In his youth,
Ernesto Sabato was an activist in the
Communist Party of Argentina, where he became
general secretary of the
Communist Youth Federation. He subsequently distanced himself from
Marxist communism, disillusioned by the course taken by Stalin's dictatorship in the
Soviet Union. He later refused to reissue
El otro rostro del peronismo; and in 1987, when his
Complete Works were published, he ensured in the preface that this essay would appear in a new volume of political writings, which has not been published to this day. This statement was notable coming from a recognized intellectual, as the
Argentine Revolution dictatorship was particularly harsh against writers and scientists, leaving for Argentine memory the
Night of the Long Batons, an attack on the
University of Buenos Aires that forced dozens of leading academics into exile. Sabato did not comment on this. During the government of
María Estela Martínez de Perón, Sabato felt threatened by the
Argentine Anticommunist Alliance. Nevertheless, he was not intimidated and published the essay
Nuestro tiempo del desprecio, as well as articles abroad denouncing repression. According to Ángela Dellepiane in research for
UNESCO, the newspapers
La Razón (Argentina) (20 May 1976) and
La Opinión (Buenos Aires) (21 May, directed by
Jacobo Timerman) recorded his testimony: "There is something else that distresses me and that I felt obliged to raise: the
witch-hunt." Referring to cases such as
Antonio Di Benedetto and architect
Jorge Hardoy, Sabato stated: "...I named people who honor the country and who have suffered expulsion from their workplaces and even detention."
Complicity with the dictatorship of 1976–1983 On 19 May 1976, dictator
Jorge Rafael Videla hosted a luncheon with a group of Argentine intellectuals, including Sabato,
Jorge Luis Borges, Horacio Esteban Ratti, and priest
Leonardo Castellani. Of all present, only Castellani referred to the disappearance of
Haroldo Conti and asked about his situation. After the meal, Sabato stated: Writer
Osvaldo Bayer later argued that Sabato attempted to justify this meeting as concern for disappeared colleagues, a version denied by others. This episode drew criticism, including from Bayer, who accused Sabato of "forming part of Argentine hypocrisy". In 1979, Sabato published
Apologías y rechazos, challenging censorship. On 12 August 1980, he was among 175 signatories in
Clarín (newspaper) demanding information on the
disappeared during the
National Reorganization Process.
CONADEP After the dictatorship, Sabato chaired the
National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP), which investigated
human rights violations in
Argentina between 1976 and 1983. The findings were compiled in
Nunca Más, documenting disappearances, torture, and killings. On 20 September 1984, Sabato presented the report to President
Raúl Alfonsín. Human rights organizations organized a demonstration of approximately 70,000 people in support. The report reflected the
theory of the two demons: The report contributed to the
Trial of the Juntas. Sabato later condemned pardons granted in 1989.
Later years In his later writings, Sabato described himself as adhering to
Christian anarchism. == Works ==