Before night falls: Human rights and middle classes in Argentine before and in the beginning of the coup d’etat of 1976

Abstract

In this study I explore the issue of human rights in Argentina in the period before and at the beginning of the 1976 Coup d’etat (1970-1977). I claim that the absence of a social conscience about human rights in the first part of the decade and the early and huge consensus about what later would be called “the theory of two demons” are two essential elements to explain the attitude of the middle classes not involved in political struggle toward the emergence of a human rights discourse in Argentina.

Keywords

• Derechos humanos. Dictadura. Clases medias. Teoría de los dos demonios. Años 70s.