Which decade was worse for human rights in Latin America: 70's or 80's?

[Tooting Carmen]

I'd say it is a close call.

On the one hand, the 70's was the decade of Operation Condor, when six South American military dictatorships (principally Chile and Argentina, but also Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) assisted each other in hunting down dissidents both in each others' countries and further afield. During this time, Chile was alleged to be rivalled only by Maoist China and the Khmer Rouge's Cambodia in having the world's worst record for torture, Uruguay had the highest number of political prisoners in the world per capita, while Argentina led the way in terms of killings and disappearances.

On the other hand, the 80's saw the emergence of civil wars and dictatorships across Central America, as well as that of brutal drug cartels and guerrilla groups in Colombia and Peru, who insofar as they had a presence before this time, it was on a much smaller scale. The PRI in Mexico was also clinging on to power by ever-more dubious means, such as the 1982 Corpus Christi massacre and the 1988 presidential election where, just as the opposition candidate looked like winning, the vote-counting system 'mysteriously' broke down. Even Venezuela, still regarded as a relative success story, was increasingly worlds away from its glory days of the 70's.

[Andullero]

Both, but as far as the DR goes, the 70's were far more violent.

[Tooting Carmen]

Both, but as far as the DR goes, the 70's were far more violent.

Yes, but wasn't the economy actually worse in the 80's? Plus you had presidents who either committed suicide or hid in a foreign embassy...

[Andullero]

Yes, but wasn't the economy actually worse in the 80's? Plus you had presidents who either committed suicide or hid in a foreign embassy...

Yeah, but the communist threat was totally neutered by Cointelpro, so they spent more their energies in bickering with each other than actually being at war with the state. The only bloody episode in the 80's was the popular uprising against the IMF "recommended" measures to answer the debt crisis in 84', which was brutally squashed by the army. After that, the people simply waited the remaining two years to take their revenge on the ballot against the PRD instead of persisting in civil disorder. Plus, the Reagan Caribbean Basin initiative, couple with remittances from abroad and Balaguer's public works program from 86' onwards sort of did the trick.

[Tooting Carmen]

Yeah, but the communist threat was totally neutered by Cointelpro, so they spent more their energies in bickering with each other than actually being at war with the state. The only bloody episode in the 80's was the popular uprising against the IMF "recommended" measures to answer the debt crisis in 84', which was brutally squashed by the army. After that, the people simply waited the remaining two years to take their revenge on the ballot against the PRD instead of persisting in civil disorder. Plus, the Reagan Caribbean Basin initiative, couple with remittances from abroad and Balaguer's public works program from 86' onwards sort of did the trick.

I was mostly playing devil's advocate in asking that question. Still, Balaguer's transformation from semi-dictator to wholesale democrat was arguably not so far off Gorbachev or De Klerk.

[Andullero]

I was mostly playing devil's advocate in asking that question. Still, Balaguer's transformation from semi-dictator to wholesale democrat was arguably not so far off Gorbachev or De Klerk.

Yeah, that was a curious Glasnost from the other side, as it were. The only similar example that comes to my mind that comes from the right as well was Bolivia's Hugo Banzer.

[Tooting Carmen]

Yeah, that was a curious Glasnost from the other side, as it were. The only similar example that comes to my mind that comes from the right as well was Bolivia's Hugo Banzer.

Only that Banzer's emergence as a democrat was far later.

[axel.aleman]

Both, but as far as the DR goes, the 70's were far more violent.

En Panama fue lo contrario, los 80s sobretodo finales de esa década fue mucho más violenta. Con la caída de Noriega

[Tooting Carmen]

En Panama fue lo contrario, los 80s sobretodo finales de esa década fue mucho más violenta. Con la caída de Noriega

No era Torrijos bastante represivo tambien?

[axel.aleman]

No era Torrijos bastante represivo tambien?

Si pero solo con guerrilleros Arnulfistas y Comunistas. Nunca reprimió a la población en general como Noriega.
La huelga de maestros del 79 no fue reprimida por la Guardia Nacional ni hubieron desapariciones de maestros a pesar de que fue promovida por la oposición Arnulfista.
Mientras las protestas de la cruzada civilistas tuvieron muertos de la población civil como Baules que lo mataron francotiradores y mucha represión