PERON ERA POLITICAL PAMPH - ProQuest

The social origins of the labor class, the other pillar of Peronism, are still
debatable, but by the time Peron took power the Argentine working class was
identifiable as a major force in Argentine society and politics. Between 1935
and 1946, the industrial sector of the Argentine economy began to surpass
agricultural and pastoral activities in importance. At the same time the national
government expanded to assume new functions and responsibilities. In
both the private and public sectors there was a need for additional laborers,
and in the absence of a strong stream of immigration, they could only come
from the interior provinces. They did come in increasing numbers as Peron,
especially after 1946, implemented policies that protected the manufacturing
industries at the expense of agriculture. However, the new laborers' expectations
were different from those prevalent among the workers they joined, and
they were reluctant to enter the existing trade unions. Peron therefore initially
concentrated his efforts on building ties with the older, organized class of urban
laborers and their trade unions--railroads, telephone, street cars, clerical-and
with their support he began to build a political party. In 1947 he formed
the Peronista Party and placed the Confederaci6n General de Trabajo (General
Confederation of Labor) under government control. The party never fully
organized, but the CGT developed a hierarchical structure and its own
bureaucracy. Even after his overthrow, when it had recovered its political independence,
the CGT continued to support Peron. Above all, it wanted to retain
a close alliance with government.
This microfiche collection especially emphasizes the numerous ideologies
that developed in the 1930s and later and their influence among university
students and the military. They include liberalism, conservatism, socialism,
communism, Trotskyism, nationalism and Catholic social thought. Each group
was torn by internal divisions. For example, nationalism manifested itself in
the forms of historical nationalism, revolutionary nationalism, socialist nationalism,
and Catholic nationalism. All nationalists were anti-liberal, antidemocratic,
and anti-oligarchical, but beyond these points, they were unable
to agree. An additional strain of nationalism could be found in the military.
Though the armed forces did not endorse any particular ideology, their views
were associated more closely with nationalism than with any other contemporary
ideological tendency.
Peronism itself was ideologically diffuse. It certainly was anti-liberal, antiintellectual,
and anti-oligarchical. Though Peron tried to project an image of
himself in the press, on radio and TV as the defender of democracy and as
a leader who was continuing the policies of Yrigoyen, it is questionable whether
he truly endorsed democracy. The interpretation of Peronism which maintains
that the movement and its leader were hostile to democracy is based on the
autocratic manner in which Peron governed.
One major source of ideas for Peronism were the young intellectuals of
FORJA (Fuerza de Orientation Radical de la Joven Argentina). FORJA was
started by a group within the Union Civica Radical that disapproved of the
overthrow of Yrigoyen. Its members carried on an intensive campaign for a