National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: Proceso de Reorganización Nacional, often simply el Proceso, "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, which received support from the United States until 1982. 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.
Argentine Republic República Argentina | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–1983 | |||||||||
| Anthem: Himno Nacional Argentino | |||||||||
Map of Argentina showing undisputed territory in dark green, and territorial claims in light green. | |||||||||
| Capital | Buenos Aires | ||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Government | Federal presidential republic under a military dictatorship | ||||||||
| President of Argentina | |||||||||
• 1976–81 | Jorge Rafael Videla | ||||||||
• 1981 | Roberto Eduardo Viola | ||||||||
• 1981–82 | Leopoldo Galtieri | ||||||||
• 1982–83 | Reynaldo Bignone | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| 24 March 1976 | |||||||||
| 2 April – 14 June 1982 | |||||||||
| 30 October 1983 | |||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1975 | 25,865,776 | ||||||||
• 1980 | 27,949,480 | ||||||||
| HDI (1980) | 0.665 medium | ||||||||
| Currency | Argentine peso (1975–90) | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | AR | ||||||||
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The Argentine Armed Forces seized political power during the March 1976 coup against the presidency of neutralist (non-Communist or non-Democratic) Isabel Perón, the successor and widow of former President Juan Perón, at a time of growing economic and political instability. Congress and democracy were 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 the Dirty War, a campaign of state terrorism against opponents involving torture, extrajudicial murder and systematic forced disappearances, with most victims being civilians. 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, 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 court-martials for mishandling the Falklands War. They were pardoned by President Carlos Menem in 1989 but were re-arrested on new charges in 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.