Gregorio Álvarez

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Gregorio Conrado Álvarez Armelino (born November 26, 1925 in Montevideo ; † December 28, 2016 there ) was a Uruguayan general and politician . From 1981 to 1985 he was during the military dictatorship as President Head of State and Head of Government of Uruguay.

Life

Gregorio Álvarez came from a military family; his father, grandfather and an uncle were generals in the Uruguayan army . In 1940, at the age of 14, he entered the military academy . Since his promotion to general in 1971, Álvarez led the fight against the left guerrilla movement of Tupamaros . He was one of the officers who planned the military coup on June 27, 1973 . After the coup d'état, a “National Security Council” ( Consejo de Seguridad Nacional ) took power, led by Álvarez as Secretary General . In a referendum in 1980, a constitutional reform proposed by the military , which was supposed to bring them more power, was rejected - and thus the will of the majority of the population for a return to democracy was clear. The military was now preparing a program to return power to a civilian government.

The elections that had been in prospect for 1981 for four years did not take place. Álvarez was appointed by the "Council of the Nation" as successor to Aparicio Méndez with effect from September 1, 1981 as President. He was actually considered (for Uruguayan conditions of his time) " liberal " and a market economist , but continued the military dictatorship. Small easing - like the resetting of parties in 1982 - did not help: Uruguay's economic and social problems did not improve. As a result, Álvarez lost support, even among the majority of the military. Since the middle of 1983 there have been repeated major demonstrations . In January 1984 the unions called for the largest protest action against military rule to date : a 24-hour general strike . Álvarez initially responded with trade union bans and news censorship, but ultimately agreed that free elections could take place in November 1984 for the first time since 1971. In these, Julio María Sanguinetti from the Partido Colorado prevailed. Álvarez resigned on February 12, 1985; until Sanguinetti took office on March 1, the President of the Supreme Court, Rafael Addiego Bruno , was interim president of Uruguay. When Sanguinetti took office, twelve years of military dictatorship ended.

In August 2005, lawyers from Uruguayan human rights organizations announced that they would try to bring charges against military and civilians responsible for the military dictatorship. At the center of the process should be former President Álvarez. The internationally recognized criminal offense " crimes against humanity " should be negotiated. In May 2006, Álvarez was one of ten former generals who officially assumed responsibility “for the deeds committed by their subordinates during the struggle against subversion ”. In an open letter, the ten emphasized that “all military officers acted on their orders” and describe this “fight” as “fulfilling their duty to serve”.

In October 2009, Álvarez was found guilty of 37 murders while serving as army chief or in his reign and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Álvarez was held in the Domingo Arena prison. He died on December 28, 2016 at the age of 91 of complications from heart problems.

literature

  • Alfonso Lessa: La primera order. Gregorio Álvarez, el militar y el dictador. A historia de omnipotencia . Debate, Montevideo 2009, ISBN 978-9974-683-19-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Note: This date of birth contradicts other sources according to which his age is given as 82 years in 2009 and 85 years in 2013.
  2. ↑ Uruguay's last dictator dead . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 29, 2016, p. 8.
  3. ↑ Dana Cufré: Human rights activists demand charges against ex-presidents. Newspool Latin America eV, September 6, 2005, archived from the original on November 9, 2005 ; Retrieved December 29, 2016 (article on possible indictment against Álvarez).
  4. ↑ Ex-generals take responsibility for human rights crimes. Newspool Latin America eV, May 23, 2006, archived from the original on December 16, 2007 ; Retrieved on December 29, 2016 (article on the open letter from the ten ex-generals).
  5. ↑ Uruguay's ex-ruler Alvarez jailed . BBC , October 22, 2009, accessed December 29, 2016.
  6. ↑ Gregorio Álvarez Alojado en un contenedor . Montevideo Portal, January 20, 2013, accessed December 29, 2016 (Spanish).
  7. ↑ The last dictator of Uruguay has died. ( Memento from January 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) In: St. Galler Tagblatt , December 28, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Álvarez, Gregorio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Álvarez Armelino, Gregorio Conrado
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Uruguayan military and politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Montevideo
DATE OF DEATH December 28, 2016
Place of death Montevideo