LATIN AMERICA WEEKLY REVIEW 11 MAY 1978 - 1978/05/11

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06628655
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: May 11, 1978

Approved for Release: 2018/10/02 C06628655
RP LAWR 78-019
11 May 1978
Copy:
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LATIN AMERICA WEEKLY REVIEW
11 May 1978
CONTENTS
3.5(c)
Argentina: President Videla's Term Extended. . .
The decision to keep Videla in office and to
separate the Presidency from the junta has
only papered over a longstanding dispute;
a period of intense maneuvertng,Probably
lies ahead before the military resolves
the issue of presidential powers.
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This publication is prepared for regional specialigs the Washington community by
the Latin America Division, Office of Regional. and Political Analysis, with ,occa-
sional contributions from other offices within the National Foreign Assessment
Center and from other agencies within the Intelligence Community. Commer4s and
queries are welcome. They should be directed to the authors of the individual
articles.
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Argentina: Breeident:Videla's Term Extended
The decision by Argentina's ruling junta to extend
President Videlais term and to separate the office fof the
presidency from the junta has temporarily papered over a
longstanding dispute regarding the organization of the
government. The, move leaves unexplained the role Of the
President and probably presages a period of intense ma -
neuverinTwithin the military.
et governing junta announced last week that Midela,
Commander in Chief of the Army, will retire from active
duty by 1 August, but will remain as chief executive un-
til March 1981. Technically, Videla will thus serve as
a "civilian" president, although his constituency will
clearly be the military. By the fall of this year, the
Navy and Air Force members of the junta are also slated
to retire and be replaced.
The announcement left unclear, however, the crucial
question of whether the office of the ,presidency will be
subordinate tp.Or independent of the junta. Videla wants
toltedn' 'ellifie-G441de ,by expandingits .eritt ,to
3.5(c)
" fl�bjoliftriarnsfrrrA, Mrssierral
Air Force General Agesti (r)
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leertittO;taltea'iliti:iol Massera, Commander of the Navy.Thebyissue
had
junta
member
h.ad, been ,hOtijki' debated for well over a year, andMassera's
intransigence is perhaps the main reasOn the decision on
Videla's presidency was so long in coming.
The vp1-10014 .alrikW:701,1*,',"11.3,4s has been strongly
prOiYtaLT,,tit the ; tili*.11,30044 -of Videla's leadership.
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4.110.0p0a,thas used .h4105POsitiOn iirthe:Ignta, and his Rolm-
lakIty Within. the 'Navy not only to block Videla's
tiatives but also to generate opposition both in and out
of the Navy.
Since junta actions require a unanimous vote, the
decision may have involved some conciliatory gestures to-
ward Massera. He may have been promised, for example,
some alteration in the government'.s economic policy, of
which he has been :a strong and vocal critic. The Admiral
may simply have been obliged to go .along, however, when
it finally became Obvious that the 'kir Force, which he
had hoped to rally to his side,e,;*Ould'Irote with the Army.
VeVerth: e,L'ests4-,:the isS400.44f4Sr: from settled. The
legielatiVe,074464846t tho�,,vi,eildent,,have, not been spelled
out, and his relationship' to the-junta : with regard to
military matters is also still in dispute. Massera and
other opponents of Videla probably do not have the power
to undo the changes already made, but they could hamper 3.5(c)
the ieffectiveness of a revamped presidency.
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3.5(c)
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yitET
Human Rights Developments
The Argentine Government has apparently decided that
conditions no longer justify giving the security forces
free rein.
In a speech at a national police conference last
week, Interior. Minister General Harguindeguy declared
that emergency -measures had almost completely eradicated
subversion and that it was therefore no longer necessary
or advisable for the polite to remain under the direct
operational control of the various military commands.
Presumably acting under the direction of President Videla
or the military junta, Harguindeguy has also issued'in-
structions to the police to stop bullying the public and
to restore normal police procedures.
These iliOves suggest that Harguindeguy, one of
Argentina's to�sthest and most conservative Army generals,
has adopted a more moderate posture, at least with re-
gard to counterterrorist tactics. In the past, these
operations were often directed against political leaders
and other civilians not connected with subversive otaani -
zations or activities.
11 May 1978
3.5(c)
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