Confessions of an Ex-Dictator

Most Latin American dictators leave office the same way they came in--at the end of a gun. Argentina's General Alejandro Lanusse has taken the highly unusual step of voluntarily resigning as President, after allowing the people to choose--by ballot--his civilian successor. In a remarkably candid interview with TIME Correspondent Charles Eisendrath in Buenos Aires last week, Lanusse explained why he turned the reins of power over to Hector Campora, the protege of ex-Dictator Juan Peron.

"Why should it be so hard to understand how I can give him [Juan Peron] power again?" Lanusse asked in a let-bygones-be-bygones tone. "Didn't the U.S. give aid to Germany and Japan, even though they had started the second World War?" True enough. But the real reason Lanusse stepped down seems to be his sensing that public enthusiasm for the military regime had all but disappeared.

The erosion of support for military rule began within two years of the coup that ousted elected President Arturo Illia in 1966. Lanusse, who helped engineer the coup, now admits that Illia's overthrow was an "atrocity." While he had been "elected in a slightly 'original' way [the Peronists had been excluded from the election], he was nevertheless chosen by the people. I would not be sincere if I told you that the country swelled with enthusiasm and gaiety because of what we did. But for a time the people were hopeful and gave the [military] government support."

Lanusse reluctantly admits that Peron is admired by Argentines in a way that he never was. "Evidently, a great segment of the people continue to believe in Peron," he said. "Peron has their sympathy and--I don't like the word--adoration. They felt excluded by our solutions." Lanusse, who was jailed in 1951 for his role in a coup attempt against Peron that failed to come off, added that el Lider would now "have to think, act and influence the country so that the government acts in a positive way. 1973 is not 1946. I am delivering power, but at the same time I want the one who takes it to know that he is subject to constitutional limitations."

One issue that particularly worries Lanusse is Cympora's promise to extend amnesty to the hundreds of guerrillas now in Argentine jails. "If Cympora opens the jail doors completely," Lanusse warns, "it will be at his own risk."

My adversaries are not the only ones in prison. There are also those who would finish our Western way of life. This kind of guerrilla activity cannot be fought by military action alone. It requires the will of the people. With popular support, the military could burst the carbuncle of terrorism. But a new military coup designed to restore order would be a mistake."

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