The most important and controversial political leader of twentieth-century Argentina, Juan Domingo Perón sharply divided Argentines during and after his lifetime over the issues of distribution of income and political power. In historical retrospect, he may be seen as a leader who wanted to extend to the lower classes the standard of living and the political enfranchisement that Hipólito Yrigoyen and the Unión Cívica Radical had brought to the Argentine middle classes earlier in the century. One of the few South American leaders to be known throughout the world, Perón championed a “Third Force” in world politics and encouraged wider political participation by Argentine women.The prevailing American view of Perón during his first Presidency, promoted by the Truman Administration at the time, was that Perón's during his first Presidency, promoted by the Truman Administration at the time, was that his government was fascist. That view is unsustainable, largely for the reasons Turner summarizes in that paragraph.
Perón identified the political enemy within Argentina as the "oligarchy," a concept understood to mean the rural oligarchy and the magnates of industry, though the industrial component of the Argentine economy had declined under the policies during the "infamous decade" following the military coup of 1930. Promoting domestic industry was a main goal of the Peronist government.
There was an additional nationalist component to Perón's appeal. Spruille Braden was US Ambassador to Argentina in 1945 when Perón first became head of government and in 1946 when he successfully ran for President in a competitive democratic election. Braden was a classic One Percenter, as we say these days. He was the son of a wealthy mining family and held majority ownership in the Braden Copper Company in Chile. He served a director of the W. Averell Harriman Securities Corporation and was a member of the ultra-establishment Council on Foreign Relations. In the first half of the 1930s, he had been an agent of Standard Oil in South America. To top it off, he was also a significant stockholder of the United Fruit Company. All the ingredients to be a classic Ugly American south of the Rio Grande.
And that's exactly what he was in 1945-46. The military governments of 1940-1946 had been neutral in the World War until March 1945, when it was clear that Germany was losing. This had led the Roosevelt Administration to treat Argentina as de facto pro-German. So the "fascist" label seemed to be an obvious polemical label to use against them. The pro-Allies left parties in Argentina, the Socialist and Communist Parties, adopted the same label. Despite Perón's obviously distinct position from the more conservative elements in the military government, his local and international enemies found the label convenient to apply to Perón as well. The State Department Blue Book published in February 1946, after Perón's assumption of power but before the 1946 elections, portrayed both the previous military government and the current one of Perón were collaborators with the Nazis.
When Braden was appointed Ambassador in April 1945 and was distinctly hostile to the military government then in power and then to Perón's regime. Perón campaigned in the election 1946 on the theme "Braden or Perón," framing himself as the defender of the Argentine nation against foreign interference. This was another populist angle to Perón's politics, appealing to all classes in Argentina to support him against foreign adversaries. In 1946, against a specific image of the foreign adversaries, "Braden."
Turner also writes:
In 1946, Perón was elected to the Argentine presidency in one of the freest elections in Argentine history; he was elected to a second term in 1951. A military coup in 1955 deposed him, sending him into exile first in Paraguay and ultimately in Madrid. For many years, historians and political leaders in Argentina tried to write Perón off as a has-been, but this ultimately proved impossible. In 1973, he returned triumphantly to Argentina and to the presidency after eighteen years in exile.And Turner describes the role of Eva Perón this way:
The basis for Perón's power was the Justicialista (Peronist) Party. Multiclass in nature, ranging over the ideological spectrum from far right to far left, it was an archetypal example of populism. Peronism has been able to count consistently on support from ten percent of the upper classes and seventy percent of the lower classes. Perón built fierce and durable loyalty for the movement during his first presidency, during which he increased the proportion of national wealth going to the working class very substantially. ... More important than economic gains, members of the working class and trade unions had achieved a sense of political consciousness and economic entitlement that made them combative participants in Argentine politics for decades to come.
Juan Perón also had high ambitions in international politics. Quite accurately, he predicted that if the countries of Latin America did not join together, they would remain weak and put upon by more powerful nations. Often credited with originating the concept of the Third World, Perón after 1945 dreamed of a coalition of states allied to neither the Soviet Union nor the United States. Argentine yearning for leadership of this movement appears in one of the most common Peronist slogans: Ni yanqui, ni marxista—peronista (Neither Yankee, nor Marxist — Peronist). [my emphasis in italics]
Her interest in politics and her influence increased decisively after Perón took office in June 1946. She began to meet daily with workers' delegations, union leaders, and officials of the Secretariat of the Labor Confederation, thus continuing the work that Perón did as secretary of labor. She frequently addressed Perón's supporters on his behalf and proved to be a rousing speaker. After a triumphant European tour which she undertook without Perón, she returned in time to urge the passage of a law granting women the vote.The Oxford Reference entry on María Eva Duarte De Perón (2004) by Evita's biographer Marysa Navarro-Aranguren expands on her significance for Peronism:
Evita was never formally part of Perón's government, though she tried unsuccessfully to be the Peronist vice-presidential candidate in the 1951 elections. She was officially only Argentina's First Lady, but she was a one-woman propaganda ministry for Perón and his trusted liaison with labor. She was also president of the Eva Perón Foundation, a well-endowed social welfare organization. She used the foundation funds to build hospitals, schools, youth hostels, and low-income housing, and to buy thousands of goods that she distributed to the needy. In addition, she was president of the women's branch of the Peronist Party, which helped to reelect Perón in 1951 with an overwhelming female vote.
Evita's death from cancer on 26 July 1952 undermined the stability of Peronism. She was a crucial component of that political structure and irreplaceable—as Perón soon realized when his economic policies began to strain his relationship with the descamisados. On the other hand, her death transformed her into a powerful myth that became essential for the survival of Peronism after Perón's ouster in 1955 and, despite the repression of successive military dictatorships, its return to power in 1973 along with Perón's own reelection that same year.
Her interest in politics and her influence increased decisively after Perón took office in June 1946. She began to meet daily with workers' delegations, union leaders, and officials of the Secretariat of the Labor Confederation, thus continuing the work that Perón did as secretary of labor. She frequently addressed Perón's supporters on his behalf and proved to be a rousing speaker. After a triumphant European tour which she undertook without Perón, she returned in time to urge the passage of a law granting women the vote.Pretty much everyone at least seems to agree that this political experience, Juan Perón's government and movement, was populist. It was and still is a very diverse phenomenon. Peronism is complicated.
Evita was never formally part of Perón's government, though she tried unsuccessfully to be the Peronist vice-presidential candidate in the 1951 elections. She was officially only Argentina's First Lady, but she was a one-woman propaganda ministry for Perón and his trusted liaison with labor. She was also president of the Eva Perón Foundation, a well-endowed social welfare organization. She used the foundation funds to build hospitals, schools, youth hostels, and low-income housing, and to buy thousands of goods that she distributed to the needy. In addition, she was president of the women's branch of the Peronist Party, which helped to reelect Perón in 1951 with an overwhelming female vote.
Evita's death from cancer on 26 July 1952 undermined the stability of Peronism. She was a crucial component of that political structure and irreplaceable—as Perón soon realized when his economic policies began to strain his relationship with the descamisados. On the other hand, her death transformed her into a powerful myth that became essential for the survival of Peronism after Perón's ouster in 1955 and, despite the repression of successive military dictatorships, its return to power in 1973 along with Perón's own reelection that same year.
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