Misplaced Pages

Pact of Olivos

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Olivos Pact ( Spanish : Pacto de Olivos ) refers to a series of documents signed on 17 November 1993, between the governing President of Argentina , Carlos Menem , and former President and leader of the opposition UCR , Raúl Alfonsín , that formed the basis of the constitutional reform of 1994 . These memorandum of understanding were signed in the official presidential residence, the Quinta de Olivos .

#727272

153-668: Raúl Alfonsín was the president of Argentina for the Radical Civic Union (UCR) from 1983 to 1989, and resigned during an economic crisis. Carlos Menem , from the Justicialist Party (PJ), was elected in 1989. The Convertibility plan ended the economic crisis and increased his popularity, allowing the PJ to win the 1991 and 1993 midterm elections. The presidential term of office was of six years, with no reelection. Menem sought to change that with an amendment to

306-508: A mutiny in Córdoba . Lieutenant Colonel Aldo Rico started another mutiny at Campo de Mayo , supporting Barreiro. The rebels were called " Carapintadas " ( Spanish : "Painted faces" ) because of their use of military camouflage . The CGT called a general strike in support of Alfonsín, and large masses rallied in the Plaza de Mayo to support the government. Alfonsín negotiated directly with

459-716: A writ of Habeas corpus , requesting the freedom of victims of forced disappearances , during the National Reorganization Process . He denounced the crimes of the military dictatorships of other countries and opposed the actions of both sides in the Falklands War as well. He became the leader of the UCR after Balbín's death and was the Radical candidate for the presidency in the 1983 elections , which he won. After becoming president, Alfonsín sent

612-1235: A U.S.-sponsored program called Operation Charly . After attaining power in 1976, the National Reorganization Process formed close ties with the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in Nicaragua among other right-wing dictatorships in Latin America. In 1977 at a meeting of the Conference of American Armies (CAA) held in the Nicaraguan capital city of Managua , junta members General Roberto Viola and Admiral Emilio Massera secretly pledged unconditional support of Somoza regime in its fight against left-wing subversion and agreed to send advisors and material support to Nicaragua to assist President Somoza's National Guard. Pursuant with these military agreements, Somoza's Guardsmen were sent to police and military academies in Argentina to undergo training and Argentina began to send arms and advisors to Nicaragua to bolster

765-716: A bill to Congress to revoke the self-amnesty law established by the military. He established the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons to investigate the crimes committed by the military, which led to the Trial of the Juntas and resulted in the sentencing of the heads of the former regime. Discontent within the military led to the mutinies of the Carapintadas , leading him to appease them with

918-766: A bill to Congress to revoke the self-amnesty law established by the military. This made it possible for the judiciary to investigate the crimes committed during the Dirty War. During the campaign, Alfonsín had promised that he would do this while Luder had been non-committal. Alfonsín also ordered the initiation of judicial cases against guerrilla leaders Mario Firmenich , Fernando Vaca Narvaja, Ricardo Obregón Cano , Rodolfo Galimberti, Roberto Perdía, Héctor Pardo and Enrique Gorriarán Merlo; and military leaders Jorge Videla, Emilio Massera, Orlando Agosti , Roberto Viola, Armando Lambruschini , Omar Graffigna , Leopoldo Galtieri, Jorge Anaya and Basilio Lami Dozo . He also requested

1071-627: A brief time, during the reaction of the government of Juan Perón to the bombing of Plaza de Mayo . The Revolución Libertadora ousted Perón from the national government; Alfonsín was again briefly detained and forced to leave his office in the city council. The UCR broke up into two parties: the Intransigent Radical Civic Union (UCRI), led by Arturo Frondizi , and the People's Radical Civic Union (UCRP), led by Ricardo Balbín and Crisólogo Larralde. Alfonsín did not like

1224-476: A call to elections, without supervision from the government, which was approved. As a result, the unions remained Peronist. The CGT was splintered into internal factions at the time. Lorenzo Miguel had close ties to the Justicialist party, and led "the 62 organizations" faction. Saúl Ubaldini was more confrontational, distrusted the politicians of the PJ, and was eventually appointed secretary general of

1377-476: A clear course of action. The PJ, aiming for a victory in the 1989 presidential elections, opposed the measures that it believed would have a negative social impact. The " Spring plan " sought to keep the economy stable until the elections by freezing prices and wages and reducing the federal deficit. This plan had an even worse reception than the Austral plan, and none of the parties supported it. The World Bank and

1530-527: A constitutional amendment to allow his re-election, and Alfonsín opposed it. The victory in the 1993 midterm elections strengthened the PJ, which approved the bill in the Senate. Menem proposed a referendum on the amendment, to force the radical deputies to support it. He also proposed a bill for a law that would allow a constitutional amendment with a simple majority of the Congress. As a result, Alfonsín made

1683-691: A contentious issue, as well as the revelation of Chilean assistance to British forces during the Falklands War. The Argentine church invited Pope John Paul II for a second visit to Argentina in 1987, to celebrate his successful mediation. He celebrated World Youth Day next to the Obelisk of Buenos Aires , and gave a mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján . Argentina allied with Brazil , Uruguay and Peru , three countries that had also recently ended their local military dictatorships, to mediate in

SECTION 10

#1732771912728

1836-479: A day of national mourning, and Paraguay set three days. The governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and the United States sent messages of condolence. In addition to Tabaré Vázquez, Julio María Sanguinetti of Uruguay, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil attended the ceremony. Historians Félix Luna , Miguel Angel de Marco, and Fernando Rocchi all praise

1989-565: A faction of the UCR that favored the idea of carrying an independent candidate for the 2007 presidential elections . The UCR, instead of fielding its own candidate, endorsed Roberto Lavagna , a center-left economist who presided over the recovery in the Argentine economy from 2002 until he parted ways with President Néstor Kirchner in December 2005. Unable to sway enough disaffected Kirchner supporters, Lavagna garnered third place. Alfonsín

2142-634: A foreign debt installment guarantee program that shielded billions of private debt from the collapse of the peso, costing the treasury billions. He instituted controls over the facility, such as the indexation of payments, but this move and the rescission of Circular 1050 threw the banking sector against him; Cavallo and Dagnino Pastore were replaced in August. The President of the Central Bank, Julio González del Solar , undid many of these controls, transferring billions more in private foreign debt to

2295-445: A group in whole or in part. Where the intention is to destroy a group in part, that part must be "substantial", either in the numerical sense, or in the sense of being important to the physical survival of the group. The facts being prosecuted involves attacks against "subversive elements", which does not appear, on first sight, to be a "substantial" part of the group defined by nationality, by sheer numerical representation. This decision

2448-466: A large state funeral . Raúl Alfonsín was born on 12 March 1927, in the city of Chascomús , 123 km (76 mi) south of Buenos Aires . His parents, who worked as shopkeepers, were Serafín Raúl Alfonsín Ochoa and Ana María Foulkes. His father was of Galician and German descent, and his mother was the daughter of Welsh immigrant Ricardo Foulkes and Falkland Islander María Elena Ford. Following his elementary schooling, Raúl Alfonsín enrolled at

2601-426: A new mutiny in a distant regiment in the northeast. This time, both the military support for the mutiny and the public outcry against it were minimal. The army attacked him, and Rico surrendered after a brief combat. Colonel Mohamed Alí Seineldín launched a new mutiny in late 1988. As in 1987, the mutineers were defeated and jailed, but the military was reluctant to open fire against them. Alfonsín's goal of reconciling

2754-695: A number of Condor operations on Nicaraguan soil during the late-1970s, benefitting from close rapport between Argentine secret services and the Nicaraguan regime. The military in Argentina sent agents of the Batallón de Inteligencia 601 and the SIDE to Nicaragua in 1978 with the aim of apprehending and eliminating Argentine guerrillas fighting within the ranks of the Sandinistas. A special commando team from Argentina worked in conjunction with Somoza's OSN (Office of National Security) and its Argentine advisors with

2907-461: A pact between the military and the Peronist unions that sought an amnesty for the military. He maintained that the armed forces should be subject to the civilian government and that unions should be regulated. He also proposed an investigation into the actions of the military during the Dirty War. He closed his campaign by reading the preamble of the constitution of Argentina . The last rally was at

3060-622: A political career. Alfonsín bought a local newspaper ( El Imparcial ). He joined the Radical Civic Union (UCR) in 1946, as a member of the Intransigent Renewal Movement, a faction of the party that opposed the incorporation of the UCR into the Democratic Union coalition. He was appointed president of the party committee in Chascomús in 1951 and was elected to the city council in 1954. He was detained for

3213-466: A possible coup. Alfonsín sought to appease the military by raising their budget. As that was not enough, he proposed the full stop law , to set a deadline for Dirty War-related prosecutions. The Congress approved the law, despite strong opposition from the public. Prosecutors rushed to start cases before the deadline, filing 487 charges against 300 officers, with 100 of them still in active service. Major Ernesto Barreiro refused to appear in court and started

SECTION 20

#1732771912728

3366-471: A request by the Ford Administration , to grant $ 50,000,000 in security assistance to the junta. In 1977 and 1978 the United States sold more than $ 120,000,000 in spare military parts to Argentina, and in 1977 the U.S. Department of Defense granted $ 700,000 to train 217 Argentine military officers. In 1978, president Jimmy Carter secured a congressional cutoff of all U.S. arms transfers for

3519-607: A resolution in September 2003 for a Parliamentary Commission to be convened on the "role of France in the support of military regimes in Latin America from 1973 to 1984", to be held before the Foreign Affairs Commission of the National Assembly and presided over by Edouard Balladur . Apart from Le Monde , newspapers remained silent about this request. Deputy Roland Blum , who was in charge of

3672-415: A result, the government could not move forward with its legislative agenda, and the PJ only supported minor projects. The PJ was strengthened for the 1989 presidential elections, and the UCR sought to propose governor Eduardo Angeloz as a candidate. Angeloz was a rival of Alfonsín within the party. Amid rampant inflation, Angeloz was heavily defeated by PJ candidate Carlos Menem in the 1989 election. By

3825-545: A result. A group of UCR supporters drew graffiti that praised Alfonsín manliness and mocked Luder as effeminate; Alfonsín ordered to remove the graffitis as soon as he knew about them. During the campaign, both parties made similar proposals to reduce authoritarianism and the political influence of the military, and to maintain the Argentine claim in the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute . Alfonsín denounced

3978-699: A seven-year military government, Perón returned to Argentina in 1973 after 18 years in exile in Francoist Spain , amid escalating political unrest, divisions in the Peronist movement, and frequent outbreaks of political violence. His return was marked by the 20 June 1973 Ezeiza massacre , after which the right wing of the Peronist movement became dominant. Perón was democratically elected president in 1973, but died in July 1974. His vice president and third wife, Isabel Perón , succeeded him, but she proved to be

4131-493: A tight monetary policy , and ordered salaries frozen (amid 130% inflation). The Central Bank Circular 1050, which tied mortgage rates to the value of the U.S. dollar locally, was maintained, leading to further deepening of the crisis ; GDP fell by 5%, and business investment by 20% over the weakened levels of 1981. Bignone chose Domingo Cavallo to head the Argentine Central Bank . Cavallo inherited

4284-406: A weak, ineffectual ruler. A number of revolutionary organizations—chief among them Montoneros , a group of far-left Peronists—escalated their wave of political violence (including kidnappings and bombings ) against the campaign of harsh repressive and retaliatory measures enforced by the military and the police. In addition, right-wing paramilitary groups entered the cycle of violence, such as

4437-483: Is significant in adopting the theory, originating from genocide scholar Daniel Feierstein, that the targeted victims are significant to the national group, as their destruction fundamentally altered the social fabric of the nation. A major trial, nicknamed "the ESMA mega-trial", of 63 people accused of crimes against humanity ( lesa humanidad ) during the 1976–1983 dictatorship, including those involved in death flights,

4590-452: The Plaza de la República , and was attended by 400,000 people. Opinion polls placed the UCR behind the PJ, but also placed Alfonsín as the most popular politician at the time. The elections were held on 30 October. The Alfonsín–Martínez ticket won with 51.7% of the vote, followed by Luder–Bittel with 40.1%. It was the first time since the rise of Juan Domingo Perón that the Peronist party

4743-701: The Triple A death squad , founded by José López Rega , Perón's Minister of Social Welfare and a member of the P2 masonic lodge . The situation escalated until Mrs. Perón was overthrown. She was replaced on 24 March 1976 by a military junta led by Lieutenant General Jorge Rafael Videla . Official investigations undertaken after the end of the Dirty War by the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons documented 8,961 desaparecidos (victims of forced disappearance ) and other human rights violations, noting that

Pact of Olivos - Misplaced Pages Continue

4896-646: The Constitution of Argentina . For this he would require a supermajority of two thirds of both houses of the Argentine Congress . Although that was a feasible option at the Senate , it was a remote possibility at the Chamber of Deputies . Menem sought creative alternatives for that, such as a legal technicality that the requirement would be two thirds of the legislators present at the Congress during

5049-512: The DINA in Pinochet's Chile and other South American intelligence agencies. Eight South American nations supported endeavours to eradicate left-leaning groups on the continent, known as Operation Condor , a United States-backed campaign of anti-democratic and political repression and state terror. It is estimated to have caused the deaths of more than 60,000 people. SIDE also trained—for example in

5202-582: The Dirty War , a campaign of state terrorism against opponents involving torture , extrajudicial murder and systematic forced disappearances . Public opposition due to civil rights abuses and inability to solve the worsening economic crisis in Argentina caused the junta to invade the Falkland Islands in April 1982. After starting and then losing the Falklands War against the United Kingdom in June,

5355-646: The FMLN from Cuba and Nicaragua. In addition to agreeing to coordinate arms interdiction operations, the Argentine General Directorate of Military Industries (DGFM) supplied El Salvador with light and heavy weapons, ammunition and military spare parts worth U.S.$ 20 million in February 1982. The military junta in Argentina was a prominent source of both material aid and inspiration to

5508-636: The Frepaso when Menem was re-elected. Alfonsín resigned the presidency of the party in that year. The UCR and the Frepaso united as a political coalition, the Alliance for Work, Justice, and Education , led by Alfonsín, Fernando de la Rúa, and Rodolfo Terragno from the UCR, and Carlos Álvarez and Graciela Fernández Meijide from the Frepaso. The coalition won the 1997 legislative elections . Alfonsín did not agree with de la Rúa about

5661-514: The Luna Park , with a success comparable to a United States presidential primary . This new rally convinced Contín, who also ambitioned to be president, that he had no chances fighting against Alfonsín in proper primary elections. Fernando de la Rúa, who would have run in the primary elections against him, declined his candidacy because of Alfonsín's huge popularity. Antonio Trocolli, another precandidate, declined to run as well. Alfonsín

5814-535: The March 1976 coup against the presidency of Isabel Perón , the successor and widow of former President Juan Perón , at a time of growing economic and political instability. Congress was suspended, political parties were banned, civil rights were limited, and free market and deregulation policies were introduced. The President of Argentina and his ministers were appointed from military personnel while Peronists and leftists were persecuted. The junta launched

5967-462: The National Reorganization Process . Alfonsín filed several Habeas corpus motions, requesting the freedom of victims of forced disappearances . The UCR stayed silent over the disappearances, but Alfonsín urged the party to protest the kidnapping of senators Hipólito Yrigoyen (nephew of the former president of the same name) and Mario Anaya. He also visited other countries, denouncing those disappearances and violations of human rights. He established

6120-578: The National University of La Plata , and completed them at the University of Buenos Aires , graduating at the age of 23. He was not a successful lawyer, he was usually absent from his workplace and frequently in debt. He married María Lorenza Barreneche , whom he met in the 1940s at a masquerade ball , in 1949. They moved to Mendoza , La Plata , and returned to Chascomús. They had six sons, of whom only Ricardo Alfonsín would also follow

6273-568: The Pact of Olivos with him. With this agreement, the UCR would support Menem's proposal, but with further amendments that would reduce presidential power. The Council of Magistracy of the Nation reduced the influence of the executive power over the judiciary, the city of Buenos Aires would become an autonomous territory allowed to elect its mayor, and the presidential term of office would be reduced to four years. The presidential elections would include

Pact of Olivos - Misplaced Pages Continue

6426-551: The Quinta de Olivos , the official residence of the president, rather than at the Casa Rosada . The priority of Raúl Alfonsín was to consolidate democracy, incorporate the armed forces into their standard role in a civilian government, and prevent further military coups. Alfonsín first tried to reduce the political power of the military with budget cuts, reductions of military personnel and changing their political tasks. As for

6579-728: The School of the Americas , was commander of a branch of the Honduran security forces known as the Fuerza de Seguridad Publica (FUSEP). Álvarez Martínez was a proponent of the "Argentine Method", viewing it as an effective tool against subversion in the hemisphere, and sought increased Argentine military influence in Honduras. Argentina's military program in Honduras expanded after 1981 when General Gustavo Álvarez Martínez, offered his country to

6732-463: The fixed exchange rate used by then. He thought that it had been a good measure in the past but had become detrimental to the Argentine economy, while de la Rúa supported it. Alfonsín suffered a car crash in the Río Negro province in 1999, during the campaign for governor Pablo Verani . They were on Route 6, and he was ejected from the car because he was not wearing a seat belt. He

6885-415: The foreign debt increased fourfold, and disparities between the upper and lower classes became much more pronounced. The period ended in a tenfold devaluation and one of the worst financial crises in Argentine history. Viola appointed Lorenzo Sigaut as Finance Minister, and it became clear that Sigaut was looking for ways to reverse some of Martínez de Hoz's policies. Notably, Sigaut abandoned

7038-582: The full stop law and the law of Due Obedience . He also had conflicts with the unions, which were controlled by the opposing Justicialist Party . He resolved the Beagle conflict , increased trade with Brazil , and proposed the creation of the Contadora support group to mediate between the United States and Nicaragua . He passed the first divorce law of Argentina. He initiated the Austral plan to improve

7191-508: The two-round system , and the electoral college would be abolished. Alfonsín was elected to the constituent assembly that worked for the 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution . A faction of the UCR, led by Fernando de la Rúa, opposed the pact, but the party as a whole supported Alfonsín. The UCR got only 19% of the vote in the elections, attaining a third position in the 1995 presidential elections behind

7344-455: The 7-years National Reorganization Process . Ideologically, he identified as a radical and a social democrat , serving as the leader of the Radical Civic Union from 1983 to 1991, 1993 to 1995, 1999 to 2001, with his political approach being known as "Alfonsinism". Born in Chascomús , Buenos Aires Province , Alfonsín began his studies of law at the National University of La Plata and

7497-538: The Argentine Constitution . Fernando de la Rúa led a faction of the UCR that opposed the pact, and eventually became president in 1999. Following de la Rúa's resignation during the December 2001 riots , Alfonsín's faction provided the support needed for the Peronist Eduardo Duhalde to be appointed president by the Congress. He died of lung cancer on 31 March 2009, at the age of 82, and was given

7650-435: The Argentine court sentenced him to life in prison. On March 25, 2013, Federal Criminal Oral Court No. 1 of La Plata rendered decision on a public trial for crimes committed during the civilian-military dictatorship in Argentina (1976–1983) in the network of clandestine detention, torture and extermination centers ("clandestine centers") known as the "Camps Circuit". By conventional view, genocide requires intention to destroy

7803-479: The Argentine military; the two purportedly agreed that Argentina would oversee the contras and the United States would provide money and weapons. In late-1981, President Reagan authorized the U.S. to support the contras by giving them money, arms, and equipment. This aid was transported and distributed to the Contras by way of Argentina. With new weapons and logistical support, the scale of Contra attacks increased and

SECTION 50

#1732771912728

7956-643: The Atlantic Ocean during the junta years. He was convicted in Spain in 2005 of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 640 years in prison. The sentence was later raised to 1084 years. Christian von Wernich , a Catholic priest and former chaplain of the Buenos Aires Province Police , was arrested in 2003 on accusations of torture of political prisoners in illegal detention centers. He was convicted at trial, and on 9 October 2007,

8109-587: The Beagle dispute and his work to reestablish democracy in Argentina. He was named "Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires Province" in 2008, and " Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires " in 2009. The latter award was granted posthumously and received by his son Ricardo Alfonsín , ambassador to Spain. National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: Proceso de Reorganización Nacional , often simply el Proceso , "the Process")

8262-411: The CGT. His lack of political ties allowed him to work as a mediator between the union factions. Carlos Alderete led a faction closer to Alfonsín, named "the 15" unions. The government sought to deepen the internal divisions between the unions by appointing Alderete as minister of labor and promoting legislation to benefit his faction. He was removed after the defeat in the 1987 midterm elections, but

8415-415: The CIA and the Argentine military as a base for conducting operations opposing the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. By the end of 1981, 150 Argentine military advisors were active in Honduras training members of the Honduran security forces and providing training to the Nicaraguan Contras based in Honduras. According to the NGO Equipo Nizkor , though the Argentine mission in Honduras was downgraded after

8568-415: The CONADEP revealed the wide scope of the crimes committed during the Dirty War, and how the Supreme Council of the military had supported the military's actions against the guerrillas. As a result, Alfonsín sponsored the Trial of the Juntas , in which, for the first time, the leaders of a military coup in Argentina were on trial. The first hearings began at the Supreme Court in April 1985 and lasted for

8721-468: The Central Bank, although he stopped short of reinstating the hated "1050." Six years of intermittent wage freezes had left real wages close to 40% lower than during Perón's tenure, leading to growing labor unrest. Bignone's decision to restore limited rights of speech and right to assembly , including the right to strike , led to increased strike activity. Saúl Ubaldini , leader of the General Confederation of Labour , Argentina's largest labor union,

8874-417: The Chamber of Deputies, though they encountered strong opposition in the Senate. The government suffered a big setback in the 1987 legislative election . The UCR lost the majority in the chamber of deputies. All provinces elected Peronist governors, except for Córdoba and Río Negro. Along with the city of Buenos Aires (a federal district at the time), they were the only districts where the UCR prevailed. As

9027-466: The Dirty War was legally sanctioned, and considered the prosecutions to be unjustified. Alfonsín also established the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP), composed of several well-known personalities, to document cases of forced disappearances, human rights violations and abduction of children. Alfonsín sent a military code bill to Congress so that the military would use it. In its " Nunca más " report ( Spanish : Never again ),

9180-400: The Falklands War, Argentine officers remained active in Honduras until 1984, some of them until 1986, well after the 1983 election of Raúl Alfonsín . Battalion 316 's name indicated the unit's service to three military units and sixteen battalions of the Honduran army. This unit was charged with the task of carrying out political assassinations and torture of suspected political opponents of

9333-437: The Falklands conflict. Initially, Alfonsín refused to foster diplomatic relations with the Brazilian military government , and only did so when the dictatorship ended and José Sarney became president. One of their initial concerns was to increase Argentine–Brazilian trade. Both presidents met in Foz do Iguaçu and issued a joint declaration about the peaceful use of nuclear power. A second meeting in Buenos Aires strengthened

SECTION 60

#1732771912728

9486-457: The General San Martín Military Lyceum. Although his father disliked the military, he thought that a military high school would have a similar quality to a private school without being as expensive. Alfonsín disliked the military as well, but this education helped him to understand the military mindset. He graduated after five years as a second lieutenant. He did not pursue a military career and began studying law instead. He began his studies at

9639-645: The Guatemalan government and the Argentine military junta formalized secret accords which augmented Argentine participation in government counterinsurgency operations. As part of the agreement, two-hundred Guatemalan officers were dispatched to Buenos Aires to undergo advanced military intelligence training, which included instruction in interrogation. In 2003, French journalist Marie-Monique Robin documented that Valéry Giscard d'Estaing 's government secretly collaborated with Videla's junta in Argentina and with Augusto Pinochet 's regime in Chile . Green deputies Noël Mamère , Martine Billard and Yves Cochet passed

9792-439: The Guatemalan military during the Guatemalan Civil War , especially during the final two years of the Lucas government. Argentina's involvement had initially began in 1980, when the Videla regime dispatched army and naval officers to Guatemala, under contract from President Fernando Romeo Lucas García , to assist the security forces in counterinsurgency operations. Argentine involvement in Guatemala expanded when, in October 1981,

9945-438: The Honduran Lepaterique base—the Nicaraguan Contras who were fighting the Sandinista government there. The regime shut down the legislature and restricted both freedom of the press and freedom of speech , adopting severe media censorship. The 1978 World Cup , which Argentina hosted and won, was used as propaganda to rally its people under a nationalist pretense. Corruption, a failing economy, growing public awareness of

10098-467: The IMF denied further credits. Grinspun was succeeded by Juan Vital Sourrouille , who designed the Austral plan in 1985. This plan froze prices and wages, stopped the printing of money, arranged spending cuts, and established a new currency, the Austral , worth 1 United States dollar . The plan was a success in the short term and choked inflation. However, most of the initial popularity of Alfonsín had declined by this point, and could not persuade many of

10251-422: The IMF refused to extend credits to Argentina. Big exporters refused to sell dollars to the Central Bank, which depleted its reserves. The austral was devaluated in February 1989, and the high inflation turned into hyperinflation . The US Dollar was worth 14 Australes by the beginning of 1989, and 17000 by May. The 1989 presidential elections took place during this crisis, and the Justicialist Carlos Menem became

10404-408: The Movement for Renewal and Change within the UCR, to challenge Balbín's leadership of the party. The military dictatorship finally called for free elections, allowing Peronism (which had been banned since 1955) to take part in them. Balbín defeated Alfonsín in the primary elections but lost in the main ones. Alfonsín was elected deputy once more. Illia was invited in 1975 to a diplomatic mission to

10557-428: The National Guard, in addition to similar services being provided by the United States. According to an Argentine advisor with the Nicaraguan National Guard, the intelligence techniques used by the Somoza regime consisted of essentially the same "unconventional" methods which had been used in Argentina's Dirty War (torture, forced disappearance, extrajudicial killings). Argentina's aid programs increased proportionate to

10710-401: The Nicaraguan Contras , particularly at Lepaterique base alongside some members of the Honduran security forces. In August 1981, a CIA official met with Honduran military staff, Argentine military and intelligence advisors, and the Contra leadership and expressed his support for the contra operations. On November 1, 1981, the Director of the CIA William Casey met with the Chief of Staff of

10863-435: The Pact of Olivos. Luna considers that it was a necessary evil to prevent the chaos that would have been generated if Menem managed to proceed with the constitutional amendment without negotiating with the UCR. De Marco and Rocchi instead believe that it was the biggest mistake of Alfonsín's political career. Alfonsín received the 1985 Princess of Asturias Award for international cooperation because of both his role in ending

11016-607: The Soviet Union; he declined and proposed Alfonsín instead. Upon his return, Alfonsín became one of the founding members of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights . He served as the defense lawyer for Mario Roberto Santucho , leader of the ERP guerrillas, but only to carry out due process of law, and not because of a genuine desire to support him. The 1976 Argentine coup d'état against President Isabel Perón started

11169-531: The UCRI the following year, leading to the presidency of Arturo Umberto Illia . Alfonsín was elected a national deputy, and then vice president of the UCRP bloc in the congress. In 1963 he was appointed president of the party committee for the province of Buenos Aires. Still in his formative years, Alfonsín was still in low political offices and held no noteworthy role in the administrations of Frondizi and Illia. Illia

11322-674: The United Kingdom in the Falkland Wars . The re-establishment of diplomatic ties allowed for CIA collaboration with the Argentine intelligence service in arming and training the Nicaraguan Contras against the Sandinista government. Argentina also provided security advisors, intelligence training and some material support to forces in Guatemala , El Salvador and Honduras to suppress local rebel groups as part of

11475-459: The United States had established itself as the principal supplier of weapons to the Salvadoran security forces. According to secret documents from the Argentine military, the purpose of this aid was to strengthen inter-military relations between Argentina and El Salvador and "contribute to hardening [El Salvador's] position in the widening struggle against subversion, alongside other countries in

11628-552: The abolition of religious education . In line with the teachings of Pope John Paul II , the Church criticized what it perceived as an increase in drugs, terrorism, abortion, and pornography. Alfonsín also intended to decriminalize abortion but dropped the idea to prevent further clashes with the Church. Argentina had a tense relationship with the United Kingdom due to the recently concluded Falklands War. The British government had temporarily prohibited all foreign ships from entering

11781-673: The administration, and the mothers were generally killed. Thousands of detainees were drugged, loaded into aircraft, stripped naked and then thrown into the Rio de la Plata or the Atlantic Ocean to drown in what became known as " death flights ". The film The Official Story (1984), which won the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film category in 1985, addresses this situation. The Argentine secret service SIDE (Secretaría de Inteligencia del Estado) also cooperated with

11934-502: The benefits of austerity for the long-term improvement of the economy. Inflation rose again by the end of the year, the CGT opposed the wage freeze, and the business community opposed the price freeze. Alfonsín thought that the privatization of some state assets and deregulation of the economy might work, but those proposals were opposed by both the PJ and his own party. The Austral plan was also undermined by populist economic policies held by

12087-455: The commission, refused to let Marie-Monique Robin testify. In December 2003, his staff published a 12-page document that said no agreement had been signed between France and Argentina about military forces. But, Marie-Monique Robin had sent them a copy of the document she found showing such an agreement. When Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin traveled to Chile in February 2004, he claimed that no cooperation between France and

12240-471: The conflict between the United States and Nicaragua . They created the Contadora support group , to support the Contadora group from South America. Both groups negotiated together but ultimately failed because of the reluctance of both Nicaragua and the United States to change their positions. The group changed its scope later to discuss foreign debt and diplomacy with the United Kingdom concerning

12393-424: The correct number must be higher. Many cases were never reported, when whole families disappeared, and the military destroyed many of its records months before the return of democracy. Among the "disappeared" were pregnant women, who were kept alive until giving birth under often primitive circumstances in the secret prisons. The infants were generally illegally adopted by military or political families affiliated with

12546-756: The country in the previous decade returned, which benefited the universities. The University of Buenos Aires returned to the quality levels that it had in the 1960s. Many intellectuals became involved in politics as well, providing a cultural perspective to the political discourse. Both Alfonsín and the Peronist Antonio Cafiero benefited. Divorce was legalized by a law passed in 1987. The church opposed it, but it had huge popular support that included even Catholic factions, who reasoned that marital separation already existed, and divorce simply made it explicit. The church opposed Alfonsín after that point. The church successfully exerted pressure to prevent

12699-399: The country would receive the needed foreign investment. The country had a deficit of $ 6.7 billion. Possible solutions such as a devaluation of the currency, privatization of industry, or restrictions on imports, would probably have proven to be unpopular. Initially, the government did not take any strong action to tackle the economic problems. Bernardo Grinspun , the first minister of

12852-427: The creation of a panel entrusted to plan a transfer of the nation's capital to Viedma , a small coastal city 800 km (500 mi) south of Buenos Aires. This proposal was never implemented, as it was too expensive because Viedma lacked the required urban infrastructure. His proposals boldly called for constitutional amendments creating a Parliamentary system , including a prime minister , and were well received by

13005-474: The creation of a special budget for the province of Buenos Aires , led by governor Eduardo Duhalde . The radical legislator Leopoldo Moreau supported the new budget even more vehemently than the Peronists. Both parties had an informal alliance in the province. Alfonsín also supported the amendment to the constitution of Buenos Aires that allowed Duhalde to run for re-election. President Carlos Menem sought

13158-529: The crimes committed during the Dirty War, Alfonsín was willing to respect the command responsibility and accept the " superior orders " defense for the military of lower ranks, as long as the Junta leaders were sentenced under military justice . This project was resisted by human rights organizations such as Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and public opinion, as it was expected that the defendants would be acquitted or receive low sentences. The military considered that

13311-474: The early 2000s. Almost all of the surviving junta members are currently serving sentences for crimes against humanity and genocide . Scholars generally characterize the regime as characteristic of neo-fascism . The military of Argentina has always been highly influential in Argentine politics , and Argentine history is laced with frequent and prolonged intervals of military rule. The popular Argentine leader Juan Perón , three-time President of Argentina,

13464-528: The economy, arranged an increase in wages, reaching the levels of 1975. This caused inflation to reach 32%. He also tried to negotiate more favorable terms on the country's foreign debt, but the negotiations failed. Risking a default, he negotiated with the IMF, which requested spending cuts. International credits prevented default at the end of 1984, but he resigned in March 1985 when the debt reached $ 1  billion and

13617-442: The economy. He appointed Aldo Neri minister of health, Dante Caputo minister of foreign relations, Antonio Tróccoli minister of interior affairs, Roque Carranza minister of public works, Carlos Alconada Aramburu minister of education, and Raúl Borrás minister of defense. Juan Carlos Pugliese led the chamber of deputies, and Edison Otero was the provisional president of the senate. Many presidential negotiations took place at

13770-513: The election of U.S. President Ronald Reagan , the Argentine government sought arrangements for the Argentine military to organize and train the contras in Honduras in collaboration with the Honduran government and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency . Shortly thereafter, Argentina oversaw the relocation of Contra bases from Guatemala to Honduras. There, some Argentine Special force units, such as Batallón de Inteligencia 601 , began to train

13923-480: The elections, which were called for October 1983. The Movement for Renewal and Change organized the first political event in a stadium in the Buenos Aires suburbs. As Balbín had died in 1981, the UCR had no strong leadership at the time. Alfonsín disputed the leadership of the UCR with Carlos Contín , but was unable to pass though the complex internal regulations of the party. He made a new political rally at

14076-536: The exclusion zone of the islands in 1986. Argentina organized air and marine patrols, as well as military maneuvers in Patagonia. However, this was not enough to placate the military hard-liners in Argentina. Alfonsín proposed the postponement of the sovereignty discussions, instead negotiating for a de jure cease of hostilities, with a reduction in the number of military forces and normalization of Argentina–United Kingdom relations . The United Kingdom did not trust

14229-477: The extradition of guerrilla leaders who were living abroad. Most of the first cabinet, organized in Chascomús, was composed of trusted colleagues of Alfonsín. Alfonsín appointed as minister of labor Antonio Mucci , who belonged to a faction of the UCR that sought to reduce the influence of Peronism among labor unions, and promptly sent a bill to Congress designed to promote independent unions. Facing an economic crisis, he appointed Bernardo Grinspun as minister of

14382-421: The gesture of shaking hands. His campaign used a non-confrontational approach, in stark contrast with the Peronist candidate for the governorship of the Buenos Aires province, Herminio Iglesias . Iglesias burned a coffin with the seals of the UCR on live television, which generated a political scandal. Both Iglesias and Ítalo Luder , the Peronist candidate for the presidency, saw a decrease in their public image as

14535-426: The government stayed on good terms with his faction. Alfonsín kept a regulation from the dictatorship that allowed him to regulate the level of wages. He authorized wage increases every three months, to keep them up to the inflation rate. The CGT rejected this, and proposed instead that wages be determined by free negotiations. Alfonsín allowed strike actions , which were forbidden during the dictatorship, which gave

14688-607: The government, effectively implementing the "Argentine Method" in Honduras. At least 184 suspected government opponents including teachers, politicians, and union bosses were assassinated by Battalion 316 during the 1980s. Argentina played a role in supporting the Salvadoran government during the El Salvador Civil War . As early as 1979, the National Reorganization Process supported the Salvadoran government militarily with intelligence training, weapons and counterinsurgency advisors. This support continued until well after

14841-477: The government. With the support of the World Bank , the government tried new measures in 1987, including an increase in taxes, privatizations, and a decrease in government spending. Those measures could not be enforced; the government had lost the 1987 midterm elections, "the 15" unions that had earlier supported the government distanced themselves from it, and the business community was unable to suggest

14994-453: The growth of the popular movement against the Somoza regime and the degree of isolation of the Somoza regime. Following the suspension of U.S. military aid and training in 1979, Argentina became one of the Somoza regime's principal sources of arms alongside Israel, Brazil and South Africa. In addition to providing arms and training to Somoza's National Guard, the Argentine junta also executed

15147-474: The harsh repressive measures taken by the regime, and the military defeat in the Falklands War eroded the regime's image. The last de facto president, Reynaldo Bignone , was forced to call for elections by the lack of support within the Army and the steadily growing pressure of public opinion. On 30 October 1983, elections were held, and democracy was formally restored on 10 December, when President Raúl Alfonsín

15300-401: The human rights violations. American-Argentine relations improved dramatically with Ronald Reagan , which asserted that the previous Carter Administration had weakened U.S. diplomatic relationships with Cold War allies in Argentina, and reversed the previous administration's official condemnation of the junta's human rights practices. However, relations soured after the U.S. supported

15453-465: The invasion of the islands, which he considered an inevitable logistic and diplomatic failure, being one of the few politicians who opposed the war from the start. He proposed an emergency government headed by Illia, with ministers from all political parties, who would call for a ceasefire with the British and call for elections. He reasoned that the British would be magnanimous in victory if negotiating

15606-421: The junta began to collapse and finally relinquished power in 1983 with the election of President Raúl Alfonsín . Members of the National Reorganization Process were prosecuted in the Trial of the Juntas in 1985, receiving sentences ranging from life imprisonment to courts-martial for mishandling the Falklands War. They were pardoned by President Carlos Menem in 1989 but were re-arrested on new charges in

15759-542: The labor unions, the most powerful ones in all of Latin America. The biggest one was the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Alfonsín sought to reduce the Peronist influence over the unions, fearing that they may become a destabilizing force for the fledgling democracy. He rejected their custom of holding single-candidate internal elections, and deemed them totalitarian and not genuine representatives of

15912-400: The magazine Propuesta y control in 1976, one of the few magazines that criticized the military dictatorship during its early stages. The magazine was published up to 1978. His editorials were collected in 1980 in the book La cuestión argentina . Alfonsín expressed opposition to the 1982 Falklands War , criticizing the deployment of troops by both sides during the conflict. He rejected

16065-471: The members of the Supreme Court of Argentina , mayor Mauricio Macri , governor Daniel Scioli , the president of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez and several other politicians. The coffin was moved to La Recoleta Cemetery . He was placed next to the graves of other important historical figures of the UCR, such as Leandro N. Alem , Hipólito Yrigoyen and Arturo Illia . At the international level, Perú set

16218-488: The military and the Justicialist party, who called for abstention , support for the resolution referendum reached 82%. The bill passed in the Senate by a single vote majority, as the PJ maintained its resistance. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina was signed the following year, ending the conflict. The human rights violations committed by the Chilean president Augusto Pinochet remained

16371-416: The military lifted the ban on political activities on the promise to hold elections. This was a calculated move to make the politicians focus on internal infighting, instead of blaming the military for the defeat. The plan did not work as intended, as the political parties united in a ad hoc coalition, the "Multipartidaria", that rejected the military attempt to control the new government and asked to speed up

16524-535: The military regimes had occurred. Despite the officially anti-Communist leanings of Videla's junta in the context of the Cold War, the regime maintained extensive trade and diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón unsuccessfully attempted to question former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as a witness in his investigations into the Argentine disappearances during one of Kissinger's visits to Britain, and Peter Tatchell

16677-582: The military with the civil population failed, as the latter rejected the military's complaints, and the military was focused on internal issues. The Movimiento Todos por la Patria , a small guerrilla army led by Enrique Gorriarán Merlo , staged the attack on the Regiment of La Tablada in 1989. The army killed many of its members and quickly defeated the uprising. During his tenure, Alfonsin clashed with labor unions in Argentina over economic reforms and trade liberalization policies. Peronism still controlled

16830-712: The military: Mario Firmenich was captured in Brazil in 1984 and extradited to Argentina. José López Rega was extradited from Miami in 1986, because of his links with the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance . The military was supported by the families of the victims of subversion, a group created to counter the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. This group placed the blame for the Dirty War on the guerrillas but had few followers. The trials were followed by bomb attacks and rumors of military protests and even

16983-460: The national economy, but that plan, as well as the Spring plan , failed. The resulting hyperinflation and riots led to his party's defeat in the 1989 presidential elections , which was won by Peronist Carlos Menem . Alfonsín continued as the leader of the UCR and opposed the presidency of Carlos Menem. He initiated the Pact of Olivos with Menem to negotiate the terms for the 1994 amendment of

17136-515: The new government for at least two years. This proposal implicitly intended to remove Bignone and appoint a figure akin to the late Juan Perón, but it did not get support either because the current context did not provide any such figure that would have both support from the military and from the population. Antonio Trocolli, former leader of the Radical Congress, rejected both proposals as impracticable. The Falklands Wars were lost, and

17289-491: The new president. The actions taken against the military contributed to a strong showing by the UCR in the November 1985 legislative elections . They gained one seat in the Chamber of Deputies , the lower house of Congress, which meant control of 130 of the 254 seats. The Justicialists lost eight seats (leaving 103) and smaller, provincial parties made up the difference. Alfonsín surprised observers in April 1986 by announcing

17442-403: The new president. He also gave him two ministers, Horacio Jaunarena for Defense and Jorge Vanossi for Justice. The radical support helped Duhalde overcome the ambitions of Carlos Ruckauf and José Manuel de la Sota , who also had ambitions to be appointed president. Alfonsín's health problems later in the year led him to step down, to be replaced by Diana Conti . In 2006, Alfonsín supported

17595-463: The next party; instead of only a senator for the victor. The judges would be controlled by the Council of Magistracy of the Nation , a body that would include members of the opposition. The capital city of Buenos Aires , a federal district with a mayor appointed by the president, would become an autonomous administrative division with its own elected mayor; as a traditional anti-Peronist district it

17748-739: The objective of capturing exiled squadrons from the ERP and the Montoneros . Following the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle by the Sandinista Front , Argentina played a central role in the formation of the Contras . Shortly after the Sandinista victory in July 1979, agents from Argentine intelligence began to organize exiled members of Somoza's National Guard residing in Guatemala into an anti-Sandinista insurgency. Following

17901-435: The pact were approved, and Menem ran and won the re-election in the 1995 presidential election . Ra%C3%BAl Alfons%C3%ADn Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín ( Spanish pronunciation: [raˈul alfonˈsin] ; 12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after

18054-522: The personal friendship of David Rockefeller , who facilitated Chase Manhattan Bank and International Monetary Fund loans of nearly US$ 1 billion after of his arrival. He eliminated all price controls and the exchange controls regime. The black market and shortages disappeared. He freed exports (removed existing prohibitions and quotas and export taxes were repealed) and imports (removed existing prohibitions, quotas, and licenses and gradually reduced import tariffs). During his tenure,

18207-497: The political clout of the presidentialist system. Menem also agreed to include a ballotage system, but with complex conditions. Both parties gave their blessing to the pact. Congress approved it on December 29, 1993, and the executive power promulgated it the same day. This called for elections the following years, for members of the constituent assembly for the 1994 amendment of the Constitution of Argentina . The contents of

18360-405: The previous decade, the national economy had contracted by 15%. The foreign debt was nearly 43  billion dollars by the end of the year, and the country had narrowly prevented a sovereign default in 1982. During that year, the gross domestic product fell by 5.6%, and the manufacturing profits by 55%. Unemployment was at nearly 10%, and inflation was nearly 209%. It also appeared unlikely that

18513-421: The proposal, suspecting that it was a cover-up for sovereignty discussions. The Beagle conflict was still an unresolved problem with Chile, despite the 1978 Papal mediation . The military, troubled by the trial of the juntas, called for rejection of the proposed agreement and a continuation of the country's claim over the islands. Alfonsín called for a referendum to settle the dispute. Despite opposition from

18666-407: The radical legislators to support the amendment, and allow the presidential re-election for a single period. In exchange, the PJ agreed on a number of proposals by Alfonsín, to reduce the political clout of the president and the ruling political party. The presidential term of office was reduced to four years. The senate would be composed by two senators for the victor party at each province and one for

18819-543: The ranks of the Contras swelled as recruitment became more feasible. By the end of 1982, the Contras were conducting attacks deeper inside Nicaragua than before. In the immediate aftermath of the Nicaraguan Revolution in 1979, the National Reorganization Process dispatched a large Argentine military mission to Honduras. At the time, General Gustavo Álvarez Martínez , a former student of Argentina's Colegio Militar de la Nación (class of 1961) and graduate of

18972-602: The rebels and secured their surrender. He announced the end of the crisis from the balcony of the Casa Rosada. The mutineers eventually surrendered, but the government proceeded with the Law of Due Obedience to regulate the trials. However, the timing of both events was exploited by the military, and the opposition parties described the outcome as a surrender by Alfonsín. Aldo Rico escaped from prison in January 1988 and started

19125-409: The region." In fall of 1981, the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan requested that the high command of the Argentine military increase its assistance to El Salvador. The Argentine government ratified an agreement by which U.S. intelligence would provide the Argentine government with intelligence and logistics support for an arms interdiction program to stem the flow of military supplies to

19278-485: The remainder of the year. In December, the tribunal handed down life sentences for Jorge Videla and former Navy Chief Emilio Massera , as well as 17-year sentences for Roberto Eduardo Viola . President Leopoldo Galtieri was acquitted of charges related to the repression, but he was court-martialed in May 1986 for malfeasance during the Falklands War. Ramón Camps received a 25-year sentence. The trials did not focus only on

19431-547: The right-wing military dictatorship and the civil governments, preferring instead a left-wing dictatorship aligned with the Soviet Union, as in the Cuban Revolution . Alfonsín clarified in his articles that he rejected both the military dictatorship and the guerrillas, asking instead for free elections. The UCRP became the UCR once more, and the UCRI was turned into the Intransigent Party . Alfonsín created

19584-435: The role of Raúl Alfonsín in the aftermath of the Dirty War and the restoration of democracy. Luna also considers that Alfonsín was an effective president and that he set an example of not using the state for personal profit. De Marco points out that it was a delicate time, and any mistake could have endangered the newly founded democracy and led to another coup. The aforementioned historians do not agree, though, on their view of

19737-439: The session instead of two thirds of the complete body (and thus exploit circumstances where opposing legislators may be absent). Radical governors such as Carlos Maestro and Horacio Massaccesi commented that they would not oppose an amendment approved that way. Political agents of Menem and Alfonsín met in secret and negotiated some points. Both leaders met personally in secret, on November 4, 1993. Alfonsín accepted to instruct

19890-549: The sliding exchange rate mechanism and devalued the peso , after boasting that "they who gamble on the dollar will lose". Argentines braced for a recession after the excesses of the "sweet money" years, which destabilized Viola's position. He appointed conservative economist and publisher Roberto Alemann as Economy Minister . Alemann inherited an economy in deep recession in the aftermath of Martínez de Hoz's policies. Alemann slashed spending , began selling off government-owned industries (with only minor success), enacted

20043-414: The split but opted to follow the UCRP. Alfonsín was elected deputy for the legislature of the Buenos Aires province in 1958, on the UCRP ticket, and was reelected in 1962. He moved to La Plata, the capital of the province, during his tenure. President Frondizi was ousted by a military coup on 29 March 1962, which also closed the provincial legislature. Alfonsín returned to Chascomús. The UCRP prevailed over

20196-437: The support of the non-unionized retirees, the church and left-wing factions. Popular support for the government allowed it to endure despite opposition from the unions. With the end of the military dictatorship, Alfonsín pursued cultural and educational policies aimed at reducing the authoritarian customs of several institutions and groups. He also promoted freedom of the press . Several intellectuals and scientists who had left

20349-565: The trade agreements. Argentina and Brazil signed the Program of Integration and Economic Cooperation (PICE), and in 1988 both countries and Uruguay agreed to create a common market . This led to the 1991 Treaty of Asunción , that created the Mercosur . Alfonsín was the first Argentine head of state to give an official visit to the USSR. Alfonsín began his term with many economic problems. In

20502-400: The transition with a civilian government, that all Argentine parties would be involved with such negotiations, and provide greater guarantees. The proposal did not get enough support, as Peronist Deolindo Bittel proposed another post-war scenario: electing a prime minister selected by a committee of generals and politicians. In this scenario, the military would keep a veto power and would guide

20655-414: The unions another way to expand their influence. There were thirteen general strikes and thousands of minor labor conflicts. However, unlike similar situations in the past, the CGT sided with Alfonsín during the military rebellions, and did not support the removal of a non-Peronist president. The conflicts were caused by high inflation, and the unions requested higher wages in response to it. The unions got

20808-428: The winter of 1989, the inflation had grown so severe that Alfonsín transferred power to Menem on 8 July, five months earlier than scheduled. Alfonsín stayed on as president of the UCR, leaving after the party's defeat in the 1991 legislative elections . Suffering damage to its image because of the hyperinflation of 1989, the UCR lost in several districts. Alfonsín became president of the party again in 1993. He supported

20961-460: The workforce. He proposed to change the laws for those internal elections, remove the union leaders appointed during the dictatorship, and elect new ones under the new laws. The CGT rejected the proposal as interventionist, and prompted Peronist politicians to vote against it. The law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies but failed to pass in the Senate by one vote. A second bill proposed simply

21114-502: Was a colonel in the army who first came to political power in the aftermath of a 1943 military coup . He advocated a new policy dubbed Justicialism , a nationalist policy that he claimed was a " Third Position ", an alternative to both capitalism and communism. After being reelected president by popular vote, Perón was deposed and exiled by the Revolución Libertadora in 1955. After a series of weak governments and

21267-432: Was a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires . He was affiliated with the Radical Civic Union (UCR), joining the faction of Ricardo Balbín after the party split. He was elected a deputy in the legislature of the Buenos Aires province in 1958, during the presidency of Arturo Frondizi , and a national deputy during the presidency of Arturo Umberto Illia . He opposed both sides of the Dirty War , and several times filed

21420-494: Was attended by Isabel Perón. Despite internal recriminations for the defeat, the Peronist party agreed to support Alfonsín as president, to prevent a return of the military. There were still factions in the military ambitious to keep an authoritarian government, and groups such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo seeking reparations for the actions of the military during the Dirty War. Three days after taking office, Alfonsín sent

21573-552: Was defeated in elections without electoral fraud or proscription . The UCR won 128 seats in the Assembly, forming a majority; and 18 seats in the Senate, constituting a minority. 18 provinces elected radical governors and 17 elected governors from either the Justicialist or local parties. Alfonsín took office on 10 December and gave a speech from the Buenos Aires Cabildo . The presidential inauguration of Alfonsín

21726-711: Was deposed by a new military coup in June 1966, the Argentine Revolution . Alfonsín was detained while trying to hold a political rally in La Plata, and a second time when he tried to re-open the UCRP committee. He was forced to resign as a deputy in November 1966. He was detained a third time in 1968 after a political rally in La Plata. He also wrote opinion articles in newspapers, under the pseudonyms Alfonso Carrido Lura and Serafín Feijó. The Dirty War began during this time, as many guerrilla groups rejected both

21879-540: Was expected that such a mayor would be radical. Menem, however, did not accept a turn into a semi-presidential system or even into a parliamentary republic , as proposed by Alfonsín. The proposed prime minister office was demoted into the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers , a minister with higher political clout than the others, but still less than that of a prime minister. As a populist leader, Menem refused to give up

22032-468: Was highly controversial. He said the pardons were part of healing the country. The Argentine Supreme Court declared amnesty laws unconstitutional in 2005. As a result, the government resumed trials against military officers who had been indicted for actions during the Dirty War. Adolfo Scilingo , an Argentine naval officer during the junta, was tried for his role in jettisoning drugged and naked political dissidents from military aircraft to their deaths in

22185-525: Was honored by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner with a bust of his likeness at the Casa Rosada on 1 October 2008. This was his last public appearance. Alfonsín died at home on 31 March 2009, at the age of 82, after being diagnosed a year before with lung cancer . The streets around his house at the Santa Fe avenue were filled with hundreds of people, who started a candlelight vigil . The radical Julio Cobos , Fernández de Kirchner's vice president,

22338-475: Was hospitalized for 39 days. De la Rúa became president in the 1999 elections, defeating the governor of Buenos Aires, Eduardo Duhalde. Alfonsín was elected Senator for Buenos Aires Province in October 2001. De la Rúa resigned during the December 2001 riots , and the Congress appointed Adolfo Rodríguez Saá , who resigned as well. Alfonsín instructed the Radical legislators to support Duhalde as

22491-463: Was particularly active. The new Economy Minister, Jorge Wehbe , a banking executive with previous experience in the post, reluctantly granted two large, mandatory wage increases in late 1982. The United States provided military assistance to the junta and, at the start of the Dirty War , Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave them a "green light" to engage in political repression of real or perceived opponents. The U.S. Congress approved

22644-469: Was reaching its close in July 2015. 830 witnesses and 789 victims were heard. There had been two previous trials after the Supreme Court struck down an amnesty the military dictatorship had granted its members; in the first the one accused committed suicide before a verdict was reached; in a 2009 trial twelve defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment. In December 2018, two former executives of

22797-466: Was sworn in. As Argentina's new de facto president, Videla faced a collapsing economy wracked by soaring inflation . He largely left economic policies in the hands of Minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz , who adopted a free trade and deregulatory economic policy. Martínez de Hoz took measures to restore economic growth , reversing Peronism in favour of a free market economy . His economic measures were moderately successful. He enjoyed

22950-467: Was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as the última junta militar ("last military junta "), última dictadura militar ("last military dictatorship ") or última dictadura cívico-militar ("last civil–military dictatorship"), because there have been several in the country's history and no others since it ended. The Argentine Armed Forces seized political power during

23103-493: Was the acting president at the moment and ordered three days of national mourning. There was a ceremony in the Congress, where his body was displayed in the Blue Hall, that was attended by almost a thousand people. His widow María Lorenza Barreneche could not attend the funeral, because of her own poor health. It was attended by former presidents Carlos Menem, Fernando de la Rúa, Eduardo Duhalde and Néstor Kirchner, all

23256-447: Was then appointed candidate of the UCR for the 1983 general elections , with Víctor Martínez as the candidate for the vice-presidency. The UCR proposed Alfonsín to run with De la Rúa as the candidate for the vice-presidency, to secure the conservative votes, but Alfonsín was confident to win the elections without help. The publicity was managed by David Ratto, who created the slogan "Ahora Alfonsín" ( Spanish : "Now Alfonsín" ), and

23409-542: Was unable to have Kissinger arrested during the same visit for alleged war crimes under the Geneva Conventions Act . Following a decree of President Alfonsín mandating prosecution of the leaders of the Proceso for acts committed during their tenure, they were tried and convicted in 1985 ( Juicio a las Juntas ). In 1989, President Carlos Menem pardoned them during his first year in office, which

#727272