Roberto Eduardo Viola

Roberto Eduardo Viola
43rd President of Argentina
De facto
In office
29 March 1981  11 December 1981
Preceded by Jorge Rafael Videla
Succeeded by Carlos Alberto Lacoste (interim)
Personal details
Born (1924-10-13)October 13, 1924
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died September 30, 1994(1994-09-30) (aged 69)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nationality Argentine
Political party None
Spouse(s) Nélida Giorgio Valente[1]
Children 2[1]
Profession Military
Religion Roman Catholicism
Military service
Allegiance Argentina Argentina
Service/branch Argentine Army
Rank Lieutenant General

Roberto Eduardo Viola (October 13, 1924 – September 30, 1994) was an Argentine military officer who briefly served as president of Argentina from March 29 to December 11, 1981 as a military dictatorship.[1]

Early life

He was born as Roberto Eduardo Viola Prevedini on October 13, 1924.

President of Argentina

Viola appointed Lorenzo Sigaut as finance minister, and it became clear that Sigaut (and his protégé Domingo Cavallo) were looking for ways to reverse some of the economic policies of Videla's minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz. Notably, Sigaut abandoned the sliding exchange rate mechanism and devalued the peso, after boasting that "they who gamble on the dollar, will lose". Argentines braced for a recession after the excesses of the plata dulce ("sweet money") years, which destabilized Viola's position.

Viola was also the victim of infighting within the armed forces. After being replaced as Navy chief, Eduardo Massera started looking for a political space to call his own, even enlisting the enforced and unpaid services of political prisoners held in concentration camps by the regime. The mainstream of the Junta's support was strongly opposed to Massera's designs and to any attempt to bring about more "populist" economic policies.

Ousted in a coup

Viola found his maneuvering space greatly reduced, and was ousted by a military coup in December 1981, led by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri, who soon became President. The official explanation given for the ousting was Viola's alleged health problems. Galtieri swiftly appointed Roberto Alemann as finance minister and presided over the build-up and pursuit of the Falklands War.

Later years

After the collapse of the military regime and the election of Raúl Alfonsín in 1983, Viola was arrested, judged for human rights violations committed by the military junta during the Dirty War, and sentenced to 17 years in prison. His health deteriorated in prison; Viola was pardoned by Carlos Menem in 1990 together with all junta members. He died in 1994.

See also

References

Military offices
Preceded by
Jorge Videla
As General Commander of the Army
Commander-in-Chief of the Army
1977-1981
Succeeded by
Leopoldo Galtieri
Political offices
Preceded by
Jorge Videla
President of Argentina
1981
Succeeded by
Carlos Lacoste


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