Talk:Jorge Rafael Videla

Desaparecidos

The Clarin article referenced as a source for the figure of 5,000 Desaparecidos doesn't back up this claim. It actually states that an organisation compiled a list of over 5500 people that had disappeared. The Clarin article states that the organisation believed the list to be incomplete (and most likely to be innacurate) - there is no suggestion that the list was meant as an estimate of the numbers of people who disappeared.

The Clarin article also states that 13,000 people have been officially registered as Desaparecidos, but there is no mention of this being an estimate of the disappeared either.

However, as the article also provides no basis for the '5000', and as this is a contentious issue (someone will certainly update the figure and hopefully provide a proper source), I've updated the figure to 13,000.

Lost in space (talk) 18:09, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

I appreciate your edit to the article. The issue was a presumably vandalistic edit (as he changed both end of the figures) by an anonymous editor that we've overlooked for a year. The upper end of the estimate was corrected, but the lower end was overlooked. MartinezMD (talk) 18:14, 26 February 2019 (UTC)

Untitled

Was Mr. Videla born on 02 Aug or 21 Aug? If it is on the 21 Aug, then why is cataloged as being an individual dated 02 Aug?

Title

Is is possible to remove the "president" box? He was not a President, he was a Dictator. And a really nasty one.

You apparently don't understand how Wikipedia works. You should probably instruct yourself before making comments like this. Nobody is interested on your personal feelings about the subject. If you have any hard evidence that shows he was not a president then present that evidence and make the edit. Otherwise, keep your personal feelings to yourself. Also, you should sign your comments.Tiempodepaz (talk) 17:10, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Tiempodepaz, you are correct that the poster of these comments should have signed them, but sometimes people forget to sign as I have myself on occasion. The poster certainly didn't deserve your vehemence. You insist that Wikipedia editors are not interested in the previous posters personal feelings, which is true as Wikipedia does strive for objectivity and impartiality, yet your post above and another down the page in the "Article Neutrality" section indicates that you have strong feelings about Vileda's portrayal as a Dictator, when it is obvious to the most impartial readers that he was in fact a Dictator guilty of hideous crimes. SpencerCollins (talk) 06:11, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Spencer, this is a July 2009 message, and the user Tiempodepaz has not edited since then. He won't notice your reply, he's not here anymore MBelgrano (talk) 13:32, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Once again: Was he an Emporor? --Stat-ist-ikk (talk) 09:20, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

Dirty War

Is it possible to move the essay to a separate page on the Dirty War?Vancouverguy 00:11, 18 Sep 2003 (UTC)

• I think that's a good idea.Pascal 06:21, 18 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Prosecution

It would be nice to include some more information on Videla's initial 1985 sentencing, subsequent pardon, and 1998 prison sentence and house arrest. Some of this is included in the Dirty war article and the spanish-version article.

This page needs a lot of

Sources

I'm going to place a request of sources and reference on this article. Most of it seems fine, but I've never heard of 500,000 exiled Argentinians. 30,000 as estimate of desaparecidos is sort of common knowledge in Argentina, but should be sourced properly for the benefit of the general reader. --Pablo D. Flores (Talk) 10:47, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

What I found

• "An official investigation concluded that 9,000 people were killed or disappeared during the period of the military governments, although human rights organisations say the figure could be as high as 30,000." BBC news.

• "... mantener las banderas de justicia social y liberación nacional que levantaban los 30 mil desaparecidos y la mayoría del pueblo..." ExDesaparecidos.org.ar

• This link calculates around 3,000 lived in France either legally (900) or in clandestinity after the 1976 golpe.

• Argentinos en el Exterior

I think those 500,000 emigrants might be too much. The exodus actually started after the 1966 military government, but I haven't been able to find much. And it seams that the 21st century exodus was far bigger than that of the Dirty War. Mariano(t/c) 12:13, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Cruyff

Anon comment on Cruyff's decition not to participate of the WC 1978:

[nonsense, he already decided in 1974 that he wouldn't play in another World Cup, because his wife Danny didn't want him to be away from home for another 6 weeks or so. Johan Cruijff didn't have any political motives to not go to Argentina, his motives were personal and had nothing to do with the Argentinean regime.] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.187.5.222 (talk • contribs)

Mariano(t/c) 10:10, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Trivia

Do we really need the piece of trivia at the end? It trivializes the issues at stake, in my opinion. My Lord, and the score is even included.Landrumkelly 12:08, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

I've removed it. Cruyff is on record as saying that the reason he did not attend was concern for his welfare following a kidnap attempt. – iridescent 17:05, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

"'de facto' president of Argentina"'?

That part of the article is apparently untouchable. At least I don't see how to edit it. Surely to say that we was the "self-proclaimed" president would be a more defensible way to open this article, since "president" (in lieu of "dictator") gives a sense of legitimacy to his rule. HE WAS A DICTATOR. Landrumkelly 12:17, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

If he was not a President, was Prince, Pope, Grand Duke, King....Shiekh or was he perhaps an Emporor? In other words, was he a Monarch? I'm guessing he would happen to be a President. (82.134.28.194 (talk) 13:48, 10 May 2010 (UTC))

It confuses me how Videla could be the Head of State of Argentina, and not be a President. Dictatorship is not an antonym to a Republic. The Kingdom of Argentina has never happened. It is more confusing how the Spanish discussion page contains an entire page dedicated to a such question. (Stat-ist-ikk (talk) 08:36, 11 May 2010 (UTC))

Female?

What does this article refer with "suspected to be a female"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.232.253.81 (talk) 01:59, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Pink Panther

I recently heard that Argentinians used to call him the "Pink Panther" because he seemed to move and behave a lot loke the cartoon character - can anyone verify that claim? -- 134.102.101.64 (talk) 22:07, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

Never heard of it, and I'm 31 years old (lived all my life in Argentina) [A] 23:32, 23 December 2010 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ariel ALB (talk • contribs)

Book The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism

The book " The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism" by Paul H. Lewis, has on page 448,this text:"General Jorge Videla, head of the military government that supplanted Isabel Perón, was Argentina's twenty-first president since 1930.His task was to restore order to a political economy in which violence and chaos had become endemic.Terrorism had reached the point where political assassinations were happening on the average of one every eighteen hours.At the same time, the economic picture could not have been more dismal.The annual rate of inflation had reached 920 percent, gross domestic production was down by 4.4 percent in the first quarter of 1976, and fixed gross investment was down by 16.7 percent.The budget deficit was enormous(equaling 13.5 percent of the GDP), and a balance of payments deficit of around $600 million exceeded the treasury's exchange reserves, making a default quite possible." Agre22 (talk) 19:29, 5 March 2009 (UTC)agre22

Article neutrality

I am disputing the neutrality of this article. I have already requested that the article be removed until the problems are fixed. This is an article about a living person and as such the author should have been extra careful in ensuring that the facts had citations and that citations could be verified. Of the few citations included, several refer back to a website that is clearly biased against General Videla and the military government of the 70s. I’d love to help improve this article with some time.Tiempodepaz (talk) 01:42, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

The book Guerrillas and generals describes this Argentine as a honest, but misguided ruler. He never robbed money and he wipped out terrorist groups such as Montoneros and ERP. At same time, he became linked to criminals such as then Admiral Emilio Massera and made a bad economy work. To have neutrality about Jorge Rafael Videla is very difficult task. Beyond doubt he was far worse than Pinochet, in anything, except human rights, where both were equal.Agre22 (talk) 02:31, 15 November 2009 (UTC)agre22

Incorrent rank

The article improperly states the rank of Mr. Videla, given that he was stripped of all ranks and honors in 1985 (an important fact that it also fails to mention). I won't commit the change myself because I'm unsure about the proper vocabulary in English. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.193.81.216 (talk) 23:30, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

He had already ended his years of service anyway Cambalachero (talk) 23:41, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

Death

The article says he died "in his sleep". That may be correct, but this AP story (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/argentine-ex-dictator-jorge-videla-dies-prison) says that "he died while sitting on the toilet". Should this be included? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.84.181.38 (talk) 04:39, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Jorge Rafael Videla. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071215120735/http://www.fuerzas-armadas.mil.ar/historia/autoridades.asp to http://www.fuerzas-armadas.mil.ar/historia/autoridades.asp

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 14:28, 27 November 2017 (UTC)

Possible serious plagiarism

To frequent visitors of this page,

I have just discovered that the introduction to this page has been copied word for word from the book "20 Dictators of the World" by Kalyani Mukherjee. Every word from the book is the exact same in the introduction. Has anyone else noticed this?

-Ryan1783

Fascism

can be defined as "a form of radical, right-wing, authoritarian ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy, which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe" from our own article here on WP. Videla seems to fit pretty well under this definition. Additionally, both contemporary and retrospective sources defined him as such. Since we have an anonymous IP editor reverting the title, I've prospectively taken to include some sources. Here are a few:

• "Videla's regime completes the fascist bloc which now covers virtually all of South America"
• "Argentina hosted the World cup in 1978 while under the fascist dictatorship of Jorge Videla"
• "These changes merely represent a new phase in the military's long-term plan to solidify a fascist-type state in Argentina"
• "But just from this century, there are plenty of examples of the paper’s support for fascism in Latin America" (referencing Videla on their list)
• "Conversely, British opinion-makers tended to display contempt for what they saw as ‘a tinpot fascist dictatorship’ (but only after the attack on the Falklands)."

References

None of these sources prove anything, inumerous governments have been called "Fascist", that doesn't mean they actually are, some of these sources even have a Left-wing bias, and those are usually the ones with a tendency of calling everything "Fascist". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 177.19.69.95 (talk • contribs)

I have provided reliable sources. Huffington Post does not typically have a severe left-wing bias, and the Harvard source is usually neutral. Additionally, how about you address the issue. What part of fascism does he not fit? What reliable source do you have? MartinezMD (talk) 21:52, 30 March 2019 (UTC)

"What part of fascism does he not fit?" The most important part: state controlled economy, price fixing, dirigism.105.0.0.97 (talk) 10:59, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

"state controlled economy, price fixing, dirigism" are not "the most important part", or even necessarily any part at all, of fascism. Besides, Wikipedia goes by reliable sources, not editor's opinions. Captainllama (talk) 14:00, 23 June 2019 (UTC)

The WP article on Fascism describes "Fascism presented itself as a third position,[when?] alternative to both international socialism and free market capitalism.[194]" Videla's economy under the National Reorganization Process is described in the article as "a new policy dubbed Justicialism, a nationalist policy which he claimed was a "Third Position," an alternative to both capitalism and communism". The anonymous IP editor does not have consensus. I think the main tenets for a definition of fascism are covered, and I have reliable sources. The anon editor only has rigid opinion so far, so I've reported the case for edit warring. MartinezMD (talk) 07:09, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

As someone who does think that the Dirty War leaders (Videla, Banzer, Pinochet, Stroessner) are indeed fascist, I don't like the fact that only one of them gets to be labeled as such. To me, it has to be all or nothing; either that all of them get the fascist label, or none of them do. And to be honest, I feel like the only reason why this page gets away with categorizing Videla as a fascist leader is because it isn't as moderated as the Pinochet page. 72.208.178.248 (talk) 23:01, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Well whether you like it or not, I've provided reliable sources. What Pinochet and the others are labelled are for you to argue on those pages. Take it up with an administrator if you like. MartinezMD (talk) 23:09, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Are you seriously acting like there aren't any sources that dispute the claim that the Dirty War leaders were fascist? Here's a passage from World Fascism: a Historical Encyclopedia on the National Reorganization Process's rule over Argentina: "Although several analysts are inclined to define as fascist the 1976 in Argentina, that is not plausible. The 1976—1982 military junta led by General Videla was a criminal military regime, but it can hardly be defined as fascist." 72.208.178.248 (talk) 23:51, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Also, you can't just have our own article to back you up. I know it's one of our better ones, but still, you quoted a sentence that was warned of having weasel words. 72.208.178.248 (talk) 00:12, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

I'm saying that because a different article doesn't describe a fascist as a fascist doesn't mean you should change other pages. Also, read WP:BRD before edit warring. I'll be back later to revert after 24 hours, then you can discuss further. And I have no idea what you mean about "having our own article to back" me up. MartinezMD (talk) 00:16, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

So, are you just going to ignore the part where I said that there are people who deny that Videla was a fascist? Seriously, you're acting like you adding a through section on how Videla qualifies as a fascist. All you did is add him in the fascist leaders category. Also, god forbid I want consistency throughout this website. 72.208.178.248 (talk) 00:26, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

I'm sure there are people who think differently on many subjects. I, however, have brought sources. If we delve into Spanish language sources, the number of sources will be significantly greater. And again, just because other articles don't go your way doesn't mean you should alter statements here to match them. You have admitted you think he was a fascist. Why aren't you arguing on the other pages instead of here? In the meantime, here's another source for you MartinezMD (talk) 01:39, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

• Council on Hemispheric Affairs (a non-profit research/think tank) "History will not be kind to Jorge Videla...mired in the country’s prevailing structural fascism"

So you want me to do what you are doing, which is "add Pinochet to the fascist leaders category, and then stalk the page to prevent anyone trying to remove it". 72.208.178.248 (talk) 02:38, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

I don't care what you do elsewhere. I'm asking why you want to change something here if the problem is elsewhere? MartinezMD (talk) 03:44, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

References

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• JorgeRafaelVidela.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 19:38, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

Fascist claim

Nothing supports the claim that Videla was a fascist, he was just a regular military dictator like Pinochet and others in Latin America at the time. -- 2804:248:f6d2:5500:dd76:f44b:7d31:bd8 (talk) 05:54, 13 March 2022 (UTC)

See discussion in the other section on this page. Discussion should be continued there, not a new one. MartinezMD (talk) 07:06, 13 March 2022 (UTC)

Discussion on that section has been dead for more than a year, so it is better to open a new one. My point stands, nothing supports the claim that he was a fascist, for instance, are there any scholars of fascism which consider Videla and his regime to be fascist? If so they should be cited, because with newspapers and left-wing organizations you can label many other regimes "fascist". -- 2804:248:f6d2:5500:e538:296b:93b4:dd97 (talk) 17:04, 13 March 2022 (UTC)

A year is nothing on WP discussions, but if you want to be difficult I'll write here.

• "The Last Military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983) was many things. Outside its concentration camps it presented the facade of a typical authoritarian state. Within them, however, it was fascist" (p. 122) The Ideological Origins of the Dirty War: Fascism, Populism, and Dictatorship in Twentieth Century Argentina by Federico Finchelstein, historian and chairman of his department
• "On March 24, 1976, the Argentine military staged a coup d’état and established a fascist dictatorship that perpetrated genocide for seven years." - No State Apparatus Goes to Bed Genocidal Then Wakes Up Democratic: Fascist Ideology and Transgender Politics in Post-dictatorship Argentina by Cole Rizki, Assistant Professor of Spanish at University of Virginia
• "From 1966 to 1983, Argentina underwent a period of political radicalization as fascist regimes used terror to control its citizens and leftist guerrillas resorted to violence to spark revolution." Psychiatry, Authoritarianism, and Revolution: The Politics of Mental Illness during Military Dictatorships in Argentina, 1966–1983, Marco A Ramos MD PhD Yale University
• "It was a sacrifice of some questionable lives to preserve the Proceso, the National Process of Reorganization to make Argentina conform to a right-wing fascist version of Catholicism" Global Latin America: Into the Twenty-First Century Matthew Gutmann, professor of anthropology at Brown University, and Jeffrey Lesser Emory Univeristy

I can add these and many more. There are plenty of sources. MartinezMD (talk) 07:51, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

Which of these sources are actually scholars of fascism though? -- 2804:248:f6d2:5500:e53a:c2a9:e750:dffa (talk) 21:27, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

These are professors capable of writing scholarly works on more than a single topic. If you think them inadequate, you can get an RFC. MartinezMD (talk) 07:41, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

True, but is fascism one of the topics they are specialized on? Because, again, you could label many other regimes "fascist" this way. -- 2804:248:f6d2:5500:1012:ca57:1943:aee0 (talk) 20:42, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

We would not be labelling Videla fascist. It would be reliable credible sources labelling him and his regime that way. I think these are more than enough. If you disagree, get an RFC. MartinezMD (talk) 22:54, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

Again, which scholars of fascism consider Videla a fascist? Is there consensus for this? If there are any, it shouldn't be hard to provide them.-- 2804:248:f670:ff00:8cfa:d887:c298:5e53 (talk) 00:49, 18 March 2022 (UTC)

Get an RFC. MartinezMD (talk) 02:10, 18 March 2022 (UTC)

That's not how it works, Wikipedia is not a democracy, you need to prove that at least a significant amount of scholars on fascism consider him and his regime fascist before adding such a category. For the last time, which scholars of fascism consider him fascist? Other than authoritarianism and anti-communism, what did his regime have in common with fascism? -- 2804:248:f6b7:d000:187b:7874:ef4:b145 (talk) 21:44, 19 March 2022 (UTC)

I know exactly how WP works. I have provided verifiable reliable sources from professors/historians from mainstream academic centers. You do not like those. So, the solution is to get other editors' opinions. That is an RFC. Also, if you bothered to read the sources, the very first one is by Finchelstein, who has written several works on fascism (Fascist Mythologies: The History and Politics of Unreason in Borges, Freud, and Schmitt 2022, A Brief History of Fascist Lies 2020, Authoritarianism and Corporatism in Europe and Latin America: Crossing Borders (Routledge Studies in Modern History) 2018, From Fascism to Populism in History 2017, The Ideological Origins of the Dirty War: Fascism, Populism, and Dictatorship in Twentieth Century Argentina 2014, La Argentina fascista: Los orígenes ideológicos de la dictadura 2012, Transatlantic Fascism: Ideology, Violence and the Sacred in Argentina and Italy 1919-1945 2010) MartinezMD (talk) 22:11, 19 March 2022 (UTC)

Ok, he genuinely seems to be a scholar on fascism, so that's one, do you have more scholars on fascism that support your position? -- 2804:248:f6b7:d000:c52a:c7cc:2d1d:5639 (talk) 22:00, 20 March 2022 (UTC)

The onus is on you now. Get an RFC. Your reluctance speaks volumes. I see no need to further respond to your requirements. MartinezMD (talk) 22:51, 20 March 2022 (UTC)