Argentina Today: A Reign of Terror

Source: Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 3, No. 1, Imperialism and the Working Class in
Latin America (Winter, 1976), pp. 157-168
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
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 TODAY:A REIGNOFTERROR
ARGENTINA
Nowhere in Latin America is the struggleof the workingclass against imperialism and its
national allies as fierce as in Argentina. Daily newspaper stories document the intensityof the
undeclared civil war raging in that country.A briefglimpse of the reality of this struggle,which
claims hundreds of lives, emerges from the followingarticle. It is excerpted from the Report sub-
mitted to the Latin American Studies Association by its Sub-Committee on Academic Freedom
and Human Rightsin Argentinaof the Committeeon Academic Freedom and Human Rightscom-
posed of Juan E. Corradi (New York University),Chairperson,Eldon Ken worthy(Cornell Univer-
sity),and William Wipfler(National Council of Churches). The Report and its lengthydocumen-
tarysupplement "Argentinade hoy: un r6gimende terror,informesobre la represiondesde julio
de 1973 hasta diciembre de 1974," discusses the historical background of the current struggle,
outlines its present dimensions, and amply documents repression against specific groups and in-
stitutions.Among the latter it treats: political parties, workers and unions, universities, the
Church, the mass media and artisticcommunity,and marginalgroups. It also includes testimony
frompolitical prisoners and persons torturedunder thepresentgovernment(on Argentinain gen-
eral, see Corradi 1974a and 1974b and NACLA, 1975).
We publish below a somewhat abbreviated version of the chapter "Repression of the Work-
ing Class." The issue editors take full responsibilityfor editorial changes from the original text.
The complete Reportmay be obtained from the LASA Secretariat,Box 13362, UniversityStation,
Gainesville, Florida 32601.

oftheWorking
Repression Class
This study penetratesto the very core of the currentrepressive system in
Argentina.It not only deals with the all importantthemeof class strugglebut it
underscores its uniqueness, form,and scope. Consequently,it is indispensable
for a full understandingof what is taking place in Argentina.In this context
the repressionof the workingclass becomes the most profoundexpression of a
generalized repressionwhich affectsall Argentinesociety.
In a certain sense, what follows is only a reportand does not exhaust the
question. On the other hand, it should be read in the context of a more exten-
sive social conflictthatobviously includes the workingclass but which is in no
way limited to it. This social conflicthas multiple internallevels and also in-
cludes the participationof very explicit U.S. imperialistinterests.In any case,
a reading of the factual informationin the Chronologyclearly shows in terms
of specific events the extraordinarycomplexityof the Argentineconflict.
To place the repression in historical context, the firstrecorded instance
occurred on July 17, 1973, just four days after the resignation of Hector
Campora fromthe Presidency. During his fiftydays in power, in a continua-
tion of previous trends,diverse social groups mobilized which, consciously or
unconsciously,moved towards changingthe structuresof social participation.
The workingclass proved one of the most dynamic in this process. This phen-
LatinAmerican Issue8, Winter1976, Vol. li, No. 1
Perspectives: 157
158 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

omenon broughta crisis in termsof the power to controlthe masses inside the
labor movement.This movementhad existed for many years and was recog-
nized by law and by the society as a whole in that powerful Confederaci6n
General de Trabajo (CGT), consolidated during the firstPeronist period, an
undisputed social institutionwhich carries a permanentinfluence throughout
all Argentinesociety. The move towards a dismantlingof the existing union
structureplayed an importantpart in Campora's resignationon July13 - in
which the CGT bureaucracy played the role of spokesperson forthe bloodless
coup - but it also lay behind the increasing repression that this report
describes.
This repression in terms of the agents who carry it out, its victims, the
methods used, takes varied forms.This points out one differencebetween the
traditionalmethods of repressionused against the workingclass and the more
"modern" methods which many countries now employ against workers. De-
spite this differencein method,however,the goal of the repressionremains the
same: to paralyze the ability of workers to act as a class. In this case we can
distinguishparticularformswhich define a new stage in class struggleas can
be seen clearly fromthe incidents presented in the Chronology.These forms
have two basic characteristics:first,an attemptto maintain in fact the monop-
oly of power in the officiallyrecognized trade-unionbureaucracy- except, of
course, in the cases of those unions opposed to the centralized union bureauc-
racy; and second, an attemptto preventthe spread of labor strugglesbeyond
the sphere of wage demands. As the reader will see, the Chronology docu-
ments the firstpoint more than the second, because the firstis quantitatively
more accessible.
The repressive agents that participate in this process can be classified as
follows: 1) civilian groups armed with weapons that only can be obtained -
one way or the other- frommilitarydistributorsor factorieslicensed only to
sell to these distributors(Itaka rifles,tear gas grenades, 11.25 caliber pistols,
etc.); 2) pro-governmenttrade unions or their leaders; 3) state, national, or
provincial security forces;' 4) the state itself in its administrativecapacity
when it declares as illegal rank-and-filestrikes which threaten to spill over
outside traditionalunion politics; 5) a factor hardly distinguishablefromthe
state apparatus and only tangentiallymentioned here, Jose L6pez Rega - the
private secretaryof President Juan Peron and later also of his wife who suc-
ceeded him. L6pez Rega played a separate role in the process and still has an
undeniable importancein shaping events. [L6pez Rega since the writingof this
reporthas been forcedinto exile - editors.]
The victimsof this repressioncan be classified as follows: 1) militanttrade
unions such as Luz y Fuerza, Mecanicos Automotores y Talleres Afines
(SMATA), Transporte Automotor, all from C6rdoba Province, and the
Federacion Grafica Bonaerense, Musicos y Periodistas, from Buenos Aires,
etc.; 2) individual workers who have defied theirown bureaucracy by assum-
ing combative or dissident positions in a general sense or in specific strikesor
union matters;3) activists,both leaders and rank and file,affiliatedwith work-
ers' caucuses belonging to specific political groupings such as the Juventud
Trabajadora Peronista (a leftistPeronistWorker'sgroup), Partido Socialista de
'Security forces refersto the armed branches of any government,provincial,or municipal agency
including,forexample, internalsecurityoperatives, undercoveragents,etc.
ARGENTINA TODAY: REIGN OF TERROR 159

los Trabajadores (PST, Trotskyist),or the Partido Comunista; 4) workers' as-

semblies, eitherthose called as part of normal union functionsor those result-
ing froma strike,demonstration,or otherlabor conflicts.
Finally, the methods differaccording to the particular agent and type of
victim. In general, however, the repression follows a set pattern which in-
cludes: armed attacks, intimidation,kidnapping, torture,bombs set in union
buildings,evictionfromunion locals, arrestsand/or murders.An integralpart
of the process is the presence of securityforceswhich, under the guise of prov-
iding protection,aid the repression,and the obvious absence of these forces at
timeswhen theirpresence mighthinderthe repression.
It is possible to be more precise about the nature of the repressive agen-
cies. These fall into threeprincipal groupings:1) "political organizations" such
as the Comando de Organizaci6n (CDO), the Comando de Resistencia Peronis-
ta (CRP), or the Comando Nacional Universitario(CNU); 2) the "hit men" who
work for one of the above, or for a union, or for an individual union bureau-
crat; and 3) the "para-police" who are agents belongingto the spy networksof
some branch of the securityforces. These latterforces act outside the law, but
are subordinateto the government.We should add to this list a few ideologues
such as those behind the magazine El Caudillo which is sponsored by the
Ministryof Social Welfare, and which invariably ends its editorials with the
slogan: "the only good enemy is a dead enemy."
Given the broad range of repressive agencies and victims,it is impossible
that all repressiveactions originatefroma single source. The record of events,
however,reveals the presence of a centralplan. Close scrutinyshows that con-
flictsover wages are few and that the bosses - whetherprivate or state capi-
talists- do not really partake in these conflicts.This shows the singularityof
this class struggleand underlinesthe fact thatthe principal agents in the strug-
gle, in clear alliance with the state, are the trade union bureaucrats. A good
example of this is the handling of the arrest of several members of an armed
group which attacked the militantLuz y Fuerza union in C6rdoba. When ar-
rested,they were immediatelyfreed by the police despite the fact that clear-
cut evidence existed as to theirguilt.Anotherexample is the attack by another
heavily armed group on the Sindicato de Ceramistas in the province of Buenos
Aires - a union whose leadership had just been voted out of office a few
hours earlier. The police did not arrive on the scene despite repeated calls for
help. The absence of the police not only made the newly-elected union com-
mission's ouster possible, but it also opened the way for the brutal murderof
one of the new leaders by one of those just ousted.
The casual observer mightthinkthat these confrontationsresulted froma
power strugglebetween two warringbureaucratic sectors. But this impression
evaporates upon consideringthat one side - the bureaucracy - has the sup-
port of the security forces (either by their interventionor their inactivity)
while the other- the new leaders - have the support of the mass of workers.
This was the case, for example, in the conflictswithin the Sindicato de Auto-
motoresof Buenos Aires province as well as in the previously mentioned case
of the Sindicato de Ceramistas.
At the state level, it is necessary to distinguishbetween the political appa-
ratus and the securityforces. Recently,the lattergained enough power to take
controlover the political apparatus duringthe period of militarydictatorship
LatinAmerican Issue8, Winter1976, Vol. 111,
Perspectives: No. 1
160 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

between 1966 and 1973. Now, however, the elected majority party - whose
main base is Peronism - controls the political apparatus and it carries out
repression by dictatinglaws or by administeringthem throughthe executive
and judicial branches. AfterJuly13, 1973, however, the security forces have
steadily regained the power they once held under the militarydictatorship.
They have slowly increased their influence over general policy, making their
opinions about repression heard not only throughthe use of arms but also
throughinputinto bureaucraticdecisions.
Since the Cold War, Argentinesecurityforces have maintained both ideo-
logical and material ties with the United States. The public revelations of CIA
interventionin Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay indicate that what is happening in
Argentinais intimatelylinked to U.S. strategyforLatin America. In this lightit
must be noted that that trade union bureaucracy has been and is one group
singled out to implement that strategyat the local level. The CIA admits to
having worked with the AFL-CIO and internationallabor organizations (e.g.,
ITS, ICFTU, etc.), which it controlsor significantlyinfluences,in order to cap-
ture the allegiance of union leaders and organizations through "trade union
educational programs"and a series of otherrelationshipswhich closely resem-
ble a networkof trade union espionage (NACLA, 1975; Agee, 1975; also Spald-
ing,and Erickson and Peppe in this issue).
In sum, repression of the Argentina working class takes place in the fol-
lowing manner: 1) repression is a joint effortof the trade union bureaucracy,
the security forces, and the state, which may have differentmotives, but
which in this particularcase happen to coincide; 2) the repression carried out
by the union bureaucracy appears to have as its immediategoal the defense of
its own power position in the face of workingclass mobilization aimed at in-
creased participationin decisions governingtrade unions and politics in gener-
al; 3) the repressiveactions of the securityforces and the political apparatus of
the state seems to facilitatethe bureaucratic repression and is aimed at main-
taininga systemwhich guarantees theirpositions of power; and 4) the goals of
all these repressive agencies coincide with many of the aims of U.S. imperial-
ism - as admitted to in the recent CIA-related episodes - to the point that
theycould safely be said not only to coincide with these aims but to aid them.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

Even duringthe period of relative stabilization of the standard of living of
the Argentineworkingclass, which began with the constitutionalgovernment
of Dr. Campora on May 25, 1973,and continued when General JuanPeron took
power, the mechanisms began to develop for preventingan organized work-
ing-class reaction when the economic situation would again deteriorate- a
process well under way when this reportwas written.

Reformof theLaw of ProfessionalAssociations - November 29, 1973

The above goal lay fundamentallybehind the modificationof the Law of
Professional Associations by Law 20615, which Congress sanctioned after a
hurried debate. Many of this law's provisions were designed to assure state
controlover the workingclass movementif,forexample, the sell-out bureauc-
racy could not guarantee a particular union's passivity and adhesion to the
ARGENTINA TODAY: REIGN OF TERROR 161

government'spolicies favoringmonopoly capital. Article 17 requires that all

trade unions submit their statutes to the Ministryof Labor for approval and
that unions must keep theirbooks in such a way as to allow the ministrycon-
trolover theirfinances.
The law establishes two categories of professional associations: those
which are officiallyrecognized as legal entities (i.e., which have been granted
personernagremial) and those which are not. The Ministryof Labor grants
legal recognition,and those with it enjoy an almost exclusive monopoly over
the normal functionsexercized by a union (Articles 30 and 42 of the law). The
ministrycan also suspend or take away recognition(Article 42) or designate
"interventors"(Article 47). This latter power enables the ministryto legally
depose an elected leadership and place persons of its own choosing in union
offices.In order to prevent a rapid turnoverof union officials,the law states
that tenures in office can last up to four years (Article 11), a clause which
helps consolidate the existingunion bureaucracy. The law allows federations
and confederationsto intervene in affiliated associations, provided that the
union's statutespermitit (Article 35). Article 11 also states that only native or
naturalized Argentinescan hold upper or lower-level union posts, thus intro-
ducing discriminationbased on nationality- an importantlevel in a country
which stillhas a substantialimmigrantpopulation among the workingclass.

Violationsof theArgentineConstitution
The above provisions contradictspecific rightsguaranteed by the Argen-
tine Constitution:the rightof free association for a socially useful purpose
(Article 14), the rightof free and democratic trade-unionorganization (Article
14 bis) and the equality of all inhabitantsbefore the law, which prohibitsdis-
criminationon the groundsof birthor national origin(Article 16).

Violation of Convention 87 on Trade Union Freedoms and the Protection of

Union Rights of the InternationalLabor Organization (ILO) and its Constitu-
tion
The provisions of Law 20615 already discussed, violate Articles 2,3,4,7and
8 (second paragraph) of the ILO Constitution.

Article5 of Law 20840 on "National Security"passed September 1974

Obviously thinkingthat changes in the Law of Professional Associations
were not enough to "legally" paralyze the working class movement,the gov-
ernment formulated Law 20840, which, among other repressive provisions,
contains Article 5 which states: "prison terms of one to three years will be
given to those who, once a labor conflicthas been declared illegal by the ap-
propriateauthorities,instigateany non-compliance with the duties imposed by
that decision." This article makes the rightto strike,a rightexpressly con-
firmedin the ArgentineConstitution,a crime (Article 14).

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ABOVE LAWS

The application of the Law of Professional Associations and the National
Security Law are discussed here in terms of only four trade unions: 1) the
Latin American Perspectives: Issue 8, Winter 1976, Vol. ill, No. 1
162 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

Federaci6n Grafica Bonaerense (Buenos Aires PrintersFederation): 2) Sindica-

to de Mecanicos y Afines del Transport Automotor,Seccional C6rdoba (Auto
Workers Union of C6rdoba); 3) Sindicato de Luz y Fuerza, Seccional C6rdoba
(Cordoba Electrical Workers); and 4) Seccional Villa Constituci6nde la Uni6n
Obrera Metalurgica (Metal Workers at Villa Constituci6n).

Federaci6n Gr&ficaBonaerense (FGB)

The typographerspossess a long traditionof organization,formingin 1857
one of the firstunions in Argentina.The FGB inheritedthis tradition,and its
resultingstrugglesfor the organzational rightsof its members led to its perse-
cution by several governments,includingthe militaryregimewhich preceeded
the present government.The union's most outstandingleader, Raimundo On-
garo, presentlyin jail, was also held prisonerfor many months under the mili-
tary government.During the period of sharpened working-classstrugglesun-
der the militarygovernment,Ongaro was elected Secretary General of the
CGT.
In June1974,the union which has over 20 thousand members,decided at a
meetingof fourthousand workersto initiatea job action by refusingto cooper-
ate with the companies and not to work overtimein order to obtain wage in-
creases and the up-gradingof job categories. JorgeZakour, one of the union's
officials,opposed these tactics in the meeting. Afterwards five officials, in-
cluding Zakour, resigned because they disagreed with the plan of action and
because theysupported the Pacto Social or Acta de Compromiso Nacional (the
agreement between unions represented by the CGT bureaucrats, capitalists,
and the governmentto maintain salary levels withoutchange forset periods of
time).
On August 6, five kilos of TNT were discovered and deactivated in the
Union's headquarters (Paseo Col6n 731) where the funeral of Rodolfo Ortega
Penia,a National Deputy assassinated by the ArgentineAnti-CommunistAlli-
ance (AAA - a right-wingterroristgroup), had been held 48 hours earlier. In
the next few days the graphic workers occupied a number of factories. On
August 8, both printingtrade workers and newspaper people went on strike.
On August 16, the police dislodged the workers from a factoryand arrested
them. Three days later, the governmentrevoked the FGB's legal status. The
Ministerof Labor declared that the union "had consistentlyopposed the poli-
cies of the governmentand specificallythe Pacto Social." The printersprotest-
ed this act by a strikewhich proved 97 percenteffective.
On September 17 the workers appealed the decision to rescind their
union's legal status,claiming that the ministerialresolution was made without
due process and that the alleged acts did not fall under Article42 of Law 20615.
Two days later the Third Court of Labor Appeals of the Federal Capital hand-
ed down its decisions: the ministry'sruling was based on the Social Pact
(which is national law) and thereforewas neitherarbitrarynor capricious. On
the contrary,the appellant violated the laws that govern the rightto strike.
(The rightto strikeis regulated by Law 20638, passed by the present govern-
ment, which reestablished the Decree Law 16936/66 of the militarygovern-
ment. It gives the governmentthe rightto impose obligatoryarbitrationin la-
bor conflicts prior to using force. Obligatory arbitrationviolates Article 4 of
ARGENTINA TODAY: REIGN OF TERROR 163

Convention 98 of the ILO regardingthe rightto collective bargaining.) The

court also rejected the appellant's contention that the legal status of the
Union's Social BenefitsDivision is differentfromthe union itself,so that the
division could not be broughtunder the same charges as the union (the govern-
menthad intervenedthe Social Benefitsdivision). The division is of great im-
portance because it involves large sums of money and the administrationof
the social benefits(compensation,retirement,etc.) that workersreceive.
On September 27 the police broke up a streetdemonstrationof four thou-
sand printingtrades workers,arrestingeightyand wounding threewith plastic
bullets. On October 11 a new union, headed by JorgeZakour, was formed to
which the governmentthen awarded officialrecognitiongivingit controlof the
union headquarters, its assets, and administrationof the Social Benefitsdivi-
sion. At the end of October, Raimundo Ongaro was arrested,accused of pos-
session of firearms.The judge at his hearingordered him freed,but he contin-
ued under arrest,"by Executive Order due to the state of seige."

Sindicato de Mecanicos y Afines del Transporte Automotor (SMATA): Sec-

cional C6rdoba

The autoworkers of Cordoba, a part of SMATA, were in the forefrontof

the political and labor strugglesagainst the militarygovernmentand therefore
sufferedsevere repression.Afterseveral indecisive elections,-in 1974 an ample
majorityelected a new slate of union officials representinga leftistclass-or-
iented position and headed by Rene Salamanca. In August the union began a
strugglewith IKA Renault over wage increases. On the eighth of that month,
the pro-governmentnational leadership of SMATA decided to expel Rene
Salamanca and all the elected officialsfromC6rdoba. Three days later,a rank
and file plenary of SMATA-Cordoba asked for the removal of soldiers from
the auto plants and the reinstatementof its leaders. On August 17, the Ministry
of Labor confirmedthe expulsion of the Cordoba leadership and authorized
the National Committeeof SMATA to send a delegate to "restore order." On
August 24 SMATA's Cordoba local was still occupied by the local leaders and
rank and file activists. Functionaries of the Ministryof Labor arrived with an
eviction order, but Salamanca answered that they would only obey a court
order. Two days later, now with a court order, the police cleared the local,
attackingthe workersgatheredtherewith gunfireand tear gas. Three workers
were wounded and a like numberarrested.
On August 27, in a Buenos Aires law office,the legal representativesof
SMATA-Cordoba, Lipovetskyand Garbino Guerra, called a press conference
to condemn the illegal intervention.A month later that same law office
(Parana' 326) was burned. On August 30 the Ministryof Labor ordered obliga-
tory arbitrationin the conflict in Cordoba. The next week a meeting of five
thousand workersdecided to continue theirstruggleand expressed support for
the expelled union leadership. In October several members of the ousted exec-
utive commission were arrested,and although the courts ordered them freed,
they remained in jail "by Executive Order." Finally, in April, those jailed con-
ducted a hungerstrikeand Salamanca and otherleaders escaped fromjail and
went underground.
Latin American Perspectives: Issue 8, Winter 1976, Vol. III, No. 1
 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

Luz y Fuerza, Seccional C6rdoba

This is a small union in terms of its membership,but an importantone

withinthe labor movementin Cordoba, principallybecause its foremostlead-
er, AgustfnTosco, is a nationally recognized militant within the Argentine
movement.This union has a long historyof solidaritywith otherunions, and it
demonstratedthis solidarityin the conflictof SMATA-Cordoba. Tosco spent a
long timein jail under the militarygovernment.
In October 1974 the Cordoba police searched the union's headquarters un-
der the pretextthat arms and munitionswere hidden there.The arrest of Tos-
co and other leaders was ordered. Several persons were detained and re-
mained in confinement"under Executive Order" without trial. Tosco escaped
arrest and went underground.The union was intervened by the Ministryof
Labor.

Seccional Villa Constituci6nof the Uni6n Obrera Metaliirgica(UOM)

Aftera year of pressure and open conflictin defense of theirunion rights,

in November 1974 the steel workers of Villa Constitucion in the province of
Santa Fe (about six thousand in all) elected their own executive commission
by 2,623 votes against 1,437,placing in power the candidates of the class-or-
iented leftand defeatingthose of the National Committeeof the Metalworkers'
Union, a committeewhich is one of the principal,if not the principal, support-
ers of the governmentamongstthe union bureaucracy.
On March 20, 1975,the government,using the pretextthat a plot existed to
shut down certainsteel and chemical plants,launched a broad repressive oper-
ation using four thousand police, arrestingmany citizens and 150 union lead-
ers and activists. On the twenty-sixth,20 thousand workers of Villa
Constitucion (metalworkers,railroaders,grain elevator workers,textile work-
ers, and dockers) declared a strike demanding the freedom of their fellow
workers.
Days later the steel complex remained closed by the strike which the ad-
ministrativeemployees had joined. Forty-sevenunion leaders, including the
secretarygeneral of the Villa Constitucionlocal of the UOM, Mr. Alberto Pic-
cini, remained in jail. On April 2, the Ministryof Labor designated an interven-
tor in the local who took over the functionof secretarygeneral. At this point,
the company sent a telegramto the workers warning them to returnto work
and remindingthemthat the National SecurityLaw (20540) was still in effect.
Relatives of the arrested trade unionists and delegates from the Radical
Partydenounced wanton lootingand stealing by the police duringtheiropera-
tion in Villa Constitucion.
The governmentpolicies described above form only a part of the general
picture. During this same period, many other violent acts against union head-
quarters,meetings,and demonstrationsoccurred. Included in these acts were
kidnapping, torture,and the murder of union militants (over thirtypersons
were murdered between August 1973 and December 1974). In all, well over a
hundred cases of violence by police or armed civilians against the working
class took place between July17, 1973,and December 1974.
ARGENTINA TODAY: REIGN OF TERROR 165

[The followingis taken from the Chronologyappended to the CommitteeRe-

port. We have arbitrarilyselected the four-monthperiod as representativeof
the daily repression against the Argentine workingclass that continues even
today- editors.]

CHRONOLOGY: SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 1974

September
5 (Cordoba) The police ban an indoor meetingin supportof SMATA.
9 (Buenos Aires) The conservativeMovimiento Musical de Liberacion (MML)
which was defeated in the musicians union elections, takes revenge on the
Musicians' Union. Hiding behind a right-winggroup of thugs called the
"Agrupacion Peronista Ortodoxa," MML members forcefullyoccupy the
union's headquarters,justifyingtheiractions by accusing the musicians of
being "Trotskyistsand Marxists."
12 (Bahia Blanca) The Federacion de Sindicatos de Trabajadores Municipales
(Municipal workers) of Buenos Aires province,denounce the illegal arrests
of several workers and their treatmentat the police station in the area
called Mayor Buratovich.
15 (Cordoba) A bomb is placed outside the Luz y Fuerza union, but it is
defused.
16 (Buenos Aires) Atilio Lopez, formerVice-Governor of Cordoba, leader of
the class-oriented CGT of Cordoba, and Secretary General of the auto-
workersunion of Cordoba until August 1974, is killed along with his friend
Juan Jose Varas, formerUnder-Secretaryof the Treasury of the province
and legal advisor of the same union. Five heavily armed men burstinto the
hotel where Atilio Lopez happens to be staying and kidnap him. A few
minutes earlier they had seized Juan Jose Varas. The kidnappings take
place in plain view of a police patrol. The kidnappers, who identifythem-
selves as policemen, speed away by car. Hours later, the bodies of Lopez
and Varas are found by the roadside about seventy kilometersfrom the
city. Their bodies have over sixty bullet holes each. In spontaneous reac-
tion to the repression of the working class and in posthumous tributeto
these victims,columns of silent marchers,led by workers,political activ-
ists, and students,fill the streetsof Cordoba at theirfuneral.They accom-
pany the body of Atilio Lopez to its last restingplace and vow to turn his
murderinto a symbol of resistance.
20 (Buenos Aires) The federal police arrest thirtyworkersfromthe FGB who
are demonstratingto ask forthe re-openingof a company which has closed
down and thrownthemout of work.
21 (Bahfa Blanca) An eighteenyear-old constructionworker and activist with
the JTP, Luis Jesus Garcia, is assassinated. At four a.m., four men who
claim -theyare police, drag him from his house. Two hours later, twelve
kilometersfromBahia Blanca his body is found with ten bullet holes. Four
days later the AAA claims responsibilityforhis death.
25 (Buenos Aires) A demonstrationof four thousand workers in frontof the
Caimara de Empresarios Graficos (an association of owners in the graphic
arts industry)is broken up by the police. In small groups the workersgo to
the FGB's union headquarters but theyare attacked by the police using tear
gas grenades and plastic bullets.
Latin Americon Perspectives: Issue 8, Winter 1976, Vol. 111,No. 1
166 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

26 (Cordoba) The police continue to search the homes of private citizens, this
timethe houses of municipal employees appointed duringthe governorship
of Obregon Cano.
27 (Cordoba) A letterto the newspaper La Voz del Interior fromMs. Nelida
B. de Tosco, wife of the labor leader AgustfnTosco, publicly denounces the
repeated threats she has received. These threats warn her to leave her
home which - according to these anonymous voices - will be blown up at
the firstopportunity.
October
4 (Cordoba) The AAA threatensseveral members of the governingboard of
the Sindicato de Trabajadores de Motores Diesel Livianos. To protestthese
death threats,an assembly of workers from Perkil company decide on a
work stoppage on the sixth of the month.
10 (Buenos Aires) Jose Oscar Bordon, Secretary General of the Asociacion de
Encargados de Trabajadores del Puerto, is murdered. The CGT calls a fif-
teen minute work stoppage to protesthis assassination and the violence in
general.
11 (Avellaneda) During a disturbance among rival groups fromthe Federacion
de Empleados de Comercio, the union leader Horacio Avalos is killed.
12 (Cordoba) The local police search the headquarters of the union Luz y
Fuerza (a class orientedunion) and claim that they found numerous weap-
ons and subversiveliterature.Seven persons are arrested.
21 (Tucumain)A bomb explodes in the buildingused by the Federacion Obrera
de los Trabajadores de la IndustriaAzucarera.
24 (Mendoza) The union militantHector Mario Palvareda is murdered.
25 (Chubut) An armed band attacks the house of Osvaldo Rosales, Secretary
General of the Sindicato Unido de Petrolerosdel Estado.
November
4 (Buenos Aires) People identifyingthemselves as police kidnap JuanCarlos
Nievas, a worker for the Nestle Corporation. One hour and a half later,
Nievas is found dead.
10 (Cordoba) While the workersof Transax, a subsidiary of Ford, hold a meet-
ing in supportof the deposed officialsof SMATA, armed groups invade the
meetinghall threateningthe lives of the workers and shooting.
23 (Cordoba) The police announce that a shoot-out took place but that
AugusthnTosco, leader of the class oriented forces in Luz y Fuerza and
wanted by the police, was able to escape.
December
1 (Tucuman) Mr. Juande la Cruz Olmos, Secretary General of the Sindicato
de Obreros y Empleados Municipales de Famailla, is killed by a bomb ex-
plosion in his home.
14 (Cordoba) A Federal Judge,Adolfo Zamboni Ledesma, orders freedom for
four union leaders of SMATA arrested aftera search of the headquarters
of the Luz y Fuerza union. Immediately,however, they are arrested under
Executive Order.
15 (Avellaneda) The bodies of two leftistmilitants,Miguel Angel Bujano and
JorgeFischer,both union delegates fromthe Miluz paint factory,are found.
16 (Tucuman) The headquarters of the union of Molino "La Providencia" is
searched and its secretaryarrested.
ARGENTINA TODAY: REIGN OF TERROR 167

21 (Tucumain)Fifteenunion officialsare arrested when the police interruptan

assembly of workersin the constructionindustry.

UNION MILITANTS MURDERED

BETWEEN AUGUST 1973AND DECEMBER 1974
1973 August 21 Carlos Bache, Sindicato Ceramista de Villa Adelina.
October 30 Pablo Fredes, transportworker,Buenos Aires.
October 4 JuanAvila, constructionworker,Cordoba.
October 3 Enrique Damaino, Sindicato de Taxistas, C6rdoba.
November 8 Adrian Sanchez, Mina Aguilar,Jujuy.
December 8 Arnaldo Rojas, Sindicato de Mecanicos, C6rdoba.
December 27 Hugo Jaime,metal worker,Vicente Lopez.
1974 January27 JoseRoque Contino,constructionworker,C6rdoba.
February 5 Hugo Mazzolini, constructionworker,Bahla Blanca.
February 21 Nemesio Sotomayor,oil worker,Comodoro Rivadavia.
February 21 Luis Carcamo.
May 3 Inocencio Fernandez, metal worker,Campana.
May 27 Dalmacio Oscar Mesa, Sindicato Obreros Navales,
Buenos Aires Province.
May 27 Antonio Moses, metal worker,Buenos Aires Province.
May 27 Domingo Zila, textileworker,Buenos Aires Province.
June 16 Angel Uris,food processing,Buenos Aires Province.
June 16 Carlos BorromeoChavez, Sindicato Portuario,Buenos
Aires Province.
July21 Mario C6rdoba, metal worker.
August 7 Carlos Emilio Pierini,Buenos Aires Province.
September 16 Atilio Lopez, transportworker,Cordoba.
September 21 Luis Jesu'sGarcia, constructionworker,Bahfa Blanca.
Octorer 10 JoseOscar Bordon,Buenos Aires.
October 11 Horacio Oscar Avalos, commercialworker,Buenos Aires
Province.
October 24 Hector Mario Polvareda, commercial employee, Mendoza.
November 4 JuanCarlos Nievas, Nestle employee and member,Partido
Socialista de los Trabajadores (PST), Buenos Aires.
November 4 Rub6n Bousas, PST member,Buenos Aires.
November 4 N.N., PST member.
December 1 Juande la Cruz Olmos, General Secretaryof the Uni6n de
Empleados y Obreros Municipales de Famailla, Tucuman.
December' 1 Carlos Llerena Rosas, press secretaryof the Asociacion de
Personal del InstituoNacional de Tecnologia
Agropecuaria y Dirigentedel FrenteIzquierda
Popular.
December 15 JorgeFischer,paint company employee, Buenos Aires.
December Dora Emilia Vega, Sindicato San Jose,Tucuman.
Latin American Perspectives: Issue 8, Winter 1976, Vol. 111,No. 1
168 LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

REFERENCES
Agee, Phillip
1975 Inside the Company: CIA Diary, Harmondsworth,England: Penguin
Corradi, JuanEugenio
1974a "Argentina,"pp. 305-407in Ronald H. Chilcote and JoelC. Edelstein (eds.), Latin Amer-
ica: The Struggle With Dependency and Beyond, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Schenkman
Publishing
1974b "Argentina and Peronism: Fragmentsof the Puzzle," Latin American Perspectives, I,
(Fall), 3-20
NACLA
1975 Argentinain the Hour of the Furnaces, New York: NACLA

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CHILE SERIES
Chile Hoy (Santiago) (CH2). Importantweekly reflectingUnidad Popular perspectives of the Allende period. Edited by
Marta Harnecker with Jaime Barrios, Theotonio dos Santos, Pio Garcio, Rui Mauro Marini and others. Vol. 1, 1972, Nos
1-17, 19-23, 25-26. 1 Reel
Cuadernos de Ia R*alidad (Santiogo) (CH3). One of the major social science tournals published during the Allende
period. Founded and edited by Jacques Chonchol and others and published at the CERAN of the Catholic University (to
be microfilmed.)
Punto Final (Santiogo) (CHS). Importantfor documents and analysis of Chileon affairs. Weekly reflectingviews to the
leftof the Unidad Popular. (to be microfilmed.)
El Rebilde (Santiago) (CH6). Official orgon of the Movimiento de lzquierda Revolutionorio(MIR). Aug. 28, 1971
Jan. 22, 1973. 1 Reel
COLOMBIAN SERIES
El Tiempo (Bogota) (COI). One of Colombia s and Latin America s leading daily newspapers. Jan., 1971 through 1974
and current.(Yeorly subscriptionavailable 48 Reels
URUGUAY SERIES
El National (Montevideo) (UR 1). July,1953 throughJuly,1954 - December, 1963 throughOctober, 1966 3 Reels
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political ond culturaloffairsin latin America Volumes 30 through35. Jan, 10, 1969 throughMay 31, 1974 8 Reels
MEXICAN SERIES
La Vot de la Fronteria (Mexicali) (ME 1). September, 1964 throughDecember, 1974 One of Baja California s leoding
daily newspopers, Complete collection Yeorly subscriptionavailable 82 Reels
Supemento Dominicol de El National (Mexico City) (ME2) April, 1947- Morch, 1968. 15 Reels
Mexico En la Cultura (MEXICO CITY) (ME3). February, 1949 - May, 1968, 8 Reels
El Diario de Culiacan (Culiacan, Rosales) (ME4). Januory,1968 - May, 1974. Daily newspaper of Sinola State
El Imparcial (Hermosillo, Sonora) (ME5). September, 1967 - December, 1970. Daily newspaper of Sonoro State,
La Opinion (Torreon,Coahuila) (ME6) 1967-1 973 (several missingissues), Leoding daily newspaper of Coahuila State
Siempre (Vallorta) (ME7). 1973 - 1974. Liberal-leftweekly containing political and culturalanalysis 8 Reels
El Fronterizo (Juarez) (ME8). May, 1967- October, 1973 A daily newspoper of Chihuahua State 52 Reels
El Mexicano (Tijuana) (ME9) October, 1959 to December, 1974 Daily newspaper of Balo California State Yearly
subscriptionavailable.
Tribuna (San Luis) (ME 10). Nov. 30, 1974- Feb. 28, 1975. Daily newspoper Yearly subscriptionavailable 1 Reel