Jorge Rafael Videla - Public Relations

Public Relations

One of Videla's greatest challenges was his image abroad. He attributed criticism over human rights to an anti-Argentine campaign.

On 19 May 1976, Videla attended a luncheon with a group of Argentine intellectuals, including Ernesto Sábato, Jorge Luis Borges, Horacio Esteban Ratti (president of the Argentine Writers Society) and Father Leonardo Castellani. The latter expressed to Videla his concern regarding the disappearance of another writer, Haroldo Conti. Borges and Sábato both praised the military regime after this meeting.

On 30 April 1977, Azucena Villaflor, along with 13 other women, started demonstrations on the Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Casa Rosada presidential palace, demanding to be told the whereabouts of their disappeared children; they would become known as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Madres de Plaza de Mayo).

During a human rights investigation in September 1979, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights denounced Videla's government, citing many disappearances and instances of abuse. In response, the junta hired the Burson-Marsteller ad agency to formulate a pithy comeback: Los argentinos somos derechos y humanos (Literally, "We Argentines are honest and humane") The slogan was printed on 250,000 bumper stickers and distributed to motorists throughout Buenos Aires to create the appearance of a spontaneous support of pro-junta sentiment, at a cost of approximately $16,117.

Videla used the 1978 FIFA World Cup for political purposes, citing the enthusiasm of the Argentine fans for their eventually victorious football(soccer) team as evidence of his personal and the junta's popularity.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, leader of the Peace and Justice Service (Servicio Paz y Justicia, SERPAJ) organization, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 for exposing many of Argentina's human rights violations to the world at large.