Seven out of ten Argentines have a negative opinion of the last military dictatorship and believe that those who committed atrocities need to continue to be tried for crimes against humanity, according to a new study released ahead of the coup’s 50th anniversary, on Tuesday.

“A negative view of the last military dictatorship is held by a large majority, although with some nuances,” reads the study conducted by the University of Buenos Aires’ public opinion observatory, Pulsar.UBA, and human rights organization Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS, by its Spanish initials) in October 2025.

Out of those who took part in their poll, 45% believed the military dictatorship was “very bad” and 25% said that it was “bad.” While 19% answered that it was “regular,” 6% said it was “good” and only 1% that it was “very good.”

In addition, 63% said that there were few or no reasons at all to justify the coup carried out on March 24, 1976.

The study, which surveyed 1,136 Argentines and included eight focus groups of people under 50, found that 61% described the actions of the dictatorship, which lasted till 1983, as a “systematic plan of disappearances of people and violations of human rights,” while 32% said they conducted a “fight against terrorism, in which there may have been excesses.”

Despite variations in the opinions of the participants, the survey suggests most Argentines have predominantly negative feelings towards the dictatorship. Regardless of whether they thought it was a systematic plan to repress opponents or a fight against terrorism, people described the period with sentiments such as pain, fear, and condemnation. 

During a presentation of the report carried out by Pulsar.UBA and CELS, Augusto Reina, director of the observatory, said that the most impactful question was when the participants were asked: “What would happen if there was a coup d’etat tomorrow?”

“The first answer was complete silence,” Reina said.

After that initial pause most replied that “That will not happen.” It was transversal to all groups of participants. A great majority said that democracy is the best way of government, and 83% said they believe there are little to no probabilities of something like that happening again in Argentina.

Some of those interviewed in focus groups said that “‘people’ would not let that happen, would go out to the streets and would fight to revert it.”

However, many admitted that they had never gone to a march nor made public statements to defend political causes.

“When they picture the effects of a potential dictatorship, they tend to only imagine individual consequences: not being able to text, losing freedom of expression, or restrictions to social media use,” the report said.

When asked what word first comes to mind when thinking about that period, most people answered desaparecido (the word commonly used to describe those who remain missing after being kidnapped by security forces and forcefully imprisoned, tortured and murdered), as well as “death,” “repression,” “murder,” and “military.”

The survey also showed the importance of education in the level of awareness Argentines have on the subject. Almost half said their knowledge of what happened during the dictatorship comes from school or university. 

The other half said it comes from speaking about it with friends and family, showing that even half a century later, it remains an important topic of conversation.

Some key conclusions from the study are that people with most knowledge of the period are those with higher levels of education who live in or near Buenos Aires City, the Argentine capital. In addition, women tend to be a majority amongst those who consider the dictatorship carried out a systematic plan of human rights violations.

While only 30% said they have a relative or friend who was a victim of the dictatorship, that segment appeared to be the one showing strongest feelings of rejection against the regime.

© Buenos Aires Herald