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Juan Carlos Onganía | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 35th President of Argentina | |
| In office 29 June 1966 – 8 June 1970 | |
| Appointed by | Military junta |
| Vice President | None |
| Preceded by | Arturo Umberto Illia |
| Succeeded by | Roberto Marcelo Levingston(de facto) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo (1914-03-17)17 March 1914 Marcos Paz, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | 8 June 1995(1995-06-08) (aged 81) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | María Emilia Green |
| Profession | Military |
| Signature | .jpg) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Argentina |
| Branch/service | Argentine Army |
| Years of service | 1934–1970 |
| Rank |  (Pre-1991 epaulette)Lieutenant General |
Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈxwaŋˈkaɾlosoŋɡaˈni.a]; 17 March 1914 – 8 June 1995[1]) wasPresident of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power asdictator after toppling the presidentArturo Illia in a coup d'état self-named "Argentine Revolution".
Onganía wanted to install in Argentina a paternalistic dictatorship modeled onFrancoist Spain.[2][3] While preceding militarycoups in Argentina were aimed at establishing temporary, transitionaljuntas, theRevolución Argentina headed by Onganía aimed at establishing a new political and social order, opposed both toliberal democracy and tocommunism, which gave to theArmed Forces of Argentina a leading role in the political and economic operation of the country.[4] Onganía implemented a rigidcensorship that reached the press and all cultural manifestations such as cinema, theater and even poetry.[5]
When the Armed Forces replaced theradical president in government with General Juan Carlos Onganía, they interrupted an attempt to set up therepublic and led the country to the violence of the 1970s and subsequent decline.[6]
Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was born on 17 March 1914 in Marcos Paz, in theprovince of Buenos Aires to Carlos Luis Onganía and Sara Rosa Carballo Sosa. Onganía is ofItalian ancestry (Lecco andComo).[7] His mother was of distantPortuguese ancestry.[8]
While preceding militarycoups in Argentina were aimed at establishing temporary, transitionaljuntas, theRevolución Argentina headed by Onganía aimed at establishing a new political and social order, opposed both toliberal democracy and tocommunism, which gave to theArmed Forces of Argentina a leading role in the political and economic operation of the country. The political scientistGuillermo O'Donnell named this type ofregime "authoritarian-bureaucratic state",[9] in reference both to theRevolución Argentina, theBrazilian military regime (1964–1985),Augusto Pinochet's regime inChile (1973–1990), andJuan María Bordaberry's regime inUruguay (1973–1976).[citation needed]
While Chief of the Army in 1963, Onganía helped crush the1963 Argentine Navy Revolt by mobilizing troops that seized rebelling Navy bases. However, he demonstrated a disregard for civil authority when he initially refused to call off his troops after a ceasefire agreement had been approved by PresidentJosé María Guido and his cabinet, and was only convinced to follow orders after a tense meeting.[10]
As military dictator, Onganía suspended political parties and supported a policy ofParticipacionismo (Participationism, supported by the trade unionistJosé Alonso and then by the general secretary of theCGT-Azopardo,Augusto Vandor), by which representatives of various interest groups such as industry, labor, and agriculture, would form committees to advise the government. However these committees were largely appointed by the dictator himself. Onganía also suspended theright to strike (Law 16,936) and supported acorporatist economic and social policy, enforced particularly in Cordoba by the appointed governor,Carlos Caballero.[citation needed]
Onganía'sMinister of Economy,Adálbert Krieger Vasena, decreed a wage freeze (amid 30% inflation) and a 40% devaluation, which adversely impacted thestate of the Argentine economy (agriculture in particular), favoring foreign capital. Krieger Vasena suspendedcollective labour conventions, reformed the Fossil Fuels Law which had established a partial monopoly of theYacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF) state enterprise and also signed a law facilitating the expulsion of tenants in cases of non-payment of rent.[citation needed]
Onganía's rule signified an end to university autonomy, which had been achieved by theUniversity Reform of 1918.[11][12]
Barely a month into his administration, he was responsible for the violation of university autonomy in the so-calledLa Noche de los Bastones Largos ("The Night of the Long Police Batons") in which he ordered police to invade the Faculty of Sciences of theUniversity of Buenos Aires. Students and professors were beaten up and arrested. Many were later forced to leave the country, beginning a "brain drain" that adversely affects Argentine academia to this day.[13]
Onganía also ordered repression on all forms of "immoralism", proscribingminiskirts,long hair for boys, and allavant-garde artistic movements.[11] This moral campaign favorized the radicalization of the middle classes, who were very over-represented inuniversities.[11] In 1969, Ongania dedicated the country to theImmaculate Heart of Mary.[14]
Eventually, this position was opposed by the other factions in the military, which felt that its influence in government would be diminished. At the end of May 1968, GeneralJulio Alsogaray dissented from Onganía, and rumors spread about a possible coup d'état, Alsogaray leading the conservative opposition to Onganía. Finally, at the end of the month, Onganía dismissed the leaders of the Armed Forces:Alejandro Agustín Lanusse replaced Julio Alsogaray,Pedro Gnavi replacedBenigno Varela, andJorge Martínez Zuviría replacedAdolfo Alvarez. Ongania's government was weakened by a popular uprising of workers and students that took place in the whole of the country, in particular in the interior, in cities such asCórdoba in 1969 (known as "ElCordobazo") orRosario (theRosariazo).[citation needed]
The dominant military faction, led by General Lanusse, demanded that Onganía resign. When he refused, he was toppled by a military junta.[15]
After his departure from office the general decided to retire definitively to a Buenos Aires estate. He was critical of the human rights violations during theNational Reorganization Process, the name given to the military dictatorship ofJorge Videla and other officers between 1976 and 1983.
In 1989, the Constitutional Nationalist Party proposed him to be a candidate, but he did not reach an agreement and remained away from politics. For the 1995 elections he was a candidate for president for the Front for Patriotic Solidarity after criticizing PresidentCarlos Menem for the widespread corruption in his government.
In May 1995, Onganía suffered a stroke left him paralyzed and unable to speak.[16] As a result, he was forced to withdraw his presidential candidacy, although his name continued to appear on the ballot. He died of a heart attack at theMilitary Hospital of Buenos Aires at the age of 81 on June 8, 1995.[17]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of Argentina 1966–1970 | Succeeded by |
