ABSTRACT
Starting in 1964 in Brazil, military governments took power in most Latin American countries. This chapter explores the perceptions and attitudes of military officers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay countries when reflecting on the course of their national histories, guerrilla groups and the responses chosen by both civilian and military governments in the seventies to counter "subversion" as it is usually called in military circles. Every country had historical experience with some violence used by the armed forces and/or police in strikes or during a dictatorship. Unconventional warfare changes the organizational weight of intelligence organizations within the military and police vis-a-vis other units. In Uruguay in 1985-1986, a major debate on whether or not to prosecute human rights violations during the military dictatorship took place. To analyze root causes of gross human rights violations, the subjective perspective of political participants is of crucial importance.
