Rodolfo Jorge Walsh (January 9, 1927 – March 25, 1977) was an Argentinian journalist and writer, considered the founder of investigative journalism in his country. He was not impartial. He didn't intend to be so either, but his works have taken long investigations from several sources. His works were so political in nature, that he even joined the guerrilla Montoneros in an intend of fighting the injustices that affected Argentina. Eventually he began to question the views of the organization as well.
Besides journalism, he devoted himself to writing several short stories and crime novels. Many of his works involve a political reading of reality. Maybe his most known work is Operation Massacre, a novelization about one of his investigations regarding a series of executions of trade unionists and left-wing militants during the dictatorship of Aramburu, in 1957, two years after the Military Coup to the second democratic presidency of Juan Domingo Perón.
There's also Open Letter From A Writer To The Military Junta, (in English here
) a cunning masterwork of political journalism protesting against the National Reorganization Process's economic policies that were having a greater effect on ordinary Argentinians than their insane human rights abuses. This letter was composed and distributed to every media available in Argentina and to the international press, but ultimately it cost him his life. In Argentina, the letter was distributed underground because the media was controlled by the military. Prior to his death, in 1976 he had created ANCLA (Spanish acronym by Clandestine News Agency), an underground press that distributed information hand-to-hand, in response to the Military's censorship.
He was killed in a shooting in March 25, 1977, one day after this letter was distributed, and a few months after the forced suicide of his youngest daughter, Victoria Walsh, in a confrontation with the army at Corro Street.
He has left behind a big tradition both in journalism and in literature; several political organizations (mainly in public Universities) are named after him.
Works
Journalism
Non-Fiction
Crime Fiction
- Ten Crime Tales
- Variations In Red
- Antology Of Strange Tales
- The Terrestrial Offices
- A Dark Day Of Justice
- One Kilogram Of Gold
Theater
Tropes associated with him
- Action Dad: Both intellectually and physically. He even fathered an Action Girl (Victoria Walsh)
- Author Avatar: Daniel, the protagonist of "Variaciones en Rojo" (Variations in Red) has the same work as he did at the moment.
- Badass Bookworm: He was a writer and a journalist, and he joined the leftist guerrillas. And died fighting hard. Here is a declaration of his killers:
- Censorship Bureau: Trying to avert it, he created ANCLA, his underground news web. But his Carta Abierta wasn't published officially in Argentina until several years.
- Gonzo Journalism: It even costed him his life.
- Heroic Sacrifice: His death was a booby trap, and he was aware of this possibility, but he couldn't let the girl die.
- Idiot Ball: In his Non-Fiction novel "¿Quién mató a Rosendo?" (Who Killed Rosendo?) the police and political forces get this treatment.
- La Résistance: He joined them.
- Legacy Character: His surviving daughter, Patricia, followed the steps of her father. To the day, she has a left-wing political career.
- Non-Fiction Literature: His novel "Operation Massacre" was the very first one, pre-dating In Cold Blood by nine years. "¿Quién mató a Rosendo?" and "El Caso Satanowsky" fit this trope too.
