Marcos Paz, 1914 – Buenos Aires (Argentina), 1995
By María Seoane
Juan Carlos Onganía was born on March 17, 1914, in Marcos Paz, Buenos Aires Province. He studied at the Military College, where he graduated as a lieutenant. In 1959, he rose to the rank of brigadier general in the cavalry. In 1962, he led the so-called “Blue faction”—a group within the military that opposed the more conservative “Red faction”—which triumphed in the internal struggle of the Armed Forces during the presidency of José María Guido, thus obtaining the rank of Army Commander-in-Chief. In 1965, he resigned from his command of the Army to plan his rise to power through a future coup d’état. In 1966, he led the self-proclaimed Argentine Revolution, overthrowing the constitutional president Arturo U. Illia.
He took office as president on June 30, 1966. Shortly after, he ordered police intervention in universities. This action led to protests by professors and students, who were violently repressed in what became known as the “Night of the Long Batons.” He imposed strict censorship on the press and any cultural expression, as well as harsh persecution of labor unions and guerrilla organizations. Through his Minister of Economy, Adalbert Krieger Vasena, he implemented an economic program that favored large businesses, foreign investment, imports, and the sale of Argentine companies abroad, to the detriment of exports and the promotion of small and medium-sized national enterprises.
In 1969, the Cordobazo took place, led mainly by students and automotive industry workers in the city of Córdoba, in response to economic policies and ongoing repression. Intense clashes occurred between protesters and the police, which was forced to retreat. Shortly afterward, the metallurgical union leader Augusto Timoteo Vandor and former military president Pedro Eugenio Aramburu were assassinated. These events, along with constant pressure from the Army, led to an internal coup that removed Onganía and appointed General Roberto Marcelo Levingston as president.
