“Argentina, 1985”, the success of a film, the nostalgia of an exemplary justice

by Sonia Avalos

The film “Argentina, 1985”, about the historic trial that condemned the commanders of the dictatorship (1976-1983) is on its way to breaking box office records in the countrywhere the assessment of that process contrasts with the criticism of the current judicial system.

The film, by director Santiago Mitre, represents the country in the Best International Film category at the Hollywood Oscars. In the first week since its premiere in Argentina, it already exceeded 312,000 viewers after praiseworthy presentations at the Venice and San Sebastián festivals. More than 200 theaters show the film in Argentina, with full houses.

The public reacts with applause and tears when actor Ricardo Darín, in the role of prosecutor Julio Strassera, He closes the argument with the phrase «Lord judges, ‘Never again'”, as happened in the trial.
“That ‘Never again’ has a very high representativeness,” Darín said in an interview. “It is one of the few things in Argentine history that achieved unification,” he said.

The words refer to the report that collected the testimony of the victims of the dictatorship and served as the evidentiary basis for the trial where five of the nine members of the three boards of commanders of the regime were sentenced. The trial is considered a heroic deed and goes against the current perception of justice.

More than 78% of Argentines consider the functioning of the judicial system to be bad and 71% distrust the Supreme Court, according to surveys by Equis and Projection carried out last August.

“Horror Heart”

The film portrays the work of prosecutor Strassera and his assistant Luis Moreno Ocampo, played by Argentine actor Peter Lanzani, to gather evidence of the crimes under a climate of threats.

According to Pablo Llonto, plaintiff attorney in trials against humanity, “there is an exaggeration in the protagonism of the prosecutors, because the true success of the trial, the backbone of the process, was not them but the witnesses who gave names and told what had happened when the perpetrators of those crimes were still on duty in police stations and barracks. The film “is positive because it helps build a memory bridge with the younger generations and portrays a trial that told the heart of horror for the first time with names and surnames,” he said.

The public that fills the rooms is of all ages. Among the spectators there are also victims of the dictatorship. “I am a survivor of one of the concentration camps and seeing this film takes me to the places where I was,” said Carlos Leibovich, 75, who was tortured in the so-called Athletic Club., a clandestine detention center that operated in the heart of Buenos Aires. “Today’s justice in Argentina is very corrupt, there must be very few people like prosecutor Strassera and Moreno Ocampo,” he considered.

He is accompanied by another survivor, Nora Strejilevich (70 years old), who stated: “Justice cannot be considered in general. The trials against humanity have advanced despite the reluctance, due to pressure from below.

Since the repeal, in 2004, of the amnesty and pardon laws, at the initiative of President Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), there have been 1,088 repressors convicted in more than 600 trials. There are numerous processes still under way. “The rest of the judiciary does not deserve any approval from me,” Strejilevich said.

credibility crisis

“Unfortunately, public trust in justice has been weakening and much of the responsibility lies not only with justice but also with politics itself,” said Ricardo Gil Lavedra, one of the judges who joined the court in 1985.

Among the reasons for mistrust, in addition to the difficulties of access to justice and the technical crisis of operation, the former magistrate highlighted “the strong pressure of politics to influence judicial decisions or directly in the search for adept judges.” “The mere circumstance that the justice system carries out trials for alleged corruption against rulers has also brought strong pressure, if not a kind of (political) harassment towards it,” he said.

Peronist Vice President Cristina Kirchner is currently being prosecuted for alleged corruption when she was president (2007-2015). The former right-wing president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) also took office while being prosecuted in a case and was brought to court at the end of his term for alleged espionage. In both cases there was criticism of the actions of judges and prosecutors and public demonstrations that cast shadows on his impartiality.

“In Argentina the issue has gotten a little crazy, to the point of thinking that there are judges on one side or the other”Gil Lavedra pointed out. To reverse skepticism “a reform is necessary, but based on a broad consensus that legitimizes it and is not seen as an advantage of a political sector,” he considered.

© Agence France-Presse