Periferia y fronteras tecnológicas. Energía nuclear y dictadura militar en la Argentina (1976-1983)

HURTADO DE MENDOZA, DIEGO

Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad

Centro Redes, Universidad de Salamanca y OEI

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2009

1668-0030

In March 1976 a coup d?etát took place in Argentina. The new president of the Argentina? Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), Captain (later Admiral) Castro Madero, announced the government would invest US$ 5,500m in the nuclear field during the following ten years. Since the 1950s, CNEA had bought a synchrociclotron to Philips company at Eindhoven, manufactured four research reactors, bought a nuclear plant to a German-Italian consortium ?inaugurated in 1974 and the only one in Latin America up until 1982? and was overseeing the building of another one by Atomic Energy Canadian Limited. At the time when the military overthrew the democratic régime, Argentina was already perceived by the nuclear powers as part of the group of strongly proliferator countries: it had not ratified Tlatelolco Treaty, not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty, and had adquired the same nuclear technology that made possible India?s atomic test in 1974. The proposed article will focus on CNEA?s attempts to reach the nuclear fuel cycle during the military dictatorship period (1976-1983), which incurred in serious violation of human rights and whose foreign policy included a war. The problem of Latin American nuclear hegemony and strong international pressures which drew Argentina to attempt a secret development of uranium- enrichment technology were crucial components of this story. In late-1983, a month before the return of the country to democratic regime Castro Madero made public that CNEA had built a medium-sized uranium-enrichment plant.