Ministry of the Interior.
1
However, despite this return to civilian control, the Argentine
Federal Police continue to have a reputation of violence. For example, in Buenos Aires,
civilian deaths due to confrontations with the Federal Police rose eighty-nine percent in
the period between 1996 and 2001; civilians killed in confrontations with police represent
as much as a third of all homicides in Buenos Aires in recent years.
2
If authoritarian practices continue within the police institution even twenty years
after the democratic transition, what affect did the transition have on police violence? In
order to address this question, this study focuses on the actions of the Argentine Federal
Police in two periods of Argentine history. The first period (1976-1983) spans the
duration of the most recent military regime, while the second period (1984-2004) covers
the transition to democracy and the democratic period that followed. This study
considers two research questions: (1) how much and what kind of police violence existed
during each period? (2) how was police violence justified and legitimized during each
period?
Legacies of Political Repression
For many scholars, the legacy of violence within the Federal Police can be traced
back to the early twentieth century, a period in which the Capital Police (Policía de la
Capital), the precursor to the Argentine Federal Police, led the fight against political
1
Anderson, Martin Edwin. 2002. La Policia: Pasado, presente y propuestas para el
futuro. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana.
2
See Palmieri, Gustavo F., Cecilia L. Ales, and Eduardo Donza. 2002. Violencía y
Enfrentamientos Policiales: Civiles y policías muertos en enfrentamientos de los que participaron
miembros de la Policía Federal Argentina Años 1996-2001. Buenos Aires: Centro de Estudios Legales y
Sociales.
Convention