Abstract

Institutional identity and social memory are used to construct legitimate images of self and justify past actions. The Uruguayan military as an institution was interested in constructing its own memory of the controversial period of the dictatorship to establish their new identity as political actors and to respond to outside critiques. As a result, the institution produced a wealth of documents to explain and justify its actions before holding power. This paper investigates how the Armed Forces represented their actions during this period, how they positioned themselves and other social actors, and how they evaluated themselves, others and their practices during that traumatic period. The critical discourse analysis focuses on the configuration of lexico-grammatical and discursive choices that construct the institution's shifting identity and its memory of the dictatorship. The analysis demonstrates how the military used discursive practices to legitimate its deviant actions through the construction of a narrative of the past that presented the situation as chaotic and requiring extreme measures.