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25 Years Ago in South America

Julio Cortazar

Brazil remains under the rule of the military from 1964 to 1985. There were five presidents during this period, all of them generals. Between 1967 and 1974, Brazil had one of the largest rates of economic growth in the world, reaching 14 percent in 1973.

In Argentina, Juan Peron, who had been exiled by the Argentine army, briefly returned to power in 1973, but died the following year. His third wife, Isabel Peron, served as president until 1976, but could not establish a stable civilian government. She was replaced by military rule between 1976 and 1983. The army began a brutal reign of terror against its opponents. This so-called "Dirty War" saw the death of 10,000 to 15,000 people by 1983.

Argentina's military government invaded and captured the Malvinas Islands, which Argentina had always claimed, in 1982. Called the Falkland Islands by the British, who held the remote island group as a colony, the Argentine attack led to a brief war. Losses were heavy on both sides, but the Argentines were defeated and the military government discredited. In 1983, the military was forced to give up power and new democratically elected government took over.

South America continues to produce many of the world's best writers. These include Julio Cortazar, who was born in Brussels of Argentine parents in 1914. From 1935 to 1945 he taught in secondary schools in several Argentine towns. In 1951 he moved to France, where he lived until his death in 1984. His first major novel was Rayuela, published in 1963. Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez was born on 1928 in Aracataca, a town in Northern Colombia, where he was raised by his maternal grandparents in a house filled with countless aunts and the rumours of ghosts. Political troubles and violence that marked Colombian life in 20th century were important influences on his work. From Peru comes Mario Vargas Llosa, born in Arequipa in 1936. Writer, journalist, critic and teacher, he has been the recipient of many literary prizes. In 1990, Vargas Llosa was the unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency of Peru for the Liberty Movement Party.

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