NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DAILY FRIDAY MAY 23, 1975[SANITIZED] - 1975/05/23

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02986365
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: May 23, 1975

FRIDAY MAY 23, 1975
Approved for Release:2018/10/01 002986365
c/o va---r
The
National Intelligence
Daily
Published by the Director of Central Intelligence for Named Principals Only
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 121
NR
107.112-SEC1ICE�T
3.5(c)
Copy No. 1.69
NR
The Daily
Summary
ARGENTINA: The US embassy concludes
3.5(c) that the chances of a military takeover have
greatly increased. (Page 1)
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3.5(c)
Embassy Sees Ominous Situation in Argentina
The US embassy in Buenos Aires, in
an assessment prepared just before the
latest skirmish between the Argentine
armed forces and presidential adviser
Lopez Rega, has concluded that the coun-
try is entering a period of trouble un-
equalled in its modern history. The em-
bassy said that President Mara Estela
Peron is not likely to last out the year and
that the chances of a military takeover
have greatly increased.
The military, according to the embassy,
is the lone obstacle to absolute power for
Lopez Rega.
� Peronist politicians in Congress
capitulated to Mrs. Peron and Lopez
Rega on the issue of presidential succes-
sion by leaving a key Senate post vacant.
The immediate successor to the President
is now Chamber of Deputies leader Raul
Lastiri, Lopez Rega's son-in-law. This
maneuver dissipated any hope that
Congress would take a strong stand in
blocking Lopez Rega's efforts to acquire
more power for Mrs. Peron and himself.
� Labor leaders feel obliged to mask
their opposition to Lopez Rega, fearing
that open opposition to the President's
wishes would alienate rank-and-file un-
ionists.
� Opposition parties will do little more
than make loud protests about Lopez
Rega. They believe that if the military is
encouraged to take over, their chances of
competing with the Peronists at the polls
for political power will disappear.
Because most of the civilian power
blocs have caved in under pressure from
Lopez Rega, only the military remain in a
position to stop him. Lopez Rega has
3.5(c) IPP-SECRET
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already opened a drive to neutralize this
threat.
The embassy said the key question is
whether Lopez Rega will be able to con-
solidate his power before the army throws
him out. The odds seem heavily stacked in
favor of military action, since Lopez
Rega's continued dominance threatens
Argentina with economic bankruptcy and
political chaos.
As the situation deteriorates, the armed
forces are gradually losing their reluc-
tance to reenter the political arena. As
Lopez Rega moves to bend the military to
his will, military plotting against him
becomes more certain.
According to the embassy, Lopez Rega
is clearly running the government and is
winning the game of political intrigue so
far, but he seems to have little ad-
ministrative ability. Both the President
and her confidant are failing miserably at
running the country. Violence is rising,
the economy is sinking fast, corruption is
rampant, and any pretense of political
consensus has evaporated.
Lopez Rega's ascendancy is unlikely to
have an immediate effect on US-Argen-
tine relations. The exception would be a
possible last-ditch bid to make the US the
scapegoat for the country's economic dif-
ficulties.
3.5(c)
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