36.2.5: Alfonsín’s Presidency

Raul Ricardo Alfonsin Foulkes was an Argentine lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983 until July 8, 1989. He was elected a deputy in the legislature of the Buenos Aires province in 1958 during the presidency of Arturo Frondizi and a national deputy during the presidency of Arturo Umberto Illia. He opposed both sides of the Dirty War and filed several writs of Habeas corpus, requesting the freedom of victims of forced disappearances during the National Reorganization Process. He denounced the crimes of the military dictatorships of other countries and opposed actions of both sides of the Falklands War. He became the leader of the Radical Civil Union (UCR) following Ricardo Balbin’s death and was the Radical candidate for president during the 1983 elections, which he won.

Alfonsin’s Official Presidential Portrait, 1984

Alfonsin’s presidential inauguration was attended by Isabel Peron in a sign of support, despite internal recriminations regarding the Peronist defeat. Left-wing terrorism had been neutralized by this time, but both parties were eager to prevent the return of military rule, and there were factions within the military eager to reinstate an authoritarian government. Three days after assuming the office of president, Alfonsin sent a bill to Congress to revoke the self-amnesty law established by the military, as he had promised to do while on the campaign trail. He also ordered the initiation of judicial cases against guerrilla and military leaders, as well as the extradition of guerrilla leaders living abroad. These acts were well-received by groups such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo that were seeking reparations for the actions of the military during the Dirty War.

Raúl Alfonsín’s presidential inauguration, 1983: Alfonsin assumed the presidency after the darkest period of dictatorial rule in Argentina’s modern history.

Prosecution of the Military

The Trial of the Juntas began at the Supreme Court in April 1985 and lasted the remainder of the year. It was the first time the leaders of a military coup were put on trial in Argentina. In December, the tribunal handed down life sentences for Jorge Videla and former Navy Chief Emilio Massera, as well as a 17-year sentence for Roberto Eduardo Viola. The trials were followed by bomb attacks and rumors of military protests and coups. In order to appease the military, Alfonsin proposed the full stop law, which set a deadline for Dirty War-related prosecutions. The Congress approved the law despite strong public opposition. Prosecutors rushed to start cases before the deadline, filing 487 charges against 300 officers, 100 of whom were still in active service.

Two officers refused to appear in court, starting mutinies in Cordoba and Campo de Mayo. The rebels were referred to as Carapintadas, which is Spanish for “painted faces”, a reference to their use of military camouflage. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) called a general strike in support of Alfonsin, and large masses rallied in the Plaza de Mayo to support the government. Alfonsin negotiated directly with the rebels and secured their surrender. However, the timing was exploited by the  military and opposition parties, and they painted the outcome as a surrender by Alfonsin.

Alfonsin’s first priority while in office was to consolidate democracy in the country, incorporate the armed forces into their standard role within a civilian government, and prevent further military coups. He used budget and personnel cuts to attempt to reduce the political power of the military. Despite the revocation of self-amnesty and prosecution of senior officers, Alfonsin was willing to dismiss charges against lower-ranking military personnel under the principle of command responsibility. He also created the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP), composed of several well-known personalities, to document cases of forced disappearances, human rights violations, and abduction of children. In its “Nunca mas” report, the CONADEP revealed the wide scope of crimes committed during the Dirty War and how the Supreme Council of the military supported the military’s actions against guerrillas.

Relationship with Unions

Labor unions were still controlled by Peronist elements, and Alfonsin sought to reduce their influence, fearing they would become destabilizing forces for the fledgling democracy. He rejected their custom of holding single-candidacy internal elections and felt union administrations were totalitarian rather than a genuine reflection of the demands of the workforce. He proposed changing the laws by which those internal elections abided and removing union leaders appointed during the military juntas. The CGT rejected the proposal, claiming it was too interventionist, and prompted Peronist politicians to vote against it. The law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies, but failed to pass in the senate by one vote. A second bill was proposed that simply called for new internal elections, without changing the laws by which they abided, and that bill was approved. As a result, the labor unions remained largely Peronist.

Alfonsin made use of a regulation established during the junta that allowed the president to regulate the level of wages, and authorized wage increases every 3 months to keep up with inflation. The CGT rejected this and proposed instead that wages should be determined by free negotiations. Alfonsin allowed strike actions, forbidden during the junta, which also allowed the unions to expand their influence. There were 13 general strikes and thousands of minor labor conflicts during his administration. Conflicts centered around high inflation, and the unions remained supportive of the president in the face of military rebellions and despite political differences.

Economic Policy

Alfonsin began his term with many economic problems. Argentina’s foreign debt was nearly 43 billion dollars by the end of 1983, and the country narrowly prevented a sovereign default in 1982. During that year, GDP fell by 5.6% and manufacturing profits fell by 55%. Unemployment was around ten percent and inflation was nearly 209%. It also seemed unlikely the country would received badly needed foreign investment.

Many possible solutions, such as devaluation of the currency, privatization of industry, or restrictions on imports, would have proven unpopular. Instead, Bernardo Grinspun, the first minister of the economy, arranged to increase wages, which caused inflation to decrease significantly. Negotiations were also entered to obtain more favorable terms on the country’s foreign debt, but those were unsuccessful. Grinspun resigned in March 1985 when debt reached $1 billion. He was succeeded by Juan Vital Sourrouille, who developed the Austral plan. This plan was a success in the short term. It froze prices and wages, choking inflation for some time; put a temporary hold on the printing of paper money; arranged for spending cuts, and established a new currency, the Austral. However, inflation rose again by the end of 1985, the CGT opposed the wage freeze, and the business community opposed the price freeze.

With the support of the World Bank, Alfonsin’s government attempted new measures to improve the state of Argentina’s economy in 1987. The government increased taxes and privatizations and decreased spending. However, many of these measures could not be effectively enforced, and the government lost the 1987 midterm elections. Many of the large unions that previously supported the government attempted to distance themselves from it, and the business community was unable to suggest a clear course of action to resolve the crisis that was unraveling. A “spring plan” was proposed to keep the economy stable until general elections took place in 1989. The plan consisted of freezing prices and wages as well as reducing the federal deficit and received even worse public reception than the Austral plan, with no political parties fully endorsing it. Meanwhile, the World Bank and IMF refused to extend credit to Argentina, and many big exporters refused to sell dollars to their central bank, depleting reserves. The austral was devalued in February 1989 and the already high inflation evolved into hyperinflation. As a result, Alfonsin’s government lost the general election to Peronist Carlos Menem.

Attributions

• Alfonsín’s Presidency
  • “Raul Alfonsin.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Alfons%C3%ADn. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Command responsibility.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_responsibility. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Hyperinflation.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Asume_AlfonsC3ADn_2.jpg.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asume_Alfons%C3%ADn_2.jpg. Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0.
  • “RaC3BAl_Alfonsin.jpg.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ra%C3%BAl_Alfonsin.jpg. Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0.