THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CHILE, AND URUGUAY - 1976/12/17

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02901206
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: December 17, 1976

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MEMORANDUM.
CI M 76-10183
No. 0755-76
December 17, 1976
SUBJECT: The Human Rights Situation in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay
Summary
The vigorous actions of military governments in
the southern cone against real or perceived threats
from subversive groups has led to numerous human
rights violations. The abrogation of constitutional
guarantees protecting individual freedoms has also
..focused the attention of church groups, international
agencies, and the international press on human rights
practices in that region.
Chile has been the main target of this criticism.
The heavy handed, anti-subversive tactics of the
Chilean military government have prompted world-wide
condemnation. The bloody struggle between the left
and right in Argentina, resulting in over 1,200 deaths
this year alone, is causing increasing criticism to
be directed at the Videla government. The Uruguayan
government has also been widely criticized for its
mistreatment of political prisoners. Less attention
has been paid to Brazil in recent months even though
human rights violations occur there.
As a whole, however, we believe that there has
been a perceptible improvement in the human rights
practices of the governments in each of the four
countries.
This paper was prepared by the Office of
Regional and Political Analysis, Western Hemisphere
Division of the Central Intelligence Agency. All
comments and queries should be directed tol
3.5(c)
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Argentina 44.
Human rights violations remain a serious problem
in Argentina, but the frequency and scale of abuses
by the security forces and extra-legal rightist mili-
tants has diminished noticeably in the past few months.
The military government, moreover, has been somewhat
more forthcoming in listing the names of those it de-
tains and has announced its intention to free some
200 political prisoners. It is difficult to judge
what proportion of prisoners have now been released
or at least accounted for, since the total number of
those arrested is not known. International criticism
and investigations of the human rights situation in
Argentina have generated considerable irritation among
the officials charged with putting an end to leftist
guerrilla warfare. Though the armed forces have had
marked success against the terrorists, the job is
still far from complete. If the guerrillas stage re-
newed provocations, those in charge of counter-terrorist
activities will probably push for a return to the
brutal roundups of suspected leftist that were rela-
tively common some months ago.
Brazil
Brazilian military security and police forces
have operated with virtual autonomy since the mili-
tary took power in 1964. The Constitution of 1967
and various extra-constitutional decrees have suspend-
ed such rights as habeas corpus for persons accused
of "political crimes" and given the security forces
the authority to detain suspects arbitrarily for sev-
eral weeks. This latitude in enforcement has inev-
itably led to individual abuses in human rights.
Early this year, however, President Geisel took a
strong public stand against torture by removing two
military security officials from command positions
after two civilians died in military jails. Since
January 1976, there have been no reports of death by
torture. .
There are no reliable figures on the current
number of political prisoners in Brazil. In October
� 1976 Amilestx International reported that some 2,000
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political prisoners were arrested during 1975-76 and
that about 700-800 of them were still under detention.
US embassy officials in Brasilia believe that both
these estimates are exaggerated; they admit, however,
that they do not have any firm statistics.
We believe that the human rights situation in
Brazil has improved noticeably during the past year,
primarily because of President Geisel's actions, the
strong interest shown by the Brazilian Catholic Church,
and the attention given to the subject in the inter-
national press.
Chile
The Pinochet government has demonstrated progress
in its human rights practices over the past several
months. This judgment is supported by the evidence
of some of the junta's most persistent critics and
supporters of human rights in Chile, particularly the
Catholic Church's Vicariate of Solidarity and the
International Committee of the Red Cross. The number
of prisoners held without charge has declined sharply;
only several remain imprisoned under this authority,
so far as we can determine. Most of those being
tried or serving sentences are now out on bail, on
parole, or under house arrest. The government is
also taking steps to commute the sentences of many
persons already convicted.
There are no recent cases of known illegal de-
tentions, torture, or killings. Although a number
of disappearances remain unsolved, security forces
evidently are using greater restraint and adopting
more humane practices. As long as internal con-
ditions remain calm, the junta will probably continue
the trend toward gradual normalization. Under the
broad state-of-siege powers exercised by the mili-
tary government, however, backsliding is always a
distinct possibility.
Uruguay
Since the inception of the military dominated
Mendez.gowrnment'in September, Uruguay has grown
-
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increasingly conscious of its human rights image.
Some positive measures have been taken sincd*-then
but the military's grip on the government has tight-
ened and several civilians have been deprived of
political rights. This ambiguous situation is the
result of the government's dilemma--it is trying to
guarantee human rights and at the same time maintain
internal security in a transition period.
Montevideo has moved to ease severe anti-;:
subversion penalties and to limit,the application
of emergency security measures. About 2,000 persons
were being detained on charges of crimes against the
state as of late September. A great many of these
individuals could be released under the proposed
changes in the subversion laws.
The creation of a new civilian court, as well
as the restoration of habeas corpus guarantees, is
under way. New legislation that would provide
-greater protection for persons charged with thr-eat-* -
ening national security also has received the sup-
port of military leaders. Nevertheless, at least
one former political leader is being held without
formal charges, and allegedly he has been tortured.
�
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