The Dark Side of Democracy: A Decolonial Feminist Investigation of Declassified CIA Documents on Argentina’s 1976-1983 Dictatorship

Natalie Schirmacher

doi:10.16993/iberoamericana.705

The Dark Side of Democracy: A Decolonial Feminist Investigation of Declassified CIA Documents on Argentina’s 1976-1983 Dictatorship

Iberoamericana – Nordic Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Volume 55 (2026): Issue 1

By: Natalie Schirmacher

Open Access

|Jul 2026

Abstract

The United States frames Latin America as both dependent on Western progress and a threat to hemispheric peace. This study examines U.S.-Argentine relations, focusing on how international and domestic policies intersected through U.S. perspectives. Using Aníbal Quijano’s “coloniality” and decolonial feminist theory, it explores the enduring power hierarchies rooted in European colonization and U.S. imperialism, which intersect with patriarchy to sustain oppression. U.S. military interventions, such as the School of the Americas and Operation Condor, illustrate how stigmatized perceptions shaped violent policies supporting Latin American dictatorships. Specifically, during Argentina’s 1976 dictatorship, U.S. influence contributed to systemic violence, including the disappearance of 30,000 individuals. Declassified U.S. documents reveal the rhetoric justifying these actions under the guise of democracy and freedom. This analysis critiques Western democracy by exposing its complicity in humanitarian crimes through language that legitimized exploitation and control over Latin America.

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