military was fed up with President Isabel Perón [ees-ah-bell pear-own]. She couldn't control a big problem. There were lots of supporters for communism that often fought with those who did not want communism. These conflicts were out of control. The economy was also struggling and the military seemed anxious to step in to resolve the problems. This is what they did. The leaders of the navy, army, and air force formed a ruling group led by Jorge Rafael Videla [hoar-hey rah-fah-el vee-del-ah].

Once they got into power, they began what is known as la guerra sucia [lah ge-rah soo-sya], or "the Dirty War." This refers to the arrests and disappearances of thousands of Argentines who supposedly supported communism. The regime severely opposed communism and saw the solution to the conflicts as "getting rid" of all opponents. Between ten and thirty thousand people disappeared. Many families (see the post below on the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo) never knew what happened to their children and are still trying to figure out.

This was a terrible time for Argentina. While the military solved the conflict between communists and anti-communists through tyranny, they never resolved other problems such as a failing economy. They tried to get some support through an attack on the UK-owned Falkland Islands in 1982 (see the post below), but the invasion eventually became an embarassment. The regime was humiliated and gave up power in 1983. While this is a time period that many would want to forget, Argentina does not forget what happened. The result is a lack of faith in their government. Before, during, and since the Dirty War, Argentina has struggled to overcome challenges of power-hungry and corrupt men that want to rule Argentina for their own gain and benefit. Only with a good string of trustworthy presidents who work for the benefit of Argentina can this attitude change.