Viola, Roberto Eduardo (1924– )

Argentine military leader and de facto president March 1981–December 1981. Foreign debts, hyperinflation, and economic collapse as a result of heavy national spending were to render his governance ineffective. He was later imprisoned.

On 29 March 1981 Viola succeeded Jorge Rafael Videla as de facto president. Nine months later, however, the de facto government announced that Viola was to step down for health reasons, and General Leopoldo Galtieri took the post. Viola was sentenced to 17 years in prison by a civilian court in December 1985. He was released after serving only four years of the sentence as a result of pressures imposed by the military.