Contextual Discussion of Argentine Revolution - Essay Example

Argentine Revolution Name Institution Course Instructor Date Argentine Revolution Introduction The early 1970s and late 1980s marked a historical ‘third wave’ of revolution in South America. Democratization is a collective term that scholars use to depict the events that unfolded at that time. It is because; due to democratization, several countries transformed from authoritarian states to independed democratic states. It all began with the overthrow of the then Portuguese dictator Salazar (Rock, 1993, p. 20). Thereafter, the world experienced a mass revolution. Consequently, at the end of the revolution about 30 countries had embraced democracy. In this context, almost all the states Latin America had embraced democracy. However, before the ‘third wave’ of revolution there were two preceding occurrences of the same in South America. In this regard, the ‘first wave’ of revolution occurred in between 1820 and 1926 while the ‘second wave’ of revolution started right after the Second World War and lasted until 1962. These two revolutions were characterized by conversion of previously democratic states into non-democratic states (Goebel, 2007, p. 357). Argentina was one of the countries that experienced all the three waves of revolution, taking a pivotal role in the ‘third wave’ of revolution. That is why the third Latin America revolution is sometimes called the Argentine revolution (Dirty War). Moreover, it was due to the ‘third wave’ of revolution that Argentina lastly embraced democracy. This paper seeks to contextualize the Argentine revolution. It will achieve its objective by discussing the democratization concepts, the Argentine Dirty War and the restoration of argentine democracy. Contextual discussion Democratization concepts There is no discreet definition of democracy; however, many people prefer to explain democracy as ‘a government of the people, by the people and for the people.’ Democratization is a term born out of the ‘third wave’ of revolution which means the conversion of authoritarian states into democratic states (Goebel, 2007, p. 363). Democratization occurs in two main phases which include the adoption of democracy and democracy validation processes to not only establish democracy, but also to cement the values of democracy. The second phase is important in ensuring that all sectors of the country respect democracy. The Latin America revolutions were exceptionally significant because the Latin American states embraced democracy (Rock, 1993, p. 57). Up to date, these countries are headed by governments that are freely and fairly elected, except for Cuba. The revolutions are behind the current acclamation of Latin America as the most democratic continent on the face of the earth. The ‘third wave’ of revolution sparked a lot of scholarly research in democratization. It was the time when Samuel P. Huntington coined the term to refer to the increased periodic conversion of autocracy to democracy as opposed to the vice versa. As earlier noted, the ‘third wave’ of revolution started in Portugal, Europe and spread rapidly around the world affecting the regions of Asia, Africa and South America. The revolution transformed most of the European countries from autocratic to democratic governments (Duménil & Lévy, 2005, p. 12). In Latin America, particularly Argentina, the revolution was eminent due to the state of political instability caused by previous revolutions. Therefore, there is need to contextualize the Dirty War experienced in early 1970s and lasted for a decade. It is because; the aftermath of the Dirty War saw the restoration of democracy in Argentina. The dirty War Historically, the ‘third wave’ of revolution in Argentina is attributed to the effects of the ‘second wave’ of revolution. Whereby, in 1950s, the then popular government of Juan Perón experienced two consecutive unsuccessful military coups in 1951 and 1955 conducted by political adversaries opposed to Juan’s leadership (Duménil & Lévy, 2005, p. 17). Later in 1955, Juan’s adversaries (argentine armed forces) succeeded in overthrowing his government. They prohibited pro-Perónism and established a state governed by martial law. In other words, they established an autocratic government. However, pro-Perónists coordinated rebellious groups in trade organizations and workplaces with the pretext of pushing for the amendments of the economic and social policies. The public’s amendment uproar pushed for the partial establishment of democracy in Argentina over the following years. The partial democracy came with the discrimination of pro-Perónism (Manzano, 2009, p. 658)s. This means that the military government prohibited democratic values such as political liberty and legality of political expression, among other values. It prompted the formation of guerrilla groups in the early 1960s (Langer, 2007, p. 634). Some of the notable examples include the People’s Guerrilla Army (EGP) that relied on Che Guevara’s ideologies and the ‘Peronist Uturuncos.’ However, the two groups were easily defeated by the ruling Argentine gendarmerie. They were pushed further into the Salta, a Bolivian province thereby leading to the disappearance of Jorge Ricardo Masetti (EGP leader) in 1964. The following years are considered as the most tumultuous periods in the history of Argentina. It was characterized by military brutality, constant curfews, and deterioration of the economy, social injustices and constant rebellions. Prior to the ‘third wave’ revolution in 1973, several revolutionary groups sprung into existence. They include Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (Marxist-Leninist-Peronist the Revolutionary Armed Forces/FAR), Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación (the Marxist-Leninist Armed Forces of Liberation/FAL) and Fuerzas Armadas Peronistas (Perónist Armed Forces/FAP) (Langer, 2007, p. 623). In the wake of 1969, the guerillas of FAL launched an attack on the elite military group (Patricios) in Campo de Mayo and escaped with more than 100 rifles. In the following years, the guerilla groups united to form a strong resistance force. Whereby, FAR consolidated into Montoneros which was a group that consisted of urban elites in Argentina. The Marxist People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP) formed in 1970 consolidated the remaining FAL and FAP guerilla groups. The groups conducted espionage and covert affairs to determine the strength and weaknesses of the Argentine junta. The first military action was conducted by the Montoneros in 1970 when they abducted and killed one of military leaders who was actively involved in the 1955 coup. It sparked the weekly abductions, kidnappings or assassination of significant military leaders and law men (Langer, 2007, p. 644). By 1970, the guerrilla groups had grown immensely in terms of man power and weapons. They started bombing government-owned buildings, particularly those owned by high ranking military personnel and police officers and other prominent civilians (Guber, 2002, p. 9). For instance, in 1972 the group targeted and destroyed the Sheraton Hotel. In the bombings, they killed a woman and seriously injured her husband in the capital, Buenos Aires. Thereafter, they bombed the national arts theatre killing many civilians in 1975. It was due to the unfolding events that captivated the exiled Juan to return to Argentina in 1973. Together with the guerrilla factions, he ousted the junta leadership and became the supreme leader of Argentina. He restored partial democracy in Argentina due to the threat of armed retaliation by the ousted junta. However, the country’s political stability was shaken by the Ezeiza massacre which led to the division of the leftist and rightist groups of Pro-Perónism. Juan died the following year (Guber, 2002, p. 10). Before his demise, he had ceased shortly to back the Montoneros ideologies. Isabel Martínez de Perón immediately succeeded her husband. She was confronted by the Triple A (Argentine Anticommunist Alliance). The Triple A was a far-right paramilitary death squad that caused havoc during Isabel’s leadership. The political and military struggles re-emerged which forced Isabel to adopt autocratic leadership. Furthermore, she signed several military and police empowerment decrees to enable the military and the police to combat the threats of the ERP in Tucumán Province (Snyder, 1994, p. 95). Despite her efforts, she was overthrown in 1976 in a coup organized by the military. Mass killing happened during her regime and that of her husband. Research reports on leftist terrorism reveal that prior to the coup; there were more than 16000 military and civilian casualties. Additionally, 700 more deaths were connected to the ERP guerillas that resulted from robberies and abductions. For instance, in late 1978, a massive bomb that targeted one of Argentina’s military admirals destroyed a building killing several people and burying others alive under the debris (del Carmen, Nari & Fierro, 1996, p. 25). After the 1976 coup up to 1983, Argentina was ruled by a series of junta leaders that imposed dictatorial leadership in the country. Some of the notable military leaders included Jorge Rafael Videla (ruled up to 1981), Robert Viola and Leopoldo Galtieri (both from 1981up to 1983). The junta leaders masterminded the killings, disappearances and assassinations of more than 30,000 civilians. They had more than 240 secret cells across the country where they detained and killed more than 12,000 Argentine prisoners. In a nutshell, the junta leaders dealt with anybody they perceived as a political threat to their regime. The atrocities committed at this time in Argentine history were referred to as desaparecidos literally meaning disappearances (del Carmen, Nari & Fierro, 1996, p. 14). It is because; people who were captured at that time never returned alive. The groups targeted by the junta included students, leftists, intellectuals, unionists, and journalists, among other prominent civilians. They eliminated these groups governed by their national re-organization philosophy termed as El proceso. Despite all the junta efforts, the rebellion within the country increased twofold. Moreover, there were divisions within the Junta ranks which led to the creation of paramilitary-counter-military death squads that acted separately and secretly behind the back of the supreme leaders. The Argentine junta also colluded with the neighboring dictatorship regimes in an operation termed as Operation Condor. The collusion was aimed at uprooting all individuals that opposed junta leaders both in Argentina and the neighboring South American countries (Russell & Miller, 1977, p. 24). Records show that the junta still tortured innocent people as a way of quelling subversive activities. The survivors reckon that many people were publicly arrested and humiliated. The atrocities being committed in the South American forced Jimmy Carter the then President of the United States to accept approximately 3000 political detainees in 1979. Due to the increased and consistent public uproar coupled with opposition of the junta leadership, the restless junta attacked the British-occupied Falkland Islands as an attempt of regaining public popularity and support. However, the junta government lost the war and destroyed all the chances of ever winning back the public support (Robben, 2005, p. 88). The British won the war and destroyed the military organization of the junta government leaving it defenseless and vulnerable. Sensing inability to get back on its foot again, the junta government paved way for the establishment of a democratic government in Argentina. The restoration of Argentine democracy In 1983, the people of Argentina voted freely and fairly. They elected Raúl Alfonsín as the new President of the democratic Argentina. The new government formed the National Commission (CONADEP) charged with the sole responsibility of finding the perpetrator of human rights during the Dirty War. They collected massive evidence after collecting information from survivors and witnesses of the Dirty War. According to the commission’s report, 8,353 civilians were killed between 1976 and 1979. Also, it reported that during the junta regime other 113 Argentines died between 1980 and 1983 (Smith, 1991, p. 78). Up to date, there are still disagreements on the exact number of the Argentines who died or disappeared during that time. However, the total tallies according to the government sources approximated that more than 50,000 Argentines disappeared or died during the Dirty War period in Argentina. The democratic government charged some of the junta military leaders and the crimes they committed in accordance with the Argentine constitution. The democratic government extended amnesty to those found with minor mistakes. However, some of the biggest perpetrators sneaked out of the country before the government knew of their crimes (Marchak & Marchak, 1999, p. 99). From 1983 henceforth, the country of Argentina has enjoyed democratic leadership. This shows how the country passed through various waves of revolution in pursuit of democracy. Conclusion In conclusion, the paper contextualized the Argentine revolution. It achieved its objective by discussing the democratization concepts, the Argentine Dirty War and the restoration of argentine democracy. The democratization, a word that was coined by Samuel P. Huntington to explain the rapid timely conversion of autocracy to democracy provides an introductory approach to the process of restoring democracy in Argentina via Revolution. In this context the ‘third wave, of revolution plays a vital role in the Argentina’s process of restoring democracy. The revolution started in Europe and spread to other continents. In the Argentine, it is marked by the Dirty War that started in 1960s and ended in 1980s. During this time Argentina was ruled mainly by autocratic junta which led to continuous bloodshed resulting from rebellion and characterized with junta brutality, killings, kidnappings and disappearances. However, the junta weakened within its internal ranks leading to its resignation in 1983 for restoration of democracy. References Marchak, P., & Marchak, W. (1999). God's assassins: state terrorism in Argentina in the 1970s. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, Quebec City. Smith, W. C. (1991). Authoritarianism and the crisis of the Argentine political economy. Stanford University Press, Stanford. Rock, D. (1993). Authoritarian Argentina: The nationalist movement, its history, and its impact. Univ of California Press, Los Angeles. Robben, A. C. (2005). Political violence and trauma in Argentina. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. Russell, C. A., & Miller, B. H. (1977). Profile of a Terrorist. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 1(1), 17-34. del Carmen Feijoo, M., Nari, M. M., & Fierro, L. A. (1996). Women in Argentina during the 1960s. Latin American Perspectives, 7-26. Snyder, E. C. (1994). Menem Revolution in Argentina: Progress toward a Hemispheric Free Trade Area, The. Tex. Int'l LJ, 29, 95. Guber, R. (2002). An Argentine diaspora between revolution and nostalgia. Anthropology Today, 18(4), 8-13. Goebel, M. (2007). A Movement from Right to Left in Argentine Nationalism? The Alianza Libertadora Nacionalista and Tacuara as Stages of Militancy. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 26(3), 356-377. Duménil, G., & Lévy, D. (2005). The neoliberal (counter-) revolution. Neoliberalism: A critical reader, 9-19. Langer, M. (2007). Revolution in Latin American criminal procedure: Diffusion of legal ideas from the periphery. The American Journal of Comparative Law, 617-676. Manzano, V. (2009). The blue jean generation: Youth, gender, and sexuality in Buenos Aires, 1958–1975. Journal of Social History, 42(3), 657-676. Read More