30 Years Since the Last Golpe Militar

March 24 marks 30 years since General Jorge Rafael Videla led a coup that ousted President Isabel Perón (who took over for husband Juan Perón in July 1974) and installed the 1976-1983 military junta that oversaw the killing of up to 30,000 Argentines (known as the desaparecidos) in the Dirty War. Following the fall of the junta, Videla was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1985 for his involvement, but was pardoned by President Carlos Menem in 1990. He was returned to prison in 1998 and then quickly released to house arrest, where he remains to this day. The flyer at right from H.I.J.O.S. (Hijos por la Identidad y la Justicia contra el Olvido y el Silencio) advertises a protest against the junta and Videla. The title, Escrache a Videla, literally means Put Videla in Evidence and the flyer says, "Effective and perpetual imprisonment in regular jails for all those who committed genocide. No to VIP prisons and house arrest... We will not forget. We will not pardon. We will not reconcile." The flyer also lists Videla's home address.