Roberto Viola
| Roberto Eduardo Viola | |
|---|---|
 |
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43rd President of Argentina De facto |
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In office 29 March 1981 – 11 December 1981 |
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| Preceded by | Jorge Rafael Videla |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Alberto Lacoste (interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 13, 1924 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | September 30, 1994 (aged 69) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Political party | None |
| Spouse(s) | Nélida Giorgio Valente |
| Children | 2 |
| Profession | Military |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Argentina
|
| Service/branch |
 Argentine Army
|
| Rank |
 Lieutenant General
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Roberto Eduardo Viola (October 13, 1924 – September 30, 1994) was an Argentine military officer who briefly served as president of Argentina from March 29 to December 11, 1981 as a military dictatorship.
He was born as Roberto Eduardo Viola Prevedini on October 13, 1924.
Viola appointed Lorenzo Sigaut as finance minister, and it became clear that Sigaut (and his protégé Domingo Cavallo) were looking for ways to reverse some of the economic policies of Videla's minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz. Notably, Sigaut abandoned the sliding exchange rate mechanism and devalued the peso, after boasting that "they who gamble on the dollar, will lose". Argentines braced for a recession after the excesses of the plata dulce ("sweet money") years, which destabilized Viola's position.
Viola was also the victim of infighting within the armed forces. After being replaced as Navy chief, Eduardo Massera started looking for a political space to call his own, even enlisting the enforced and unpaid services of political prisoners held in concentration camps by the regime. The mainstream of the Junta's support was strongly opposed to Massera's designs and to any attempt to bring about more "populist" economic policies.
Viola found his maneuvering space greatly reduced, and was ousted by a military coup in December 1981, led by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Leopoldo Galtieri, who soon became President. The official explanation given for the ousting was Viola's alleged health problems. Galtieri swiftly appointed Roberto Alemann as finance minister and presided over the build-up and pursuit of the Falklands War.
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Wikipedia