Maggie and Leopold
by Luciano D'Orazio

General Leopoldo Galtieri, who died Jan. 12 at the age of 76, was one of four generals who led Argentina's military government between 1976 and 1983. His government, like the two that preceded it and the one that followed, participated in the "dirty war," wherein somewhere between 9,000 and 30,000 left-wing political opponents were tortured, killed or abducted and presumed dead. Galtieri's government was involved in the disappearance of children born to leftists in custody during his administration, as well as the kidnapping and torturing of 20 members of the Montoneros, a left-wing guerrilla group. Known as an alcoholic and an oppressive tyrant, there is no doubt Galtieri was a bad guy.

Galtieri served less than a year, from November 1981 until June 1982. But what made his brief sojourn in the Argentine presidency remarkable, though, was that unlike his fellow sadists-in-chief who sat idly by while the Argentine economy sank, he turned to an old adage: If the economy's in the toilet, pick a fight with somebody. The fight he picked was over a small group of islands in the South Atlantic, population 2,000, and he picked it against Great Britain, a tottering shell of its former self which was only beginning to get ahold of its own economic crisis. The fight became known in Argentina as La Guerra de las Malvinas, and in the rest of the world as the Falklands War. And it accomplished only one thing: the destruction of the Argentine dictatorship.

When the junta came to power in a military coup in 1976, the second order of business — after tightening control and neutralizing political opponents in brutal and interesting ways — was to deal with the massive economic crisis that brought them into power in the first place. The country was suffering from massive hyperinflation, with rates soaring to 400 percent. The junta decided to open the floodgates to foreign products and allow the free market to dictate prices, therefore stabilizing the economy. In the beginning, this worked rather well, well enough that in 1978 Argentina staged the World Cup as a showcase of its economic progress (with the human-rights abuses pushed conveniently to the background). It also helped that Argentina won that tournament (although as with the 1970 Brazil World Cup win it was probably done with a wink and a nudge from the wizened generals in the box).

However, the good times did not last long. The flood of foreign imports decimated Argentina's once-viable manufacturing sector, wiping out any short-term economic gains. By 1981, inflation had skyrocketed to more than 600 percent per year, the GDP was down 11.4 percent, manufacturing output was down 22.9 percent and real wages were down 19.2 percent. Predictably, unrest built over the mass "disappearances." Ordinary citizens were joining the mothers of missing leftist dissidents in protesting outside the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. The time was right for a change of guard.

But the new president, Galtieri, decided to divert attention by turning to an allegedly long-standing grievance against the British Empire. In 1833, the British occupied and annexed the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina, and ever since it has been a dreary backwater of the empire, suited better to sheep and penguins than people. The Argentine government claimed (and still does) that the islands, which they call the Islas Malvinas, are rightfully theirs because of the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided the New World between Spain and Portugal. It's an outdated, archaic claim, especially considering that the line probably would have made the United States Spanish territory, but it was enough of a justification to Galtieri to launch an invasion of the Falklands on April 2, 1982. The date itself was an act of desperation, since it had to be moved up from Independence Day, July 9, due to mounting demonstrations from labor unions.

Galtieri doubted the British had the stomach to defend the islands. A severely weakened former colonial power, Britain was recovering from a disastrous economic crisis of its own. What he did not count on was the iron will of the new prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who herself was flagging in popularity at home. Against the wishes of many of her senior ministers who would have preferred to forget the whole thing, Thatcher decided to teach Galtieri a lesson. She launched a military expedition to take the islands on April 25. What followed was a 78-day long conflict which killed 255 British and more than 700 Argentines but ultimately resulted in the re-capture of the islands. The effects of the war reflected the war itself: Thatcher was re-elected to another term, and Galtieri was forced into retirement as the military government sank into collapse.

Galtieri's move worked on the home front, at least at first. The war was initially very popular in Argentina, as protests against the government morphed into demonstrations supporting the brave boys taking back "their" Malvinas. However, as the weeks dragged on, and the government impressed men into service — largely against their will — the mood changed. And once again the people rediscovered the misery and repression they lived under. It didn't help that the Argentines were losing badly, having ships sunk in their own Rio de la Plata. Seven hundred body bags just exacerbated the situation. To the mothers of disappeared prisoners, the open sight of dead Argentines led to clamoring protests to enlighten the masses on other dead Argentines the government insisted didn't exist. The economy continued its downward spiral.

In the end, Galtieri would be tried, convicted, pardoned and tried again for crimes committed under his administration and the administrations of the other three generals in the junta. For the most part, because of his short tenure, Galtieri's personal crimes are probably a drop in the bucket compared to Rafael Videla and others who hung around long enough to torture and kill in sufficient quantity.

But if Leopoldo Galtieri will be remembered for anything he did, it is being desperate enough to pick a losing fight with the British. He took on Maggie Thatcher, thinking the fireworks would keep the people occupied. Too bad the fireworks were on him. The Brits emerged triumphant. Galtieri was out of a job. And the Argentines — the repressed, overpriced, underpaid Argentines — would get their democracy back.

E-mail Luciano D'Orazio at loudogs1@aol.com.