Many will be aware that Jorge Zorreguieta had a position within the government during the last military dictatorship in Argentina. I have researched and tried to clearly explain how important this position was, what the background was to obtaining this position, and the consequences this had for the country. As a result of the facts mentioned below, it was still possible for a long time that Máxima’s father would have to appear in court in Argentina or elsewhere. His death in 2017 ended these hopes of many relatives of the regime’s victims.
Contents
- From sham democracy to dictatorship
- Background of the coup
- Zorreguieta and the agricultural interests
- Zorreguieta as Secretary of State
- Return to democracy and investigation of human rights violations
- The Marta Sierra case and disappearance of Zorreguieta’s assistant’s daughter
- Conclusion
From sham democracy to dictatorship
In order to properly understand Zorreguieta’s role in the government, it is necessary to provide a brief introduction to the background of this government, in which both soldiers and civilians had a place.
This was not the first dictatorship Argentina had to deal with. After the coups in 1930, 1943, 1955 and 1966, this was already the fifth of the 20th century. The first two coups can still be explained by saying that a lot happened in the interwar period and during the Second World War. Workers sought their place in politics and the military also saw their role change. The third and fourth coups cannot be explained without considering the role of Peronism. With the fall of Juan Perón in 1955, a new ingredient was added to Argentine politics. This ingredient was instability. The Argentinian working class could have smelled equal rights, fair legislation and freedom of religion. It also had to deal with a sluggish economy and a rebellious Catholic Church, which ultimately defeated Perón. The military who then came to power made it a competition to destroy everything Perón had built as quickly as possible. These conservative gentlemen did not like it when the people took to the streets and severely suppressed demonstrations. But the people had not forgotten what it feels like to have a say and fought back. This resulted in the government becoming increasingly permissive. In 1966, General Juan Carlos Onganía had enough of this and took power. However, he too could not please the soldiers.
After several more military presidents who never lasted long, a president came to power who was willing to talk about a return of democracy. Juan Perón had been in exile in Spain for years and was now married to his third wife Isabel. His return was still undiscussed, but the Peronist Héctor Cámpora was elected president in 1973 through a democratic election. He was able to pave the way for Perón, who quickly took over the presidency after democratic elections. However, Perón was seriously ill and died shortly after taking office, after which his wife Isabel – who was vice-president – took over the presidency. However, she turned out to be anything but suitable for the job. The chaos that gripped the country became worse and worse. Severe inflation and political assassinations were the order of the day. In that respect, the coup of March 26, 1976 was certainly not unexpected. Already in his Christmas speech, army commander Jorge Videla had announced that he would give the government another 90 days to put its affairs in order. The Argentine newspaper editors had already calculated that this ultimatum would expire on March 23 or 24.
Given the hopeless political and economic situation, no one really believed that the government, which had long ceased to be so democratic, could turn the tide. The coup on March 24, 1976 took place peacefully and without bloodshed. The government that was installed included both soldiers and civilians – including Jorge Zorreguieta.
Background of the coup
To better understand Zorreguieta’s role, a good understanding of the background to the coup is also needed. The general idea behind it was quite simple: Argentina had fallen prey to subversives who were standing in the way of the healthy development of the homeland. This group had to be fought in every possible way, according to the philosophy of the army, which Zorreguieta also supported. Videla announced on March 29, 1976 that his government would completely eradicate subversion.
Wonder economist José Martínez de Hoz was brought in to draw up an economic plan and was appointed Minister of Economic Affairs. He was a strong supporter of an open market economy. The military, who called their own future plan for Argentina a process of national reorganization, had a special place for agriculture in mind. According to Minister Martínez de Hoz, the economy had stagnated due to too much protectionism and Argentinian products would really be able to survive on their own on the world market. It was also agricultural products that had made Argentina one of the richer countries in the world shortly after World War II.
The government could not function without the cooperation of citizens . Because they believed that supporting the regime could strengthen their economic and political position, many agricultural entrepreneurs decided to support Videla and his associates. Traditionally, these entrepreneurs unite in different organizations that were generally, without exception, on the (far) right side of the political spectrum.
Zorreguieta and the agricultural interests
The main organization for the advocacy of the agricultural elite was the Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA). It was mainly this SRA that supplied many civilians to the military government. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock fell under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and a lot of expertise is required to run this ministry. It was therefore natural that Martínez de Hoz looked for experienced staff to strengthen his team. Undersecretary of Agriculture Cadenas Madariaga asked Jorge Zorreguieta to become his undersecretary in March 1976. This was not a strange choice.
Jorge Horacio Zorreguieta was born in 1928 as a descendant of Basque immigrants. The Zorreguieta family has been very influential, for example his grandfather Amadeo was mayor of the medium-sized city of Mendoza. But with his death the role of the family in public life was over. Zorreguieta was sent to very conservative schools by his parents. 1945 was his last year of high school. This year came to an end earlier than usual due to the unrest that accompanied Juan Perón’s takeover. The country became divided into two groups: the supporters and opponents of Perón and his party. Zorreguieta belonged to the second group from the start.
At a young age he joined the Ateneo Rural, a youth wing of the SRA, which met once a week to discuss agricultural issues. In 1959 he had become chairman, and less than a year later he was asked by the large umbrella SRA to become their secretary. He did not have to think about that offer, and this meant his permanent establishment within the Argentine agricultural world.
The 1960s may have been politically turbulent, but no significant events took place in the field of agriculture and Zorreguieta was in a comfortable position. When a new chairman had to be appointed in September 1975, Zorreguieta, with his years of experience, proved to be the perfect candidate. However, he would not hold this office for long. With the new policy plan of the Hoz, many changes had to be implemented in the agricultural world. When asked whether he had to think long about it when he was asked to become Undersecretary of State for Agriculture, he replied. If you are asked to implement those changes yourself, it is impossible to say no. You simply owed that loyalty.
Zorreguieta as Secretary of State
The new ministers were carefully chosen. Anyone who did not agree with the Hoz’s policy was not welcome. The people working in the Ministry of Agriculture had little political responsibility and were more of executors.
Zorreguieta’s work was mainly aimed at giving foreign investors new confidence in Argentine agricultural products. He also helped develop detailed plans that would help farmers improve their production. In fact, people like Zorreguieta were happy with the freedom they were given to carry out their plans, and were very grateful to the dictatorship, but refrained from making outright political comments.
Zorreguieta traveled many conferences around the world to represent Argentina. However, he was not given much space because the Hoz’s economic plan was flawed. But the military continued to cite agriculture as one of the key drivers of Argentina’s economy, which made him feel emboldened. These problems caused State Secretary Cadenas Madariaga to resign in March 1979. He was succeeded by Zorreguieta, who now really headed the ministry. The fact that he stayed on, despite the fact that he also came from the ministry that criticized the Hoz, is seen by many as strange, but can be explained by the executive nature of his work. His social ambitions may also have played a role in this decision. His family had lost much prestige over the past century and this was an opportunity to make a name for himself again as Zorreguieta.
The office of State Secretary gave him even more responsibilities towards his government. He was forced to speak more at conferences. In a 1979 speech he said the following:
The privileged situation of being virtually self-sufficient in terms of petroleum and having a large capacity to produce foodstuffs forces us to also consider the process of national reorganization from this perspective, in order to have strong institutions that can support a healthy democracy.
From this quote it can be seen that Zorreguieta was now part of the machine that continued to insist to the outside world that Argentina was still a democracy. That this was not the case is clear since the government that has been in power for three years has never called elections. It is now clear that more happened. I will come back to this later.
During his time as State Secretary, Zorreguieta has also been able to show a little more of his own contribution. He stated several times that he was in favor of privatizations in the agricultural sector. Naturally, the smaller companies did not agree with this plan, as it could mean that they would now have to work for a few large multinationals. For example, they would have to give up businesses that had been in the family for generations. Despite these objections, Zorreguieta maintained the same beliefs until the end of his term.
In 1980, the Ministry of Agriculture was faced with an important decision. US President Carter wanted a grain embargo against the Soviet Union. The Americans did everything they could to get all the major grain producers in the world to support this embargo. Argentina was one of these major producers. Argentina was suddenly drawn into the Cold War, while it had kept itself out of international politics as much as possible in recent years. This was not unwise, given President Carter’s aversion to the military regime. Ultimately it was decided not to participate in the embargo. This had not been an easy decision, and it was very vague about it. Time and again, different people were put forward to explain something or the other, while it would be obvious if Zorreguieta would speak at all times. The reason for this may have been that Zorreguieta himself was in favor of the embargo. It was clear that some matters were taken out of his hands because the military saw this embargo as a good means of pressure.
The regime now felt in a position to make demands on America, which had strongly criticized the human rights situation in Argentina. After this intense episode, Zorreguieta faded into the background again. Just at that moment, the Hoz again received a lot of criticism for its economic policy. When Zorreguieta was present at a conference in Europe, plans were being made in Argentina to drastically change the role of his ministry. Suddenly there was a rush because President Videla was going to resign and a lot had to be arranged for the transition to his successor General Viola. In February 1981, Zorreguieta’s participation in the government came to an end when the position of the ministry changed and another person was appointed as minister. Zorreguieta continued his career as a representative of the Argentine sugar industry.
Return to democracy and investigation of human rights violations
In 1983, with the appointment of Raul Alfonsín as president, democracy returned to Argentina. Only then could the balance be taken of what had happened in the country in the past eight years. In the meantime, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo had been walking laps around the square in front of the presidential palace for years to draw attention to their disappeared sons and daughters. What had happened to them? Where had all those people gone who left home one day and never returned? It is certain that between 20,000 and 30,000 people have disappeared. Alfonsín had the important task of instructing a committee to investigate this.
For years, Amnesty International has been concerned with Argentina and its alleged human rights violations. For example, on August 9, 1977, Bishop Argimiro Moure had received a number of letters asking him to release a professor imprisoned in his diocese. From the safety of Germany, Amnesty is conducting a cowardly, unjust and undignified campaign against Argentina, he wrote in a response. This shows how convinced some Argentinians were about the justification for their participation in this Dirty War. An independent organization such as Amnesty International was simply labeled as cowardly and unjust.
Did Jorge Zorreguieta have a part in these human rights violations? What is certain is that with his efforts at the Ministry of Agriculture he provided a financial basis for the military junta. That is the conclusion of Amnesty International. The fact that he was promoted from undersecretary to state secretary also indicates that the junta had confidence in him. He was also outside his duties as Secretary of State, a major landowner in the Tucumán region, where at least 1,100 missing workers were counted in 1978 as a result of secret military operations.
The Marta Sierra case and disappearance of Zorreguieta’s assistant’s daughter
Then there is the Marta Sierra case. On March 30, 1976, she was taken from her home in Buenos Aires by an army unit. Her family never heard from her again. I was appointed on April 9, 1976, by Decree No. 76, and only took office as State Secretary three years later. Nobody told me about it, I was never aware of it. This is new for me. I can say that this poor lady, who sadly disappeared on March 30, 1976, has nothing to do with me, Zorreguieta said in a response. However, other sources within the ministry say that Zorreguieta was already working in March, albeit not officially. In 2004, her sons filed a request with the judge to question Zorreguieta about her disappearance.
This was not the first time he had to appear in court. In 2001, he was also interrogated in connection with the disappearance of the daughter of one of his personal assistants. Zorreguieta has never been convicted. Opinions differ as to whether it is right that he was never convicted. It is now clear why his presence in the Netherlands always causes such a stir on official occasions. More than once he had to listen to chants such as Zorreguieta murderer and variations on this in Spanish. Anyone who knows the facts can decide for themselves whether this is justified. But what is the legal situation now? Attempts have been made to convict Zorreguieta in the Netherlands. According to some lawyers, this should be possible according to Article 11 of the Constitution. Others argue that this goes too far. It is certain that Dutch judges do not have much experience with charges under this article. It was once included in the Constitution through a motion by the House of Representatives, on the grounds that ‘the principle of the inviolability of the human body is so important that it should be included separately in the Constitution as a fundamental right.’ It suddenly seemed much less important when Zorreguieta’s daughter married a member of the royal family. Lawyers were not given the opportunity to present arguments that could have led to a conviction of Zorreguieta. Ultimately, the argument for not continuing with the case was that no Dutch people died in Argentina.
But in Argentina, even some of his own friends have now rejected him, as can be seen, for example, in an IKON documentary from 2002. A number of senior military women from the Videla regime defend the actions of the junta without any regret. It is also striking that these ladies fully support Zorreguieta regarding his role in the Dirty War. However, there is one point on which they do not support him: his denial. They think he’s a wimp because he doesn’t dare to admit what he has done and what he knows.
Conclusion
Zorreguieta’s role thus mainly consisted of leading the Ministry of Agriculture. From his position he has largely contributed to keeping the junta afloat. This is because his ministry had a very important role in financing it. And not just any junta, but one that systematically kidnapped, tortured and often ultimately murdered people.
Some will say this wasn’t his responsibility. This is up for debate. What cannot be discussed is whether he knew about the human rights violations. Everyone in the country knew about this. When tens of thousands of people – mainly from the capital and suburbs – disappear, there is always one to whom you had a link, however vague. Especially someone with the social network of a high-ranking official like Jorge Zorreguieta.
Even during the dictatorship, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo made their weekly rounds to draw attention to the disappearances of their children. During the 1978 Football World Cup, the whole world fell in love with the regime. Amnesty International tried to draw attention to the situation. In Uruguay, the lifeless bodies of people dropped over the sea from Argentine army planes washed up. Childless high-ranking figures in the military and government raised children stolen from women who were pregnant at the time of their arrest.
Zorreguieta knew what happened. Maybe not exactly, but approximately. This should have been reason enough to withdraw , saying that he did not want to help maintain a dictatorship that silenced subversives through torture and murder. He didn’t do this and he didn’t even have the courage to stop with the unbelievable denial. In the eyes of many, this makes him a criminal and an accomplice. Is there anyone who can look the child of a disappeared person in the eye and say: leave that man alone, he couldn’t do anything about it? Someone from the Netherlands, where after the Second World War everyone who might have been wrong was denounced? Argentina is far away and a long time ago for many, but ask yourself: what if Zorreguieta had participated not in a murderous Argentine regime but in the government of Nazi Germany? Would we have been so forgiving?