Dictators in South America's Southern Cone
The southernmost region of South America is known as the "Southern Cone" due to its shape. This region includes Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. It can also be extended to include Paraguay and southern Brazil. This region has a temperate climate that grows colder to the south and also includes the Pampas and Patagonia regions.
Following World War 2, a long period of global tension began between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). The US and its allies were democracies where the people held power (through voting and elections). The USSR and its allies followed communism, a system where the government controls everything (property, businesses) and aims for an equal society.
The US, fearing the spread of communism, supported democracies and often intervened in other nations to prevent communist influence. This, led to "proxy wars" and secret actions to install leaders that the US found favorable. This occurred across South America's Southern Cone during the Cold War era from 1947-1991.
Chile
Chile had been a democratic republic since 1925 and was a symbol of political stability in Latin America. In 1970, a socialist Salvador Allende was elected president. He started an ambitious plan of social reforms that alarmed the US.
America's CIA began a secret campaign against Allende in Chile. This included economic and political sabotage. They provided support to Chile's military leader General Augusto Pinochet. In 1973, Pinochet and the military led a coup d'état that overthrew President Allende. Pinochet established a military junta. This is a government led by a committee of military leaders. At the head of it was Pinochet, who would lead as an authoritarian dictator until 1990.
Operation Condor
Pinochet wanted to crush any opposition to his rule and enforce his extreme right-wing policies across the region. America's government at the time liked his opposition to communism and the CIA offered support. They helped arrange Operation Condor. This was a secret alliance of Southern Cone countries to eliminate all opposition and leftist movements.
Operation Condor aimed to suppress dissent through information sharing, assassinations, secret police actions, and "dirty war" tactics like disappearances and torture. The authoritarian governments of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia all collaborated as part of the operation.
Argentina
In Argentina, a 1976 coup led by General Jorge Rafael Videla overthrew President Isabel Peron. Videla established an authoritarian dictatorship much like Chile's. His government shut down congress, prohibited political parties, and suspended freedom of the press. Videla also sheltered many Nazi fugitives and became known as the "Hitler of the Pampa“.
His "Dirty War" instilled fear and repression. Over 30,000 people were killed or disappeared across Argentina during his rule. Many young children lost their parents and were given to military leaders to raise as their own. Democracy would not be restored until 1983.
Paraguay
In Paraguay, Alfredo Stroessner seized power in 1954 through a coup. All political parties besides his right-wing Colorado Party were banned until 1962 (and only tolerated after that). He also allowed Nazi refugees to hide in his country, including the infamous Auschwitz SS doctor, Josef Mengele.
Operation Condor helped Stroessner maintain control over Paraguay until 1989, when he was overthrown in another coup led by his own generals.
Uruguay
Juan María Bordaberry was wealthy conservative landowner and elected president of Uruguay in 1971. Left-wing guerrillas known as the Tupamaro wanted an armed revolution. In response, Bordaberry had the military surround the General Assembly in 1973. He arrested legislators and suspended the Constitution.
He also suspended civil liberties, banned labor unions, and imprisoned and killed opposition figures. He appointed military officers to most leading government positions and allowed the military and police to take whatever measures it deemed necessary to enforce his rule. Operation Condor was used to enforce rule in Uruguay until elections resumed in 1984.
Bolivia
In 1970, Bolivia's socialist President Juan José Torres was leading the country to the left politically. General Hugo Banzer and the military overthrew Torres with a coup in 1971. Banzer coup established a dictatorship known as the Banzerato. Operation Condor there included violence against dissenters, including the murder of former President Torres after he escaped to Argentina.
Thousands of Bolivians were either forced to flee or were arrested or killed during the Banzerato. Banzer's military dictator ship lasted from 1971 to 1978.
The End of Operation Condor
After years of authoritarian rule, internal and external pressures helped bring about democracy. Citizens in these countries demanded greater freedoms and rights, leading to protest movements for change.
International condemnation of human rights abuses by the military regimes also played a significant role. Eventually, through negotiations, elections, and sometimes foreign intervention, these nations were able to establish democratic governments, where power is shared by the people through elected representatives.
In a 1988 plebiscite in Chile, 56% voted against Pinochet continuing as president. This finally led to democratic elections for Chile's presidency and Congress.
Legacy for the Southern Cone
As dictatorships ended, Operation Condor finally came to an end also. However, evidence of atrocities surfaced, prompting trials seeking justice for victims.
Pinochet was arrested in London in 1998. Following legal battles over his heath, he was placed under house arrest and died in 2006 with with 300 criminal charges pending against him in Chile for human rights violations.
In Argentina, Videla and his accomplices were sent to prison in 1985. He was later pardoned but sent to prison again in 1998 for crimes against humanity and the systemic kidnapping of children. The Abuelas de Playa de Mayo (Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo), is dedicated to finding children who were illegally adopted in those years. They have found at least 137 of them, now grown adults, and offered to help them meet their biological families.
The legacy of authoritarian rule in the Southern Cone includes thousands of lives lost, families torn apart, and enduring scars on South American societies. Despite the passage of time, trials continue to pursue justice for the victims, underscoring the lasting impact of this dark chapter in history.