Todo Concostrina – SER Podcast
Episode: "Acontece que no es poco | 16 de septiembre de 1976: La noche de los lápices y el Mundial de Argentina. Jugar en mitad de la matanza"
Date: September 16, 2024
Host: Nieves Concostrina
Co-host: Carlos
Episode Overview
In this episode, Nieves Concostrina and Carlos reflect on two intertwined historic events in Argentina: the horrific "Noche de los Lápices" (Night of the Pencils) of September 16, 1976, when the military dictatorship kidnapped, tortured, and killed secondary school students, and the 1978 FIFA World Cup, a moment when international football turned a blind eye as state terror engulfed the country. They draw connections between student protest, authoritarian brutality, and the moral blindness of global sports business — all with Concostrina’s signature clarity, candor, and dry wit.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. The Noche de los Lápices: Student Protest and State Terror
[00:53-07:15]
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Background and Significance:
- The Night of the Pencils refers to September 16, 1976, when Buenos Aires provincial police raided homes in La Plata and detained student activists, mostly teenagers seeking reduced fares on public transport.
- This was just months after Videla’s military coup in March 1976, marking the start of the Argentine dictatorship.
- Nieves highlights parallel historical episodes of repression: “La noche de los cristales rotos”, “la noche de los cuchillos largos”, and even Spain’s “noche de los transistores” (the failed coup of Feb 23, 1981).
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Victims and Motives:
- The regime saw activism and demands from working-class students as threats:
“...eran jovencitos implicados que... reclamaban cosas, como por ejemplo un descuento en los boletos de transporte para estudiantes.” (Nieves, 03:38)
- Out of those abducted, only four survived the torture. Six disappeared forever; their memory survives in the haunting phrase:
“Los lápices siguen escribiendo.” (Nieves, 04:50)
- The regime saw activism and demands from working-class students as threats:
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Intent to Terrify and Neutralize:
- Nieves explains the regime’s goal: kill or traumatize the movement into silence.
“Lo que se trataba era de romper la militancia... Los que sobrevivieron salieron con la orden de guardar silencio.” (Nieves, 06:25)
- The state targeted not only university students but also high schoolers, showing chilling disregard for age or innocence.
- Nieves explains the regime’s goal: kill or traumatize the movement into silence.
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Delayed Justice:
- In 2024, after 10 years of trial and 48 years after the event, sentences for crimes against humanity were finally handed down:
“Prisión perpetua para un abogado, un ex ministro, siete militares y un comisario de policía.” (Nieves, 07:22)
- Nieves questions the value of such delayed justice:
“¿Esto es una buena noticia? Pues sí, para mí no. Qué maldita justicia es esta que estos tipos... ahora se les sentencia a cadena perpetua cuando tienen setenta y muchos y ochenta años.” (Nieves, 07:29)
- In 2024, after 10 years of trial and 48 years after the event, sentences for crimes against humanity were finally handed down:
2. Fútbol y Dictadura: El Mundial de 1978
[08:43–14:47]
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Football as Distraction and Propaganda:
- The 1978 World Cup in Argentina proceeded in the midst of repression and state terror.
- Nieves questions the ethical blindness of FIFA, football fans, and even some progressive personalities:
“¿Se les llega a nublar tanto el entendimiento como para ver normal que las selecciones de fútbol acudan... a celebrar un Mundial... mientras se jugaban los partidos estaban tirando personas vivas al Atlántico?” (Nieves, 09:47)
- Even Menotti, Argentina’s renowned left-wing coach, “traded his principles for the chance of a World Cup at home”.
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Corruption and Violence in Organization:
- FIFA, under president Joao Havelange (“el padrino que convirtió el fútbol en una mafia universal”), colluded with the junta.
- A murder at the heart of the tournament’s organization:
- “El asesinato del general Omar Actis... presidente del Comité organizador... la versión más aceptada ya a día de hoy es que a este general del Ejército se lo cargaron militares de la Armada.” (Nieves, 11:56)
- Actis was replaced by Lacoste, a Videla relative.
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No Meaningful Boycott:
- Amnesty International condemned participation but only the Dutch Parliament restricted its delegation’s official presence.
“Solo el Parlamento de Holanda ordenó a su delegación que no acudiera a actos oficiales, que sólo jugara. Los holandeses fueron por iniciativa propia a Plaza de Mayo...” (Nieves, 13:08)
- France’s civil society made a major effort, but no national boycott occurred.
- Amnesty International condemned participation but only the Dutch Parliament restricted its delegation’s official presence.
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Match-Fixing Suspicions:
- FIFA allegedly changed match schedules to favor Argentina, and there are enduring suspicions about the “strange” win over Peru.
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A Universal Blindness:
- Nieves draws parallels to present-day sportswashing:
“Aquí todo vale. Lo tuyo, lo mío, lo nuestro. Es solo hablar por hablar... Nadal... encantado de haberse conocido porque a Arabia le parece un gran país. Piqué haciéndose de oro en Qatar pese a los 6.000 muertos en la construcción de las instalaciones.” (Nieves, 14:28)
- Nieves draws parallels to present-day sportswashing:
3. The Broader Moral Questions
- The episode repeatedly questions justice, the collective amnesia or anesthesia of societies, and the complicity of international institutions and famous individuals in legitimizing or covering up horrors.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On the chilling normalcy of repression:
“Los detenidos en la Noche de los Lápices eran estudiantes de secundaria... pero eran estudiantes activos... reclamaban un descuento en los boletos de transporte... los militares no tenían reparos a la hora de detener, torturar y asesinar a menores de edad”
(Nieves, 03:38–04:12) -
On the purpose of violence:
“Lo que se trataba era de romper la militancia... Los que sobrevivieron salieron con la orden de guardar silencio.”
(Nieves, 06:25) -
On justice delayed:
“A mí me entristece mucho la justicia sea... esto es tremendo.”
(Nieves, 07:39) -
On football’s moral failure:
“No sé si a la gente tan apasionada... se les llega a nublar tanto el entendimiento como para ver normal que... un Mundial es un Mundial.”
(Nieves, 09:47) -
On FIFA and corruption:
“Su presidente entonces... Joao Havelange... al que definieron como el padrino que convirtió el fútbol en una mafia universal”
(Nieves, 11:20) -
On current sports hypocrisy:
“Nadal... encantado de haberse conocido porque a Arabia le parece un gran país. Piqué haciéndose de oro en Qatar pese a los 6.000 muertos en la construcción de las instalaciones. Aquí todo vale.”
(Nieves, 14:25)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:53–04:52 — Background and summary of “La Noche de los Lápices”
- 06:23–07:39 — The intent of state terror; delayed justice
- 08:43–09:47 — The 1978 World Cup under the dictatorship
- 11:17–12:55 — Corruption, murder, and the role of FIFA in Argentina 78
- 12:58–14:00 — International responses and lack of effective boycott
- 14:25–14:47 — Modern parallels: sports, ethics, and hypocrisy
Tone and Style
Nieves Concostrina’s narrative is sharp, irreverent, and biting, seamlessly moving between hard historical analysis, caustic humor, and personal reflections, with Carlos providing thoughtful questions and reactions.
“¿Esto es una buena noticia? Pues sí, para mí no. Qué maldita justicia es esta...”
“Aquí todo vale. Lo tuyo, lo mío, lo nuestro. Es solo hablar por hablar...”
Her style, both empathetic and impatient with hypocrisy, makes the episode both a history lesson and an act of moral provocation.
Summary
This episode takes listeners through one of the darkest chapters of Argentina’s recent history—where students disappeared for demanding their rights, and the world celebrated football indifferent to terror. It probes how societies and institutions reckon (or fail to reckon) with their complicity, raising disturbing questions about the failures of justice, memory, and collective conscience—past, present, and future.