Everything about Jorge Rafael Videla totally explained
Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo (born
August 21,
1925 in
Mercedes, Buenos Aires) was the dictator and
de facto President of
Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a
coup d'état that deposed
Isabel Martínez de Perón. After the return to democracy, he was prosecuted for
large-scale human rights abuses and
crimes against humanity that took place under his rule, including kidnappings or
forced disappearance, widespread
torture and extrajudicial
murder of activists, political opponents (either real, suspected or alleged), as well as their families, at secret
concentration camps. The accusations also included the theft of many babies born during the captivity of their mothers at the illegal detention centres. He is now under
house arrest.
The coup
After serving as Director of the Nation's Military Academy (Colegio Militar de la Nación) and after almost two months as Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Estado Mayor Conjunto) of the Argentine Armed Forces, Brigade General Jorge Videla was named
Commander-in-Chief by President Isabel Perón in 1975. Perón, former Vice-President to her husband
Juan Perón, had come to the presidency following his death. Her authoritarian administration was unpopular and ineffectual. Videla headed a military coup which deposed her on
24 March 1976. A military
junta was formed, made up of himself, representing the
Army, Admiral
Emilio Massera representing the
Navy, and Brigadier General
Orlando Ramón Agosti representing the
Air Force. Two days after the coup, Videla formally assumed the post of
President of Argentina.
Human rights violations
The military junta took power during a period of extreme instability, with terrorist attacks from the
Marxist groups
ERP and the
Montoneros, who had turned underground after
Juan Perón's death in July 1974, from one side and violent
right-wing kidnappings, tortures, and assassinations from the
Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, led by
José López Rega, Perón's Minister of Social Welfare, and other
death squads on the other side. The members of the junta took advantage of this to justify the coup, by naming the administration "
National Reorganization Process". The Argentine military government arrested, detained, tortured, and killed suspected terrorists and political opponents. As a result,
human rights violations became commonplace. According to estimates, at least 8,960 and up to about 30,000 Argentinians were subject to
forced disappearance (
desaparecidos) and most probably killed; many were illegally detained and tortured, and others went into
exile.
Politically, all legislative power was concentrated in the hands of Videla's nine-man junta, and every single important position in the national government was filled with loyal military officers. The junta banned
labor unions and
strikes, abolished the judiciary, and effectively suspended most civil liberties. Despite the abuses, Videla's regime received support from the Argentine
Roman Catholic Church and local media, though the extent to which such support was given willingly remains the subject of much debate.
In addition to direct abuses by the military,
far-right paramilitary groups, particularly the
Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA), carried out widespread atrocities, given free rein by the new military government.
Conflict with Chile
During Videla's regime, Argentina refused the
Report and decision of the Court of Arbitration
over the
Beagle conflict at the southern tip of South America and started the in order to invade the islands.
In 1978, however,
Pope John Paul II opened a mediation process. His representative,
Antonio Samoré, successfully prevented full-scale war.
The conflict wasn't completely resolved until 1984 with the
Treaty of Peace and Friendship (
Tratado de Paz y Amistad). Chilean sovereignty over the islands is now undisputed.
Economic policy
Videla largely left economic policies in the hands of Minister
José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz. During his tenure, the
foreign debt increased fourfold, and disparities between the upper and lower classes became much more pronounced as compared to the populist days of Perón.
Videla's image abroad
One of Videla's greatest challenges was his image abroad. He attributed criticism over human rights to an anti-Argentine campaign.
On 30 April 1977,
Azucena Villaflor, along with 13 other women, started demonstrations on the Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Casa Rosada presidential palace, demanding the whereabouts of their disappeared children; they'd become known as
las madres de la Plaza de Mayo. During a human rights investigation in September 1979, the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights denounced his government, citing many disappearances and instances of abuse.
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, leader of the Peace and Justice Service (
Servicio Paz y Justicia) organization, was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for exposing many of Argentina's human rights violations to the world at large.
Relationship with the United States
At first, the
United States government was willing to maintain normal diplomatic relations with Argentina, though transcripts show
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the U.S. ambassador to Argentina in conflict over how the new regime should be treated, with Kissinger preferring to remain friendly based on
anti-Communist interests despite talk of human rights abuses. This changed in 1977 with the inauguration of
President Jimmy Carter, who implemented a strict stance against human rights abuses even when dealing with friendly governments. U.S.-Argentine relations remained lukewarm at best until
Ronald Reagan became president in 1981. His administration sought the assistance of the Argentinean intelligence services in training the
Contras for guerrilla warfare against the new
Sandinista government in
Nicaragua. Because of this, Videla maintained a relatively friendly relationship with the U.S. under the
Reagan administration, though the junta later fell out of favor with the U.S. over the
Falklands War after Videla had stepped down.
Later years
Videla relinquished power to
Roberto Viola on
March 29,
1981.
Democracy was restored in 1983, and Videla was put on trial and found guilty. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was discharged from the military in 1985. The tribunal found Videla guilty of numerous homicides, kidnapping, torture, and many other crimes.
Videla was imprisoned for only five years. In 1990, President
Carlos Menem pardoned Videla together with many other former members of the military regime. Menem cited the need to get over past conflicts as his main reason.
Videla briefly returned to prison in 1998 when a judge found him guilty of the kidnapping of babies during the
Dirty War, including the child of the
desaparecida Silvia Quintela. Videla spent 38 days in the old part of the
Caseros Prison, and was later transferred to house arrest due to health issues.
Following the election of President
Néstor Kirchner in 2003, there has been a widespread effort in Argentina to show the illegality of Videla's rule. The government no longer recognizes Videla as having been a legal president of the country, and his portrait has been removed from the military school. There have also been many legal prosecutions of officials associated with the crimes of the regime.
On
September 6,
2006, Judge Norberto Oyarbide ruled that the pardon granted by Menem was unconstitutional, opening up the possibility of a trial.. On April 25, 2007, a federal court struck down his presidential pardon and restored his human rights abuse convictions.
Trivia
Dutch football legend
Johan Cruyff famously refused to travel to Argentina for the
1978 FIFA World Cup in protest against the human rights abuses perpetrated by Videla's junta. Coincidentally, the
Netherlands lost 3–1 to Argentina in the final.
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