Buenos Aires, Nov 29 (NA) - The former Minister of Defense during Raúl Alfonsín's last term (1986-1989), Horacio Jaunarena, re-released his book 'La Casa está en orden' (The House is in Order), originally published in August 2011. This testimonial work recounts the 'key years of the democratic transition' in Argentina. In an interview with the Noticias Argentinas news agency from Torcuato di Tella University, the author described the process of creating the book and how he managed to convey 'the challenges' faced by Alfonsín's government in 'subjecting the Armed Forces to civilian power, the trials for human rights violations,' and 'institutional reconstruction' after the dictatorship. With a significant title that echoes an iconic phrase from the former president after the 'attempted coup d'état' during Holy Week 1987, Jaunarena highlighted the importance of the Ministry of Defense as one of the main portfolios of his administration and described how each of his three predecessors carried out their duties. In his book, the former official 'summarizes the spirit of a foundational era' and 'Alfonsín's courage to achieve justice without vengeance,' added to the value of 'sustaining democracy' in the face of military uprising threats. He also noted that generally, transitions between incoming and outgoing governments in the world have agreements, but in this case, 'where democracy was entering and tyranny was leaving,' there were none. A year after taking office, Borrás was diagnosed with cancer, and the prognosis was not encouraging: he only had six months of life left, and someone with the same level of trust had to replace him. The Ministry of Defense was a key part of democratic consolidation and drove the trial of those responsible for the (last) military dictatorship and the violence from Montoneros groups.' During Alfonsín's term, there were four ministers of Defense, with Jaunarena being the last; his predecessors died, an uncommon event worldwide: 'First, Raúl Borrás died, then Roque Carranza, and finally, Germán López.' 'We radicals had a flaw: we didn't write. Back then, anyone wrote anything, and history was left as it was. That was one of the impulses to write this book,' Jaunarena concluded.
