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1967 Ernesto “Che” Guevara is killed in Bolivia as he attempts to spark a continent-wide guerrilla uprising 1970 Salvador Allende is elected president of Chile 1973 General Augusto Pinochet leads Chilean military in coup. The takeover deposes Allende, who dies in the presidential palace 1976 Argentina’s military takes power and launches so-called “Dirty War” Formation of the Mothers of the May Day Plaza (Madres de la Plaza de Mayo ) in Argen- tina. Their struggle for human rights stirs women elsewhere in Latin America to fight for the same cause 1979 Sandinista rebels overthrow Somoza dicta- torship. The Sandinista Revolution begins 1980 Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) is created in El Salvador 1981 Approximately 1,000 civilians, including women and children, are massacred by the Atlacatl Battalion in El Salvador in the towns of El Mozote, La Joya, Cerro Pando, Ranchería, Los Toriles, and Jocote Amarillo 1982 Argentina’s military invades Falklands/ Malvinas islands, but is defeated by Great Britain. Military government collapses as a result General Efraín Ríos Montt seizes power in Guatemala. His regime becomes notorious for human rights violations 1985 Civilian rule restored to Brazil 1988 Chile’s General Pinochet loses plebiscite, paving the way for the return of civilian rule 1990 Sandinista president Daniel Ortega loses elections to Violeta Chamorro Sandinista Revolution comes to an end 1992 Salvadoran government signs agreement with guerrillas to end civil war Timeline xxi