Ladies... Gentlemen.
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Today is a joyous day for our country, the Argentine Nation.
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Two circumstances contribute to this fact: the commencement of a sporting event of such an international level as this Football World Championship. On the other hand, the amiable visit of thousands of women and men coming from the most diverse regions of the Earth, (who) honour us today with their visit on the sole condition of their good faith in a climate of affection and reciprocal respect.
And it’s precisely the confrontation in the playing field and the friendship in the field of human relations what allow us to assure that it is possible, even today, to coexist in unity and diversity. Which is the only way to build peace.
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That is why... (applause).
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That is why I ask God, Our Lord, for this event to be truly a contribution to the strengthening of peace, that same peace we all wish onto the whole world and onto all men of the world. This peace inside of which man can be fully realised as a person with dignity and in liberty.
In the context of this sporting confrontation, characterized by its chivalry; in the context of friendship between men and between people, and under the sign of peace; I declare officially inaugurated this eleventh Football World Championship of 1978.
Thank you very much.
On the 24th of March 1976 a military coup completely changed the life of thousands of people in Argentina. The leader of the coup was General Jorge Rafael Videla who succeeded in deposing the president Isabel Peron and substituted her with a military junta, starting the so-called “National Reorganization Process”.
Supporters of the left parties were treated with extreme violence, they were tortured, forcibly disappeared (the so called desaparecidos) or killed with the ‘death flights’ during which the junta used to drop prisoners into the Rio de la Plata or Atlantic Ocean.
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This was done in order to support the idea of creating a New Argentina through "National Reorganization", eliminating what was undesirable.In reality, only 5% of the disappeared were guerrillas and terrorists. The remaining 95% were students, trade unionists, workers, journalists, critics of the government and non-aligned religious people
The goal was also to recreate the image of Argentina, especially when many states began to raise accusations of human rights violations toward Argentina.
The World Cup of 1978 was the best tool in order to gain consensus.
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SILUETAZO (September 21, 1983)
R. Aguerreberry, J. Flores, G. Kexel
"El que está dibujado, no está"
He who is painted, does not exist/is not there
BUENA MEMORIA (1996)
M. Brodsky
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