Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti (May 21, 1903 – June 1, 1970) was an
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...
general. He was a major figure behind the ''
Revolución Libertadora'', the military coup against
Juan Perón in 1955. He became dictator of Argentina, serving from November 13, 1955 to May 1, 1958. He was kidnapped by the radical organization
Montoneros on May 29, 1970 and murdered, allegedly in retaliation for the June 1956 execution of General
Juan José Valle
Juan José Valle (March 15, 1896 – June 12, 1956) was an Argentine general who headed a rebellion in 1956 against General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu's dictatorship.
Rebellion
Aramburu's '' Revolución Libertadora'' of September 1955 had ended ...
, an army officer associated with the Peronist movement, and 26 Peronist militants after a botched attempt to overthrow his regime.
Military career
*He studied at the
National Military College
*1922: Sub-lieutenant
*1939: Major
*1943: Teacher in the Escuela de Guerra
*1951: Brigadier
*Director of the Escuela de Guerra
*1955: Commander in Chief of the Army
*1958: Lieutenant general.
President of Argentina
He served as ''de facto'' president of Argentina from November 13th 1955 to May 1st 1958.
The ''Revolución Libertadora'' which overthrew
Juan Perón was triggered in part by his actions towards the press, as well as the imprisonment of opposition leaders and economic instability. For example, Perón incited his followers to wreck the offices and printing presses of newspapers who criticized him and he jailed the leader of the opposition,
Ricardo Balbin, of the
Radical Civic Union party. The military Revolución Libertadora against Perón for these actions led to three years of military rule under Aramburu, who allowed elections to be held in
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
.
Aramburu's military government forced Perón into exile and barred the
Peronist Party
The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism.
Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...
from further elections. Perón lived in exile in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
until 1973.
He repealed the reelectionist and statist Constitution of 1949 and restored the validity of the historical text of 1853/60, a decision that was later validated by a constituent convention. He promised to hand over power as soon as possible to a president elected by the people. He made a public commitment that none of the military who held positions in his government would accept candidacies when elections were called.
Anti-Peronist political power
After the end of his presidential term in 1958, Aramburu retired from the military career and devoted himself entirely to politics.
He ran for president in
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
as leader of the Union of the Argentine People (''Union del Pueblo Argentino,'' UDELPA), with the slogan "Vote UDELPA and HE won't return" ("Vote UDELPA y no vuelve"), referring to Perón.
With the Peronists banned, the Presidential elections resulted in
Arturo Umberto Illia
Arturo Umberto Illia (; 4 August 1900 – 18 January 1983) was an Argentine politician and physician, who was President of Argentina from 12 October 1963, to 28 June 1966. He was a member of the centrist Radical Civic Union.
Illia reached the ...
becoming president, with Aramburu coming in third.
Yet the military retained much real power,
censoring both Peronism and its leader. The fragility of Argentine democracy was shown when Illia was overthrown in
1966 by a military coup led by General
Juan Carlos Onganía
Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo (; 17 March 1914 – 8 June 1995) was President of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as dictator after toppling the president Arturo Illia in a coup d'état self-named ''Revolución Argen ...
.
In 1970, Aramburu was mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.
Death
On May 29, 1970 at noon, Aramburu was snatched from his apartment in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
by two members of Montoneros posing as young army officers. Montoneros dubbed the kidnapping ''Operación Pindapoy'', after a company that produced
citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...
in the 1960s. Aramburu's disappearance kept Argentinian society on tenterhooks for a month before it was discovered that Aramburu had been murdered three days after his abduction, following a
mock trial
A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...
and his corpse hidden inside a farmhouse near
Timote,
Carlos Tejedor, in
Buenos Aires Province. He had been shot twice in the chest with two different pistols. Following his arrest, convicted
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
Mario Firmenich
Mario Eduardo Firmenich (born 24 January 1948) is a former Argentine urban guerrilla leader and politician. He was one of the commanders of Montoneros group and the most significant figure in the Argentine guerrillas in the 70s. In 1987, He was s ...
took credit for the kidnapping and assassination.
In the following weeks, statements from Montoneros flooded the media. Among other things, they claimed their actions were a response to the executions of twenty-seven Peronist militants who took part in an unsuccessful coup d'état in 1956.
In 1974, Aramburu's body was stolen by Montoneros. The corpse was to be held until President
Isabel Perón brought back
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 19 ...
's body from Italy. It was also an act of revenge for the previous removal of Evita's body. Once Evita's body arrived in Argentina, Montoneros gave up Aramburu's corpse and abandoned it in a street in Buenos Aires.
Legacy
Aramburu became a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
for the right-wing of Argentina.
For
Peronists
Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...
, his assassination was a dream came true, considering he ordered the execution of
Juan José Valle
Juan José Valle (March 15, 1896 – June 12, 1956) was an Argentine general who headed a rebellion in 1956 against General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu's dictatorship.
Rebellion
Aramburu's '' Revolución Libertadora'' of September 1955 had ended ...
and Raul Tanco, both Peronist Generals who rebelled against the
Revolución Libertadora.
See also
*
History of Argentina
The history of Argentina can be divided into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time or early history (up to the sixteenth century), the colonial period (1536–1809), the period of nation-building (1810–1880), and the history of modern Argenti ...
*
List of solved missing person cases
Lists of solved missing person cases include:
* List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
See also
* List of kidnappings
* List of murder convictions without a body
* List of people who di ...
References
External links
Ejército Argentino (Spanish)Braden vs Peron confrontation (Spanish)Find-A-Grave profile for Pedro Eugenio Aramburu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aramburu, Pedro
1903 births
1970 deaths
Argentine people of Basque descent
Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery
People from Río Cuarto, Córdoba
Presidents of Argentina
Argentine generals
Argentine anti-communists
Assassinated Argentine politicians
Deaths by firearm in Argentina
Kidnapped Argentine people
People murdered in Argentina
Leaders who took power by coup
Terrorism deaths in Argentina
Colegio Militar de la Nación alumni
Kidnappings in Argentina
Victims of body snatching