Consent of the Damned : Ordinary Argentinians in the Dirty War

Under violent military dictatorship, Operation Condor and the Dirty War scarred Argentina from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, leaving behind a legacy of repression, state terror, and political murder. Even today, the now-democratic Argentine government attempts to repair the damage of these atrocities by making human rights a policy priority. But what about the other Dirty War, during which Argentine civilians--including indigenous populations—and foreign powers ignored and even abetted the state’s vicious crimes against humanity? In this groundbreaking new work, David Sheinin draws on previously classified Argentine government documents, human rights lawsuits, and archived propaganda to illustrate the military-constructed fantasy of bloodshed as a public defense of human rights. Exploring the reactions of civilians and the international community to the daily carnage, Sheinin unearths how compliance with the dictatorship perpetuated the violence that defined a nation. This new approach to the history of human rights in Argentina will change how we understand dictatorship, democracy, and state terror. Under violent military dictatorship, Operation Condor and the Dirty War scarred Argentina from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, leaving behind a legacy of repression, state terror, and political murder. Even today, the now-democratic Argentine government attempts to repair the damage of these atrocities by making human rights a policy priority. But what about the __other__ Dirty War, during which Argentine civilians--including indigenous populations—and foreign powers ignored and even abetted the state’s vicious crimes against humanity? In this groundbreaking new work, David Sheinin draws on previously classified Argentine government documents, human rights lawsuits, and archived propaganda to illustrate the military-constructed fantasy of bloodshed as a public defense of human rights. Exploring the reactions of civilians and the international community to the daily carnage, Sheinin unearths how compliance with the dictatorship perpetuated the violence that defined a nation. This new approach to the history of human rights in Argentina will change how we understand dictatorship, democracy, and state terror. An Examination Of The Way The Argentinian Military Dictatorship Was Able To Commit Human Rights Abuses Because It Was Abetted By The Willingness Of Argentine Civilians To Either Ignore Or Either Assist Their Perpetration. Introduction: How Unpopular Was The Argentine Dictatorship? -- Dictatorship, Media, And Message -- A Correct, Hermeneutic Reading: Fantasies Of A Constitutional Coup And The Promotion Of Indigenous -- Rights -- The Frank War, The Fabrication Of An Ongoing Menace, And The Jews -- Democracy And The (re)shaping Of Human Rights Politics -- Finding A Cynical Center -- Epilogue: Saving Jorge Omar Merengo. David M. K. Sheinin. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: How Unpopular Was the Argentine Dictatorship? 12 1. Dictatorship, Media, and Message 19 2. “A Correct, Hermeneutic Reading”: Fantasies of a Constitutional Coup and the Promotion of Indigenous Rights 41 3. The Frank War, the Fabrication of an Ongoing Menace, and the Jews 75 4. Democracy and the (Re)Shaping of Human Rights Politics 104 5. Finding a Cynical Center 136 Epilogue: Saving Jorge Omar Merengo 160 Notes 170 Bibliography 202 Index 218 A 218 B 219 C 219 D 220 E 221 F 221 G 221 H 222 I 222 J 223 K 223 L 223 M 223 N 224 O 224 P 224 R 225 S 225 T 226 U 227 V 227 W 227 Y 227 Z 227