Argentina's Lost Patrol: Armed Struggle, 1969-1979 0300061226, 9780300061222

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Maria Jose

Strand Book Store $2Q.OO 11/15/16 / H Oij/df print Moyano, Ma/Argenfirra's Lost Patrc HISTORY-SOUTH AMPRiCA

2800300061224

Lost Patrol ARMED STRUGGLE, 1969-1979

Argentina's Lost Patrol Armed Struggle, 1969-1979 Marfa Jose Moyano

A

rgentine guerrillas began fighting against the coun¬ try's military government in

1969. After four years, in large part because of guerrilla activity, the mil¬ itary decided to call elections and the country returned to constitu¬ tional rule. The guerrillas continued their struggle, however, and were partly responsible for the break¬ down of democracy in 1976 and the establishment of a highly repres¬ sive military regime whose "dirty war" eventually destroyed them. This book is the first comprehensive study in English of Argentina's guer¬ rilla groups—the driving force behind so many political develop¬ ments in the country over the past twenty-five years.

Marfa Jose Moyano bases her inves¬ tigation on an extraordinary collec¬ tion of personal interviews with

Continued on back flap

\

Argfeutma's Lost Patrol

From Argentina, A City and a Nation, by James R. Scobie. Copyright © 1964, 1971 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

Argentina’s Lost Patrol Armed Strug'g'le

1969-1979

Maria Jose Moyano

Yale University Press New Haven and London

Copyright © 1995 by Yale University.

Library of Congress

All rights reserved.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

This book may not be reproduced, in whole or

Moyano, Marfa Jose.

in part, including illustrations, in any form

Argentina’s lost patrol: armed struggle,

(beyond that copying permitted by Sections

1969-1979 / Maria Jose Moyano.

107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and

p.

except by reviewers for the public press),

Includes bibliographical references and index.

cm.

without written permission from the

ISBN

publishers.

I. Argentina—Politics and government—

0-300-06122-6 (alk. paper)

1955-1983.

2. Government, Resistance

Designed by James J. Johnson.

to—Argentina—History.

Set in Times Roman type by Tseng

Argentina—History.

4. Violence—

Information Systems, Inc.

Argentina—History.

I. Title.

F2849.2.M68 Printed in the United States of America by

3. Guerrillas—

1995

320.982—dc20

BookCrafters, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan.

94-35509 CIP

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

10

987654321

To My Mother

Contents

List of Figures, ix List of Tables, x Acknowledgments, xi List of Abbreviations, xii

The Lost Patrol, i

2 Politics in Argentina after 1955 and the Development of the Guerrilla Movement, ii

Part I

Patterns of Violence

3 Armed Struggle, 50

4 Collective Violent Protest, 63

5 Right-Wing Violence, 75

6 Patterns of Violence Compared, 88

viii

•

Contents

Part II

The Guerrilla Movement

7 Guerrilla Lives, loi

8 Ideological and Organizational Somersaults, 131

9 The Lost Patrol Revisited, 156

Notes, 167 Bibliography, 207 Index, 223

Figures

2.1

Splits and Mergers in Peronist Armed Organizations

23

2.2

Splits and Mergers in Marxist Armed Organizations

24

6.1

Ineidents of Armed Struggle and Collective Violent Protest, 1969-79

90

6.2

Incidents of Agitational and Enforcement Violence, 1969-79

94

8.1

Initial Guerrilla Structure

139

8.2

Guerrilla Structure Circa 1972

140

8.3

Structure of the PRT-ERP

141

8.4

Structure of the ERP, 1974

147

8.5

Structure of the Politico-Military Organization Montoneros, 1974

149

8.6

Structure of Montoneros After 1976

153

Tables

2.1

Election Results, March 1973

32

2.2

Election Results, September 1973

37

3.1

Location of Guerrilla Attacks, 1969-79

52

3.2

Groups Responsible for Guerrilla Attacks (Excluding Bombings),

3.3

1969-79 Participants in Guerrilla Attacks (Excluding Bombings), 1969-79

54

3.4

Guerrilla Operations, 1969-79

56

3.5

Motives Behind Kidnappings, 1969-79

58

3.6

Kidnappings with Highest Ransoms, 1969-79

59

4.1

Collective Violent Protest, January i, 1969-May 24,1973

66

4.2

Collective Violent Protest, May 25,1973-March 23,1976

70

4.3

Collective Violent Protest, March 24,1976-December 31,1979

73

5.1

Right-Wing Violence, January i, 1969-May 24,1973

78

5.2

Right-Wing Violence, May 25,1973-March 23,1976

81

5.3

Right-Wing Violence, March 24,1976-December 31,1979

7.1

Guerrilla Casualties, 1969-79

106

7.2

Biographical Data on Guerrilla Combatants, 1969-79

110

7.3

Guerrilla Founders Interviewed

115

53

85

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been completed without the help of a number of indi¬ viduals. Foremost among these is Juan Jose Linz. As a scholar and mentor he has set standards that few can hope to emulate. I am also grateful to Rocio and Juan Linz for their friendship, their affection, and their hospitality. Vaughn Altemus, John Arquilla, Eileen Burgin, Marcelo Cavarozzi, Mar¬ garet Keck, George Moyser, Barnett Rubin, James Scott, and Paul Stockton provided intellectual advice at different stages. I will be forever indebted to James McGuire, Peter Stavrakis, James Wirtz, and the anonymous reader at Yale University Press for the care with which they read, edited, and (in the case of the first three) discussed portions of this work with me. Several Argentine scholars and intellectuals gave me invaluable assistance in carrying out my research; Carlos “Chacho” Alvarez, Carlos Escude, Ruben Heguilein, Norberto Ivancich, and Alfredo Vasquez. Patricia Baxendale and Carola Garrido helped with the task of collecting data on violence for the years 1974-75 and 1977-79, and Brent Pollock helped with bibliographical citations. I must also thank the men and women who granted me interviews. Whether former combatants, members of the security forces, or political figures, they will probably feel equally disappointed if they ever read this book. Close friends furnished their emotional support: April Alliston, Horacio Cocchi, Silvia Colazingari, Jacinto Fombona, James McGuire, Miriam Smith, Regina and Peter Stavrakis, and Albert Vourvoulias. Norma Turconi deserves special mention. Over the years, she has been a faithful friend and an unwavering source of strength, and she has patiently sat through endless discussions about the tragic events portrayed in this study. I owe my deepest gratitude to the most influential person in my life, my mother.

XI

Abbreviations

AAA

Alianza Anticomunista Argentina Argentine Anti-Communist Alliance

AE

Agrupacion Evita de la Rama Femenina Evita Group of the Feminine Branch

APE

Alianza Popular Federalista Federalist Popular Alliance

APR

Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Revolutionary Popular Alliance

CGT

Confederacidn General del Trabajo General Confederation of Labor

CPL

Comandos Populares de Liberacidn Liberation Popular Commandos

EM

Ejercito Montonero Montonero Army

ERP

Ejercito Revolucionario del Pueblo People’s Revolutionary Army

ERPFR

Ejercito Revolucionario del Pueblo Fraccion Roja People’s Revolutionary Army Red Fraction

ERP

Ejercito Revolucionario del Pueblo 22 de Agosto People’s Revolutionary Army 22 August

22

ESMA

Escuela de Mec^ica de la Armada Navy Mechanics School

ETA

Euskadi Ta Askatasuna Basque Homeland and Freedom

FAL

Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacidn Liberation Armed Forces

FAP

Fuerzas Armadas Peronistas Peronist Armed Forces

FAPCN

Fuerzas Armadas Peronistas Comando Nacional Peronist Armed Forces National Command

xii

Abbreviations FAP 17

Fuerzas Armadas Peronistas 17 de Octubre Peronist Armed Forces 17 October

FAR

Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Revolutionary Armed Forces

FAS

Frente Anti-Imperialista y por el Socialismo Anti-Imperialist Pro-Socialist Front

FLQ

Front de Liberation du Quebec Front for the Liberation of Quebec

FRECILINA

Frente Civico de Liberacion Nacional Civic Front for National Liberation

FREJULI

Frente Justicialista de Liberacion Justicialist Liberation Front

FRIP

Frente Revolucionario Indoamericano Popular Popular Indoamerican Revolutionary Front

GAN

Gran Acuerdo Nacional Great National Agreement

GT

Grupo de Tareas Task Force

IRA

Irish Republican Army

JP

Juventud Peronista Peronist Youth

JTP

Juventud Trabajadora Peronista Peronist Working Youth

JUP

Juventud Universitaria Peronista Peronist University Youth

MPM

Movimiento Peronista Montonero Montonero Peronist Movement

MSB

Movimiento Sindical de Base Rank and File Union Movement

MVP

Movimiento de Villeros Peronistas Movement of Peronist Stum Dwellers

PCR

Partido Comunista Revolucionario Revolutionary Communist Party

PM

Partido Montonero Montonero Party

PRT

Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores Workers’ Revolutionary Party

UCR

Union CIvica Radical Radical Civic Union

UES

Union de Estudiantes Secundarios Union of Secondary School Students

>

•

xiii

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