Roberto Eduardo Viola
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
Roberto Eduardo Viola | |
---|---|
Carlos Alberto Lacoste (interim) | |
Personal details | |
Born | Lieutenant General | 13 October 1924
Roberto Eduardo Viola (13 October 1924 – 30 September 1994) was an Argentine military officer who served as the 48th President of Argentina and the 2nd President of the National Reorganization Process from 29 March to 11 December 1981 as a military dictator.[1]
Early life
He was born as Roberto Eduardo Viola on 13 October 1924. His parents were Italian immigrants Angelo Viola and Rosa Maria Prevedini, both from Casatisma, a town in the Province of Pavia.[2]
Presidency (1981)
After Jorge Rafael Videla left office, Viola formally assumed the post of President of Argentina.
Economic policy
Viola appointed
Viola was also the victim of infighting within the
Foreign policy
The re-establishment of diplomatic ties allowed for CIA collaboration with the Argentine intelligence service in arming and training the Nicaraguan Contras against the Sandinista government. The 601 Intelligence Battalion, for example, trained Contras at Lepaterique base, in Honduras. Argentina also provided security advisors, intelligence training and some material support to forces in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to suppress local rebel groups as part of a U.S.-sponsored program called Operation Charly.[5]
Ousted in a coup
Viola found his maneuvering space greatly reduced, and was ousted by a military coup in December 1981, led by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri, who soon became President. The official explanation given for the ousting was Viola's alleged health problems. Galtieri swiftly appointed Roberto Alemann as finance minister and presided over the build-up and pursuit of the Falklands War.
Later years
After the collapse of the military regime and the election of Raúl Alfonsín in 1983, Viola was arrested, judged for human rights violations committed by the military junta during the Dirty War, and sentenced to 17 years in prison. His health deteriorated in prison; Viola was pardoned by Carlos Menem in 1990 together with all junta members. He died on 30 September 1994, at age 69.
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Roberto Viola, 69, Who Headed Argentine Military Dictatorship". The New York Times. 2 October 1994.
- ^ "Viola".
- ^ La nueva política económica argentina se basa en la modificación del esquema de cambios de la moneda. Según Lorenzo Sigaut, el nuevo ministro de Economía , El País, reproducción del artículo publicado el 8 de abril de 1981. (in Spanish)
- ^ Rossinow, pp. 73, 77–79
- ^ "Los secretos de la guerra sucia continental de la dictadura", Clarín, March 24, 2006 (in Spanish)