Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti (May 21, 1903 – June 1, 1970) was an

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the comman ...

general. He was a major figure behind the ''

Revolución Libertadora ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') was the coup d'état that ended the second presidential term of Juan Perón in Argentina, on 16 September 1955. Background President Perón was first elected in 1946. In 1949, a ...

'', the military coup against

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected ...

in 1955. He became dictator of Argentina, serving from November 13, 1955 to May 1, 1958. He was kidnapped by the radical organization

Montoneros Montoneros ( es, link=no, Movimiento Peronista Montonero-MPM) was an Argentine left-wing Peronist guerrilla organization, active throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The name is an allusion to the 19th-century cavalry militias called Montone ...

on May 29, 1970 and murdered, allegedly in retaliation for the June 1956 execution of General

Juan José Valle Juan José Valle (March 15, 1896 – June 12, 1956) was an Argentine general who headed a rebellion in 1956 against General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu's dictatorship. Rebellion Aramburu's ''Revolución Libertadora'' of September 1955 had ended Jua ...

, an army officer associated with the Peronist movement, and 26 Peronist militants after a botched attempt to overthrow his regime.

Military career

*He studied at the

National Military College National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

*1922: Sub-lieutenant *1939: Major *1943: Teacher in the Escuela de Guerra *1951: Brigadier *Director of the Escuela de Guerra *1955: Commander in Chief of the Army *1958: Lieutenant general.

President of Argentina

He served as ''de facto'' president of Argentina from November 13th 1955 to May 1st 1958. The ''Revolución Libertadora'' which overthrew

was triggered in part by his actions towards the press, as well as the imprisonment of opposition leaders and economic instability. For example, Perón incited his followers to wreck the offices and printing presses of newspapers who criticized him and he jailed the leader of the opposition, Ricardo Balbin, of the

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the S ...

party. The military Revolución Libertadora against Perón for these actions led to three years of military rule under Aramburu, who allowed elections to be held in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. Aramburu's military government forced Perón into exile and barred the

Peronist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...

from further elections. Perón lived in exile in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

until 1973. He repealed the reelectionist and statist Constitution of 1949 and restored the validity of the historical text of 1853/60, a decision that was later validated by a constituent convention. He promised to hand over power as soon as possible to a president elected by the people. He made a public commitment that none of the military who held positions in his government would accept candidacies when elections were called.

Anti-Peronist political power

After the end of his presidential term in 1958, Aramburu retired from the military career and devoted himself entirely to politics. He ran for president in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

as leader of the Union of the Argentine People (''Union del Pueblo Argentino,'' UDELPA), with the slogan "Vote UDELPA and HE won't return" ("Vote UDELPA y no vuelve"), referring to Perón. With the Peronists banned, the Presidential elections resulted in Arturo Umberto Illia becoming president, with Aramburu coming in third. Yet the military retained much real power, censoring both Peronism and its leader. The fragility of Argentine democracy was shown when Illia was overthrown in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

by a military coup led by General Juan Carlos Onganía. In 1970, Aramburu was mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.

Death

On May 29, 1970 at noon, Aramburu was snatched from his apartment in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

by two members of Montoneros posing as young army officers. Montoneros dubbed the kidnapping ''Operación Pindapoy'', after a company that produced

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

in the 1960s. Aramburu's disappearance kept Argentinian society on tenterhooks for a month before it was discovered that Aramburu had been murdered three days after his abduction, following a mock trial and his corpse hidden inside a farmhouse near Timote, Carlos Tejedor, in

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

. He had been shot twice in the chest with two different pistols. Following his arrest, convicted

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Mario Firmenich took credit for the kidnapping and assassination. In the following weeks, statements from Montoneros flooded the media. Among other things, they claimed their actions were a response to the executions of twenty-seven Peronist militants who took part in an unsuccessful coup d'état in 1956. In 1974, Aramburu's body was stolen by Montoneros. The corpse was to be held until President

Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas, 4 February 1931), also known as Isabelita, is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the first female republican heads ...

brought back Eva Perón's body from Italy. It was also an act of revenge for the previous removal of Evita's body. Once Evita's body arrived in Argentina, Montoneros gave up Aramburu's corpse and abandoned it in a street in Buenos Aires.

Legacy

Aramburu became a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

for the right-wing of Argentina. For Peronists, his assassination was a dream came true, considering he ordered the execution of

and Raul Tanco, both Peronist Generals who rebelled against the

References

External links

Ejército Argentino (Spanish)Braden vs Peron confrontation (Spanish)

Find-A-Grave profile for Pedro Eugenio Aramburu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aramburu, Pedro 1903 births 1970 deaths Argentine people of Basque descent Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery People from Río Cuarto, Córdoba Presidents of Argentina Argentine generals Argentine anti-communists Assassinated Argentine politicians Deaths by firearm in Argentina Kidnapped Argentine people People murdered in Argentina Leaders who took power by coup Terrorism deaths in Argentina Colegio Militar de la Nación alumni Kidnappings in Argentina Victims of body snatching