Argentina celebrates this Sunday its 40 years of uninterrupted democracy, after the last military dictatorship (1976-1983), with the presidential inauguration of the ultraliberal Javier Milei.
On December 10, 1983, he was sworn in as the first democratically elected president, after the fierce military regime, Raul Alfonsinof the Radical Civic Union (UCR), who had won the elections held on October 30 with 51.7% of votes compared to the 40.1% obtained by the Peronist candidate, Ítalo Luder.
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The military government promoted the systematic death or disappearance of political adversaries and at the end of 1982, after the defeat of Argentina against the United Kingdom in the Malvinas War (April-June 1982), the dictatorship was dying.
Argentine President Raúl Alfonsín (c), surrounded by leaders of the political opposition, announces to the people gathered in the Plaza de Mayo his decision to go to the infantry school at Campamento de Mayo and personally ask the rebel soldiers to leave. surrendered on April 19, 1987 in Buenos Aires. (Photo by Ricardo CÁRCOVA / AFP).
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After the failure of the war, which left 649 Argentines, 255 British and three islanders dead, the then de facto president, Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieriwas relieved by Reynaldo Bignone, who was not a member of the military junta that ruled the country. Already at that time announced that there would be a democratic transition in Argentina that would lead to elections in 1983.
Alfonsín’s campaign was based on transmitting an idea of peace in the face of anger for everything that happened in those ‘black years’. And he used as a method for his speeches to conclude with the preamble of the National Constitution – something that the former Peronist candidate, Sergio Massa, rescued as a nod towards radical politicians and voters with a view to the second electoral round, which he lost to Milei.
This ‘burial’ of hatred for the crimes committed during the dictatorship is usually pointed out as one of the keys to its triumph, which, two years later, led to the beginning of the historic trial of the military Juntas.
Precisely, the crimes of the dictatorship have been one of the most controversial topics during the 2023 electoral campaign, which gave victory to the leader of La Libertad Avanza (far-right), who denies the existence of the figure stipulated by the human rights organizations of 30,000 disappeared by the military regime, and only 8,751 are recognized.
:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/D55PCW53LZA3JFOT4DHB4EL3RQ.jpg "Argentina celebrates 40 years of democracy with the presidential inauguration of Javier Milei 1")
Javier Milei addresses his supporters accompanied by vice presidential candidate Victoria Villarruel during a campaign rally, on November 6, 2023, in La Matanza, Buenos Aires province. (Photo by LUIS ROBAYO / AFP).
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Much harsher in her statements is her elected vice president, Victoria Villarruelwho defends the ‘two demon theory’, equates the violence of guerrilla groups in the 1970s with state terrorism during the seven years of dictatorship and attacks human rights organizations.
Among his criticisms, he said that Carlotto’s Stele, president of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayoan association recognized worldwide as a reference in human rights activism, was a “sinister character.”
Forty years later, another ‘radical’ will be in the Executive, since Milei appointed Luis Petri as Minister of Defense, who this year was a candidate for the Vice Presidency and who belongs to the same party as the late Alfonsín.
However, for the first time in forty years, one of the few consensuses that Argentine society had is called into question.
