Join a guest lecture by Professor Rodrigo Patto Sá Motta as he discusses the watershed year of 1973 in the context of Latin American authoritarian regimes.

The history of authoritarianism in Latin America is brutal and bloody. Through the 1960s to 1980s, oppressive military regimes sprung up across the Southern Cone, attempting to establish dictatorial rule – perpetrating violence, dismantling democratic processes, and crushing dissent in the process.

The overthrow of Salvador Allende’s democratically-elected government in Chile is perhaps the most widely-known event associated with the year 1973. However, what is perhaps not as well known is the role that the Brazilian dictatorship played in this coup d’etat, or the closing down of the Uruguayan parliament by the military junta in the same year. Resistance came from many quarters – be it students, workers, artists and even members of the clergy – yet several others chose to support the oppressors, and many more chose to stand aside.

This lecture offers a fifty-year retrospective on these events. Delving into the various ways in which the dictatorships active during this time were similar to (and different from) each other, Prof. Motta will also shed light on the interests and objectives of those who supported these regimes.

This lecture is part of Thinking Inside The Box: 1973, a student-led archive analysis and curatorial project that is culminating in a month-long exhibition and roster of events. Read on to know more about the project and follow us for event updates.