Editing 1980s (section)

====Americas====
[[File:Reagan and Gorbachev signing.jpg|thumb|right|US President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev signing the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|INF Treaty]], 1987]]
[[File:Cierre de campaña de Raúl Alfonsín en la Av. 9 de Julio - Llamado a elecciones - 1983.jpg|thumb|288x288px|The [[Avenida 9 de Julio|July 9 Avenue]] in [[Buenos Aires]] filled with supporters of [[Raúl Alfonsín]], who would become the first democratic [[President of Argentina|Argentine President]] after the end of the [[Dirty War]] (1983)]]
* [[Ronald Reagan]] was elected US president in 1980. In international affairs, Reagan pursued a hardline policy towards preventing the spread of communism, initiating a considerable buildup of US military power to challenge the Soviet Union. He further directly challenged the [[Iron Curtain]] by demanding that the Soviet Union dismantle the [[Berlin Wall]].
* The [[Reagan Administration]] accelerated the [[War on Drugs]], publicized through anti-drug campaigns including the [[Just Say No]] campaign of First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]]. Drugs gained attention in the US as a serious problem in the '80s. Cocaine was relatively popular among celebrities and affluent youth, while crack, a cheaper offshoot of the drug, was linked to high crime rates in inner cities during the [[American crack epidemic]]. {{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
* The [[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)]] (PATCO) declared a strike on 3 August 1981, seeking better working conditions, better pay, and a 32-hour workweek. The strike caused considerable disruption of the US air transportation system. Resolution came when [[Ronald Reagan]] fired over 11,000 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work, banning them from federal service for life. After seeking appeals, many of the controllers were re-hired while the FAA attempted to replace much of their air traffic control staffing. The remainder continued to be banned until President Clinton lifted the final aspects in 1993.
* Political unrest in the province of [[Quebec]], which, due to the many differences between the dominant francophone population and the anglophone minority, and also to francophone rights in the predominantly [[Canadian English|English]]-speaking Canada, came to a head in 1980 when the provincial government called a public [[1980 Quebec referendum|referendum]] on partial separation from the rest of Canada. The referendum ended with the "no" side winning majority (59.56% no, 40.44% yes).
* [[Military dictatorship]]s give way to democracy in [[History of Argentina#New democracy (1983–present)|Argentina]] (1983), [[History of Uruguay#20th century|Uruguay]] (1984–85), [[1980s in Brazil|Brazil]] (1985–1988) and [[1988 Chilean national plebiscite|Chile]] (1988–89). This marked the end of the [[Operation Condor]] for 30 years.