Juan José Valle (March 15, 1896 – June 12, 1956) was an Argentine

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

who headed a rebellion in 1956 against General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu's

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

Rebellion

Aramburu's '' Revolución Libertadora'' of September 1955 had ended Juan Perón's second term of presidency. After the coup, Valle voluntarily left the army, an action that reflected the discontent of several military officers with Aramburu's regime. However, like other loyalist military officers such as Raúl Tanco, Valle was first detained in a military facility then was later transferred to house arrest. This was part of the aggressive anti-Peronist campaign, which included the government ban of the Peronist Party from future elections, the reversal of Perón's constitutional reforms, and the arrest of thousands of union leaders, among others. He then took part in planning a counter coup and headed a rebellion on 9 June 1956, which quickly spread through the country, but resulted only in seven combat fatalities. It failed and the rebels were captured by the government forces. The failure was attributed to poor planning and the lack of personal support of Perón, who was then living in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Execution

Aramburu's regime decided to make an example of José Valle by executing him by firing squad alongside other rebels, on 12 June, in the National Penitentiary of Buenos Aires. This site is currently Las Heras Park, where a plaque in his honor remains to be seen. This execution led some sectors to name Aramburu's regime ''la Fusiladora'' (the verb ''fusilar'' meaning to execute by a firing-squad). This execution marked a turn in Argentina's history of

insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

s, which were not used to such massive retaliation. Between June 9 and June 12, 1956, 27 civilians and military personnel were executed, some of them illegally during the León Suárez massacre (narrated in

Rodolfo Walsh Rodolfo Jorge Walsh (January 9, 1927 – March 25, 1977) was an Argentine writer and journalist of Irish descent, considered the founder of investigative journalism. He is most famous for his '' Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta'', w ...

's classic

non-fiction novel The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events woven together with fictitious conversations and uses the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherw ...

, ''

Operación Masacre ''Operación Masacre'' ( en, "Operation Massacre") is a nonfiction novel of investigative journalism, written by noted Argentine journalist and author Rodolfo Walsh. It is considered by some to be the first of its genre. It was published in 1957 ...

''). This event lead to Aramburu's subsequent kidnapping and assassination by the Montoneros, a left-wing Peronist group, in June 1970. Valle was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant-general.

References

External links

''Patriotas: a medio siglo los fusilados hablan. 1956 - 9 de junio - 2006'', Jefatura de Gabinete de la Provincia de Buenos Aires
1896 births 1956 deaths Argentine generals People executed by Argentina by firing squad Executed Argentine people People from Buenos Aires Executed military leaders Burials at La Plata Cemetery {{Mil-hist-stub