[For the translation of the sign above: Read on past the break. For the translation of the sign just below: “40 Years Since the Genocidal Coup; No to Impunity Yesterday and Today“]
There have been a number of military interventions in Argentina, the one on March 24, 1976, however, was arguably the worst.
At the time, ironically, it was actually something a lot of Argentines wanted–both on the political left and the right.
In fact, some say a large majority of the population was in favor of military intervention. Indeed, the United States government supported the coup, mainly with the view of keeping the country out of the hands of the scary leftists–think USA v. USSR Cold War context.
By 1976, it was obvious Juan Perón’s widow and the current President, Isabel (the third wife, not Evita), was incapable of governing. The country was in chaos with a mini guerrilla war flaring up…bombings…assassinations…kidnappings…evil deeds committed by both sides.
The conventional wisdom at the time was that the military would intervene, quickly establish some order in the country, then set up a mechanism to return the nation back to elections and democracy–all within short order.
Well, it didn’t quite turn out that way.
Instead, this “National Reorganization Process” (you may know it as the “Dirty War“) lasted until 1983. During those seven-plus years, somewhere between 9,000 and 30,000 people were abducted, tortured, and “disappeared”. Incredibly, some were thrown, drugged but still alive, from military transport aircraft into the sea. Pregnant captives were kept alive until their babies were born–then the babies were adopted by government officials and military families.
It was the 1982 Falklands (Malvinas) War debacle that finally forced out the military junta.
Now, March 24 in Argentina is a National Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice.
Yesterday’s National Day of Remembrance here in Mendoza brought out thousands to the city center for the demonstration parade.
Here are a few images of the event, along with explanatory comments.
Note all the posters depicting the faces of a “disappeared” person along with their name and date of disappearance:
There were at least three of the original Madres de la Plaza de Mayo present leading the parade as guests of honor (shown here). If you don’t know their tragic and very heroic and determined history in the face of the military dictatorship, you need to check out that link:
More pictures of the “disappeared ones”, these from the Mendoza area:
It’s all about remembering. Translation of this man’s sign: “A people without memory is a people without a future; To avoid headaches, lets keep growing…with memory, with truth, with justice, and with social inclusion.” I loved his face, the beret with the Argentine flag pin, his Argentine soccer jersey..and the ironic CocaCola sign in the background:
Other themes were also present during the protest march. In this case, the Falkland Islands…”Falklands, We Will Return!”
This may seem like an unrelated theme, but it isn’t. The United States supported the military coup in 1976 and many would argue always has and still does “pull the political and economic puppet strings” throughout Latin America:
Get out Obama and Americans! If Obama were really as socialist-communist as the right wing in the USA would have you believe, then many of these left-leaning groups would be happy to support him, right? Well, they don’t. They see him as just more of the same–meaning continued American corporate-oligarchical control of politics and economics in this hemisphere. For a good read on the effect of 500 years of economic imperialism in Latin America, try Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano. That will explain why the resentment is still here and so strong in many sectors:
The umbrella organization is the democratic-socialist group Libres del Sur. They work toward bettering the political and economic policies for the unemployed workers of the nation. These guys were sure hamming it up for the camera:
Even the voice of the few remaining indigenous peoples of the Mendoza area were there to be heard:
We want a just country…After 40 years, we remember…Never again (the latter written on an outline of a white scarf, symbol of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo):
Open Argentina’s [secret] archives now! Again, the lettering is on an outline of a Plaza de Mayo scarf:
Yep, this is Perón’s party:
Fight, Woman! The women’s rights element just ahead of the Partido Obrero, or Worker’s Party:
And the Humanist Party, espousing non-violence and work, education, and health for all:
And a final word from the Mendoza Poetic Action group…”Memory is not an anchor of the past, but rather the wings of the future.”
Some may argue that a military dictatorship, and the strict order it brings actually prevents a worse situation from developing–say, an all out civil war. Or, that it builds a stable base on which a subsequent democracy can arise.
Think Spain after Franco, or Chile after Pinochet.
It’s a tough argument that might go either way depending on your political inclinations.
But, is a dictatorship worth the cost considering the thousands of tortured and dead, the flagrant disregard for human rights by the state, the corruption and abuse of power, and the heavy burden of decades, indeed generations, of deep societal guilt and resentment?
Tough question, no?