As the decade turned from the 1960’s to the 1970’s, the South American country of Argentina found itself in an awkward position, to say the least. After the regime of Juan Carlos Ongania was dissolved, an Argentine dictator who had himself taken office via a coup, the political situation deteriorated rapidly. The country found itself divided, there was a large push from politicians to reinstall a member of the leftist Peron party as president on one side of the matter, which was starkly at odds with the right wing military groups, which wanted to maintain their control over the country. Additionally, during this period of instability, a left-wing guerilla group known as the Montoneros began to emerge, which threatened to challenge the Military’s monopoly on brute force. On top of all of this, the countries economy was in a slump, which further exacerbated tensions, as well as the matter of outside interference.

All of these issues took place during the height of the Cold War, where the US and USSR were vying for whatever advantage they could obtain during the struggle for supremacy, be it technological advancements or discreet alliances. As the left-wing of Argentina began to rise, officials in the White House began to worry that the country may become communist, and so they gave their taciturn approval for the military to perform a coup d’état.

And so, on March 24, 1976, the president of Argentina, Isabel Peron, was told by her helicopter pilot that they would not be flying to the Casa Rosada(the Argentine equivalent to the White House), and was instead taken into military custody. Ports were closed, lines were cut, and planes were grounded. The country had gone into lockdown, and when it was eventually lifted, it was clear that the Military had succeeded, with the three respective general commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force declaring that a military junta had been established, with the former, General Jorge Videla, being named president.

What proceeded were seven long years of rule under a government that had decided to persecute the liberal guerillas with extreme prejudice. The only issue was that when the insurgents can be anyone, the authorities begin to suspect everyone. Hundreds of people were arrested by the government every month for years, with thousands of those arrested never being seen again. It was not until 1981, when Videla was removed from office, that the disappearances slowed down, and only when the junta was dissolved in its entirety that they stopped altogether, sped along by the governments defeat in the Falklands War.

During the time that the Junta ruled, somewhere between ten to thirty thousand people disappeared, never to be seen again. Due to the sheer scale of the atrocities committed by the government, as well as the far reaching nature of them, this period of time was henceforth known as: La Guerra Sucia , the Dirty War.

This was a war of classism, in its purest and ugliest. Where an in group, the right wing military, prosecuted an out group, left wing Argentines, simply because they were not them, and often enough even when they were. It was the people with power enforcing terror among the people without, the strong exerting their will over the weak, with terrifying success. 

Although the effects of the Dirty War could be seen all across the country, it is safe to say that it was most concentrated in Buenos Aires, the Capital City of the country. As the central location for both the civilian government and the heads of the military, it was the natural choice for the junta to center its command structure.

Pion-Berlin, David. “The Fall of Military Rule in Argentina: 1976-1983.” Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, vol. 27, no. 2, 1985, pp. 55–76., https://doi.org/10.2307/165718.

Kressel, Daniel G. “The ‘Argentine Franco’?: The Regime of Juan Carlos Onganía and Its Ideological Dialogue with Francoist Spain (1966–1970).” The Americas, vol. 78, no. 1, 2021, pp. 89–117., https://doi.org/10.1017/tam.2020.106.