The Dirty War: An Analysis

The Dirty War was a period of strong political instability and violence that surged through Argentina beginning in the late 1960s, and lasting for nearly a decade. This epoch of violence emerged at the end of the era of Juan Peron, who was a beloved Argentine leader. The terrorism that followed was not a total shock, as Argentina is somewhat prone to violence and political instability. Jacobo Timerman, the author and protagonist in Prisoner without a Name, Cell without a Number, states that terrorism and violence are the core and expression of the country (Timerman 17). This is the case, because nationalism is a fairly new concept for Argentina, and something the country had consistently lacked. The Dirty War was a competition of several different
One party, the Montoneros, targeted anyone who they felt would interfere with their party’s future. They killed politicians who didn’t agree or cooperate with them, leftist journalists who disagreed with their use of violence, and anyone else they felt hindered their chances of being elected. Another party, the Triple A, or American Anticommunist Alliance, was a right wing party that belonged to Juan Peron. This party targeted Montoneros and anyone affiliated with or in support of that party, and writers and liberal journalists who denounced the actions of the Triple A. Funding for the Triple A came from money acquired by selling objects obtained from the houses or cars of people they kidnapped (Timerman 44). The army, another party that ruled Argentina, was definitely right wing. In order to solve the problem of “leftist terrorism” that was sweeping the nation at that time was “extermination”. Extermination was basically what all the other parties were doing at this time; getting rid of anyone believed to be “conspiring to overthrow the government”, which could have been anybody, but was most likely a young adult aged 35 or younger (Timerman
Bodies were disposed of in ways that made them very difficult to find. Some people were coated in cement and thrown into rivers and lakes, and others were dropped from helicopters into the ocean. Bodies were also randomly buried in already existing graves that belonged to other people. Babies and small children were not gruesomely murdered, instead they were given to childless couples all across South America; this gave the illusion that they simply “disappeared” (Timerman 50-51).
All authoritarian leaders have certain beliefs and plans about the way they want their regime to be. Anyone who does not support the beliefs of the leader is deterring the leader and that makes them the enemy, (Timerman 80) and the goal of the Dirty War was to eliminate the enemy. Without the enemy Argentina would unite, because everyone will support the same leader; Argentina will finally have