Campo de Mayo
Encyclopedia
Campo de Mayo is a military base located in Greater Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Buenos Aires
.
Campo de Mayo covers an area of 8000 ha (19,768 acre) and is one of the most important military base
s in Argentina, including Argentine Army
's:
Its also home for the aviation service of the Argentine National Gendarmerie
Between 1976 and 1982, during the Dirty War
, there were four secret detention centres inside the base. The most notorious were "La Casita", "Prisión Militar de Encausados", "El Campito" and the "Hospital Militar," where newborn babies were confiscated from pregnant women among the disappeared by the regime.
The Campo de mayo was also the site of an April 1987 mutiny by Lt. Col. Aldo Rico
and executed by men loyal to him known as Carapintadas
("painted faces," from their use of camouflage paint). Instigated despite the passage of the Full Stop Law
, which limited prosecutions of nearly 600 officers implicated in the Dirty War, the incident was tantamount to a coup attempt against President Raúl Alfonsín
, who successfully stayed the mutiny.
Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires is the generic denomination to refer to the megalopolis comprising the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the conurbation around it, over the province of Buenos Aires—namely the adjacent 24 partidos or municipalities—which nonetheless do not constitute a single administrative...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
Campo de Mayo covers an area of 8000 ha (19,768 acre) and is one of the most important military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
s in Argentina, including Argentine Army
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
's:
- General Lemos Combat Support School
- Sergeant Cabral Army NCO School
- Campo de Mayo Military Hospital
- Metropolitan Military Garrison HQ
- Army Infantry School
- Army Cavalry School
- Army School of Communications
- Army Engineering School
- Army Artillery School
- 601 Air Assault Regiment601 Air Assault RegimentThe 601 Air Assault Regiment is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army, created in January of 2003. The regiment is divided in three assault companies: A, B and C. Its motto is "Sapientia et Labore". The regiment is based on Campo de Mayo, Buenos Aires. The members of this unit wear red...
- 601 Commando Company601 Commando CompanyThe 601 Commando Company is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army, created January 5, 1982. It was based on the original "Equipo Especial Halcón 8" created by Lt. Colonel Mohamed Alí Seineldín in 1978....
- main units of Argentine Army AviationArgentine Army AviationThe Argentine Army Aviation is the army aviation branch of the Argentine Army...
Its also home for the aviation service of the Argentine National Gendarmerie
History
Development of the base was authorized by a Congressional bill sponsored by the Minister of War, General Pablo Riccheri, and signed by President Julio Roca on August 8, 1901. A site was later chosen northwest of Buenos Aires, for which land was purchased from Eugenio Mattaldi in 1910.Between 1976 and 1982, during the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
, there were four secret detention centres inside the base. The most notorious were "La Casita", "Prisión Militar de Encausados", "El Campito" and the "Hospital Militar," where newborn babies were confiscated from pregnant women among the disappeared by the regime.
The Campo de mayo was also the site of an April 1987 mutiny by Lt. Col. Aldo Rico
Aldo Rico
Aldo Rico is an Argentine military man and politician, famous for his role in the episodes of 1987 and 1988 where sectors of the Armed Forces, known as carapintadas , revolted to protest the policies of...
and executed by men loyal to him known as Carapintadas
Carapintadas
The were a group of mutineers in the Argentine Army, who took part in uprisings during the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín in Argentina.In December 1986, the Ley de Punto Final was introduced...
("painted faces," from their use of camouflage paint). Instigated despite the passage of the Full Stop Law
Ley de Punto Final
Ley de Punto Final was a law passed by the National Congress of Argentina after the end of the military dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional . Formally, this law is referred to by number Ley de Punto Final (Spanish, roughly translated Full Stop Law) was a law passed by the...
, which limited prosecutions of nearly 600 officers implicated in the Dirty War, the incident was tantamount to a coup attempt against President Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...
, who successfully stayed the mutiny.