How Does One Win A Lost War? Oral History and Political Memories

LORENZ, FEDERICO

The Oxford University Press Oral History Reader

Oxford University Press

Lugar: London and New York; Año: 2010; p. 124 - 141

How do memories of the Malvinas War fit with the memories of the Argentine military dictatorship? What revisions?in terms of the defeat and revelations of human rights violations?have those memories imposed on the republican patriotic cult that prevailed in Argentina even during the dictatorship? To what extent are those memories still functional for those sectors of society that uphold the role of the armed forces during the last military dictatorship? A system of values and beliefs, anchored in the idea of the nation and its symbols, was shared by dictatorial and democratic regimes alike, by revolutionary movements and established parties. Such ambiguity has allowed individuals responsible for crimes against humanity to remain unpunished, protected by the idea that they rendered services or fulfilled duties on behalf of the fatherland. Through oral history, an analysis of the memories of the Malvinas War, within the context of the military dictatorship and post-dictatorship in Argentina, provides a broader look at political memories as historical constructions, and a reflection on the place of historians in disputes over the past.