Social conflicts always had been part of Argentina’s history, but they intensified during the late 19th century as the gap between the wealthy classes and the poor widened. The National Party, under the leadership of Gen. Julio Roca (who served two terms as president, 1880–86 and 1898–1904) and supported by the military and landowners, dominated the nation. To combat this powerful coalition, a middle-class party called the Radical Civic Union (Unión Cívica Radical) was formed. The Radicals stressed democratic practices and attempted to expand the political system beyond its elite-restricted boundaries. The Radicals’ efforts came to fruition in 1916, when Hipólito Yrigoyen was elected president for a six-year term. But little changed for the working classes. Most workers could barely afford to feed their families during this time, despite the tremendous affluence of the upper class. Workers who sought to improve their working conditions were suppressed. A violent army attack against striking metalworkers in 1919 came to be known as “La Semana Trágica” (The Tragic Week). Yrigoyen sat out for a term, and was reelected president in 1928, but he didn’t last long. An economic crisis precipitated by the world depression led to a military coup in 1930.
For the next 13 years, Argentina was ruled by the old conservative oligarchy. The military-landowner alliance brought both economic recovery and political corruption, as well as the exacerbation of social tensions. Particularly divisive was the matter of Argentina’s foreign relations. While opening Argentina to trade with Europe improved the economic picture, many felt that the leadership had sold out to foreign interests. Argentina’s careful neutrality toward the Axis powers masked considerable Fascist sympathies, further dividing the nation.
Another military coup in 1943 brought to power an even more Axis-sympathetic group but also launched a new era in Argentine politics. Argentina had undergone an industrial expansion, accelerated by the war. This expansion led to the formation of a large blue-collar workforce, which in 1943 came under the direction of the military head of the Labor Department, Col. Juan Domingo Perón. Perón used his new constituency to build a power base that allowed him in 1946 to be elected president, while his supporters won majorities in both houses of congress. Perón, it was later reported, allowed many Nazi German leaders to hide in Argentina.
Perón made sweeping political, economic, and social changes. His ideology was an unusual blend of populism, authoritarianism, industrialism, and nationalism. His strong personal appeal was buttressed by the charm of his wife Eva (“Evita”), a woman of modest upbringing who captivated the masses with her work on behalf of the poor. Peronist rhetoric stressed the rights of descamisados (literally “shirtless”), the poor of Argentina.
Perón sought to establish a foreign policy that allied Argentina with neither the West nor East, while acting as protector of weaker Latin American nations against US and British “imperialists.” He coined a new word to describe his approach: “justicialismo,” roughly translated as “essence of justice.” After reelection in 1951, Perón became increasingly dictatorial and erratic, especially after the death of Evita a year later. Economic hardship led to reversals in policy that favored the old oligarchy. Newspapers were shut down and harassed. Perón legalized divorce and prostitution, and began to incite violence against churches. Finally, a military group took over in September 1955.
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