The Milei government, on the other hand, has a revisionist view. It says that the number of dead has been inflated for political reasons and prefers to refer instead to the 8,753 documented cases identified by the national commission on disappeared people (Conadep) in 1984, ignoring the fact that this report concluded that the figure was likely an underestimation. The then undersecretary of human rights, Alberto Baños, gave a presentation before the United Nations Committee against Torture in Geneva, Switzerland, last November, citing this much lower figure and calling for “complete memory” and for “more than 1,000 people [who] were killed from the terrorist action of guerrilla militias” to be remembered.
Milei marked the occasion by issuing a 73-minute video on social media, entitled ‘Complete Memory’. This includes testimony from Miriam Fernández, known as ‘Granddaughter 127’, who was born in captivity in 1977 and stolen from her parents, members of the Montoneros guerrilla group, by a police officer, and Arturo Larrabure, the son of former colonel Argentino del Valle Larrabure, who was kidnapped by the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP) guerrilla group in 1974 and held for 372 days until his death. Fernández, who says she was “revictimised by the state” and forced to undergo a DNA test, which determined her identity in 2017, calls for “the complete story” to be told; Larrabure echoes her comments and calls for “unity and reconciliation”.
- ‘Complete Memory’
The Milei administration has released similar videos in each of the last two years to mark the anniversary of the military coup. Last year the video featured the writer Agustín Laje, the president of the conservative think tank Fundación Faro and the main ideologue of the far-right in Argentina, who claimed that “the theory of one demon” had been “imposed” on Argentine society. He said the proponents of this theory have denied the existence of “a revolutionary war” before the dictatorship with the intention of “erasing from history the horrors committed by terrorist organisations and to eliminate its victims from collective memory”. The video repeated the claim from Luis Labraña, a former member of the Montoneros, who said that he had “invented” the figure of 30,000 people forcibly disappeared during the dictatorship because it was “good business”, allowing more compensation to be squeezed out of the state.
The video goes on to target the dominant Kirchnerismo faction of the PJ founded by former president Cristina Fernández (2007-2015), who is currently under house arrest on corruption charges. It claims that the Kirchnerista narrative seeks to ignore the role of “terrorist groups”. The voice-over on the video claims that in 2003 the Kirchneristas launched a massive, publicly funded campaign “to impose on society a narrative about the tragic events of the 1970s – characterised by a biased and vindictive perspective – whose underlying goal was to provide economic benefits to a select few and gain political capital”.
Even 50 years on, a clear majority continues to strongly condemn the events of the 1970s. According to a survey by Pulsar/UBA/CELS, 71% of the population has a negative view of the military dictatorship, versus 7% with a positive assessment. Over two-thirds of respondents say the state should continue prosecuting military officers for their role in human rights violations, while 26% say the trials should stop. The survey also picks up differing views of the dictatorship’s ultimate intent.
While 61% say the dictatorship executed a systematic plan of disappearances and human rights violations, 32% say it launched a campaign against terrorism in which ‘excesses’ were committed. It is this second group which may be more attracted to Milei’s revisionist view of the dictatorship.
Either way, the survey shows that support for democratic rule remains strong, with 78% saying democracy is preferable to any other form of government, and a minority of 10% favouring authoritarianism under ‘certain circumstances’. Another pollster, Zuban Córdoba y Asociados, recently found that 63% favour democracy, 12% prefer authoritarian government, and 13% recorded no preference.
Adorni under pressure
According to various media reports, government officials met on 22 March at the presidential residence in Olivos to discuss who should replace Manuel Adorni, the scandal-hit cabinet chief who previously served as the government spokesperson.
Adorni has been involved in a growing number of corruption allegations: his wife appears to have travelled at public expense to the US on the presidential plane; he has used a private jet for a holiday in Uruguay; and he appears to have at least two additional properties which were not properly declared.
One of the main issues of concern in Milei’s inner circle (including his sister Karina, the chief of staff) is that the allegations around Adorni appear to be tainting the president’s approval ratings. One possible replacement could be Martín Menem, the head of the lower chamber of congress. However, at a press conference on 25 March, Adorni again denied any wrongdoing and insisted he had “nothing to hide”.
Weighed against any inclination to replace Adorni will be Milei’s awareness that his cabinet chief has been the most reliable defender of his government and confrontational style. It was Adorni’s impressive performance as spokesperson, after all, which earned him the promotion to cabinet chief in the first place. He has deflected attacks by the political opposition with a sharp-tongued acuity, and, in particular, he has effectively shut down media questions that cause difficulties for the president. This could be especially important now as the long-running $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal takes a potentially awkward turn for Milei [WR-26-11]. End of preview - This article contains approximately 1037 words.Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article
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