The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: Proceso de Reorganización Nacional, PRN; often simply el Proceso, "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from the coup d'état of March 24, 1976, until the unconditional transfer of power to a government elected by the citizens on December 10, 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as the última junta militar ("last military junta"), última dictadura militar ("last military dictatorship"), última dictadura cívico-militar ("last civil–military dictatorship"), or última dictadura cívico-eclesial-militar ("last civil–clerical-military dictatorship") — because there have been several in the country's history and no others like it since it ended. It took the form of a bureaucratic-authoritarian state and was characterized by establishing a systematic plan of state terrorism, which included murders, kidnappings, torture, forced disappearances, and the kidnapping of babies (and concealment of their identity). It is considered "the bloodiest dictatorship in Argentine history".
The Argentine Armed Forces seized political power during the March 1976 coup against the presidency of Isabel Perón, the successor and widow of former President Juan Perón, at a time of growing economic and political instability. Congress was suspended, political parties were banned, civil rights were limited, and free market and deregulation policies were introduced. The President of Argentina and his ministers were appointed from military personnel while leftists and Peronists were persecuted. The junta launched the Dirty War, a campaign of state terrorism against opponents involving torture, extrajudicial murder and systematic forced disappearances. Public opposition due to civil rights abuses and inability to solve the worsening economic crisis in Argentina caused the junta to invade the Falkland Islands in April 1982. After starting and then losing the Falklands War against the United Kingdom in June, the junta began to collapse and finally relinquished power in 1983 with the election of President Raúl Alfonsín.