“La ‘guerra psicologica’ nelle dittature latinoamericane. I casi di Cile e Argentina”

The dictatorships of Chile
and Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s were characterized by a systematic
recourse to “psychological warfare” (“psychological action” in the Argentine
case), which was functional, among other things, in legitimizing these regimes,
in creating consensus around the government action and the objectives
pursued, to manipulate and mobilize, as necessary, that part of public opinion
that identified itself with the transformation process carried out. In
both the cases of Chile and Argentina there was nothing improvised. All activity
relating to the “psychosocial field” was conducted by a centralized system,
subject to the directives of the military leaders and made up of special
bodies specialized in these areas, which elaborated strategies, operational
plans, programs for each level. In both cases, the objective of these “national
security” regimes was to influence the opinions, attitudes, ideas, emotions
and behaviors of the population. In other words, it was a fight for the mind
of men, with the goal of conquering the population on a moral and spiritual
level.