Parliament was dissolved and opponents of the regime were rounded up in the 'Dirty War', which saw thousands of people 'disappear'. Here Videla is seen presenting the World Cup trophy to national football team captain Daniel Passarella after Argentina beat the Netherlands in the final on 25 June The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo - named after the central Buenos Aires square where they rallied to seek justice - celebrated when in Jorge Videla was sentenced to life in prison for the torture and deaths of 31 prisoners.
He became the first Argentine de-facto leader to be convicted. The conviction became a model of justice to left-wing activists in neighbouring countries who also suffered at the hands of military regimes in the s and 80s. Still, there was little sign of regret from Videla himself. Speaking about the missing activists and whether he considered himself responsible for their deaths, he once said:.
They are not alive, neither are they dead. They are just missing. During an interview from prison he recently asked Argentines to rise up in arms against current President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, whom he blamed for the country's problems. President Fernandez and her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, were left-wing activists during the years Videla was in power.
Some mothers of the disappeared have said they feel more at peace now that Videla is gone. But Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel says his death "has brought an end to his physical existence but not what he did against the people".
When sentenced to house arrest in later life, his greatest regret, he said, was that he could not attend mass. Other than that, his social life was almost nonexistent. Like Pinochet's, his military career was a largely routine affair — a steady climb up the ranks until he reached the top. It was a decision she would live to regret. The country was in the grip of political violence. Leftist guerrillas battled the government, while rightwing death squads cruised the streets, murdering with impunity.
Many ordinary citizens sighed with relief when the military stepped in, and looked the other way as it installed an unprecedented system of repression. Not just guerrillas, but trade unionists, journalists and dissidents of all kinds were kidnapped, tortured and killed. Thousands were thrown from planes over the river Plate, in a usually successful bid to "disappear" their bodies for ever. Many years later, it was revealed that the coup had been planned by business interests allied with hardliners in the armed forces.
Videla presided over this butchery until his retirement in , although for the last year — having reached the end of his military career — he was formally subordinate to the junta. Starting in , federal judges struck down pardons that then-President Carlos Menem issued between and to former officials, including Videla, convicted of, or facing trial for, human rights violations. Videla was convicted in a total of three trials, one in , one in , and a third in for his participation in human rights violations committed during the dictatorship, including torture, kidnappings, homicide, and illegal appropriation of babies.
Videla died in prison, where he was serving his sentences. The Impact of Abortion Prosecutions in Ecuador. Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe.
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