Latinnews Archive
Latin American Weekly Report - 19 March 1982
ARGENTINA: Galtieri and Orfila: just the ticket?
The last military officer who proved capable of pulling in the votes was Juan Domingo Peron. History rarely repeats itself, but General Leopoldo Galtieri, too, evidently wants to become an election winner. Alejandro Orfila may be a useful card up his sleeve.
Two very different Argentine expatriates were visiting Buenos Aires this month. Their past history and present plans provide interesting pointers to future political developments.
The first, retired Colonel Vicente Damasco, lives in Switzerland; his surprise return has gone largely unnoticed. Damasco was interior minister for a brief period during the presidency of Isabel Peron. He claims to be the custodian of documents written by Juan Peron shortly before his death in 1974. These, under the grandiose title of Proyecto 2000, are said to be the leader's ideas and proposals for the type of political alliance necessary to take Argentina into the 21st century. The originals are under safe keeping in Switzerland, but Damasco, according to informed sources, brought photocopies with him to aid his sales pitch.
The main idea of Proyecto 2000 is that Argentina can only be governed by a political force which unites military and civilian elements, and that each on their own is doomed to failure. Damasco, in a small way, tried to put this idea into practice after Peron's death. As interior minister, he sought a deal whereby the army would crush the guerrillas and other forms of opposition, and then make a strategic alliance with certain peronist politicians. In practice, the army felt the first step was its historic duty, but it had no intention of carrying peronists, or any other politicians, down the same road. Damasco left the ministry, and faded from the public eye.
His sudden reappearance in Buenos Aires comes at a time when military thinking is changing. The need for some kind of political initiative is now recognised, as are at least some of the failures of military rule. One of President Galtieri's schemes is to seek to stand as an 'official' candidate in 1984, at the head of a military-civilian coalition (WR-82-09). For the moment, the army high command is prepared to contemplate such a move, and reliable military sources indicate that Galtieri could stand with Alejandro Orfila as his vice-presidential candidate.
Orfila is of course the other expatriate. Normally based in Washington where he is secretary-general of the Organisation of American States, he has recently been on an official visit to Buenos Aires. He is reported to believe that he will not again be re-elected as secretary-general of the OAS, and is looking for a political career in Argentina. Despite his role as a diplomat, he has a history of political involvement.
In a much publicised move in 1975, when the Isabel Peron administration was tottering on the brink of collapse, Orfila came back to Argentina, to offer his services to the military to find a way out of the crisis. One of his steps then was to contract a former diplomat and journalist, Rodolfo Baltierrez, to handle his public relations, and create a favourable image. But the military had already laid their plans, and were in no mood to alter them to make space for Orfila's proposals. He returned to Washington. Baltierrez, significantly, is now secretary for public information in the Galtieri administration.
With this background in mind, observers argue that the old plans of Damasco and Orfila are being dusted off and modified to fit in with Galtieri's view of the future. Orfila made clear statements--more in keeping with a politician than a diplomat--during his recent stay. He supported Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas/Falkland islands; expressed his opposition to Argentine military intervention in Central America; and talked to Mendoza and San Juan wine producers about the type of grapes they should grow to satisfy foreign connoisseurs. Galtieri, meanwhile, was playing his cards carefully, to seek an extension of his term as army commander (WR-82-11)--a vital step if he is to keep in control of events in the barracks, which will remain his real power base for the moment.
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