Health in Argentina under the Military Junta

Abstract

The socioeconomic policies of Argentina's Military Junta, in power since March 1976, have led to a sharp impoverishment of the vast majority of the population. In the health sector, facilities which previously were public are being transferred to the private sector, and public hospitals formerly providing free services to the population now charge patients for the care received. As a necessary counterpart to these unpopular measures, a regime of terror has been waged against members of the health team—both those politically active and those considered potentially subversive, particularly the psychiatrists and workers in community health. Differences between the Argentinian situation and previous European fascist patterns are noted, and the possibility of use of the “Argentinian model” in other capitalist countries in crisis is discussed.