AIM: WHAT WAS ARGENTINA LIKE UNDER
THE LEADERSHIP OF JUAN PERON’S
AUTHORITARIAN DICTATORSHIP?
Mr. Ortiz
Cordova High School
I. B. 20 th Century History
ARGENTINA AND WWII
● From 1932 until 1943 Argentina
was ruled by a coalition of
parties called the Concordancia.
● Argentina was the only country
in the Americas that did not
contribute to the Allied war
effort.
● It appeared that President
Castillo would manipulate the
1943 election so that Robustiano
Patron Costas would win.
● Nationalists believed that Costas
would end Argentina’s neutrality
and have the country enter the
war against the Axis Powers.
● A military coup overthrew the Castillo
regime on June 6, 1943.
● General Pedro Ramirez became
president.
● 1943 US placed new financial and
trade restrictions on Argentina and
pressured other Latin American
countries to do the same.
● US increased its military aid to Brazil
and Argentina was afraid Brazil
would attack.
● Ramirez agreed to break diplomatic
relations with the Axis by the end of
January 1944.
● Nationalists in the government
forced Ramirez to resign and
Vice President General Edelmiro
Farrell became president
● With the overthrow of Ramirez,
Peron became Argentina’s Vice
President and Minister of War.
● Farrell scheduled a national
election for February 1946.
● Peron established the Partido
Laborista (Labor Party) and
began to campaign for the
presidency.
● Peron won by 300,000 votes out
of the 2.7 million cast (54%).
THE LEADER
• Juan Domingo Peron (18951974)
• Born in Buenos Aires to a
lower-middle class family
• Joined the military at the age
of 16
• Juan stayed in Italy from
1938-1940 to study the
fascist regime
• He believed that neither
liberal democracy or
totalitarianism were viable
options
• He married Eva Duerte
(Evita) in 1945
• Argentinian workers were
Peron’s main power base
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• His goals were to achieve social
justice and economic
independence for Argentina
• Peron was anti-clerical
• He sympathized with the Nazis
and provided safety for many of
them after World War Two,
however he was not anti-Semitic
• In 1947 Peron disbanded the Labor
Party and replaced it with the Sole
Party of the National Revolution.
• Women received the vote in 1947
and Peron had Congress pass
legislation that increased women’s
access to education and improved
their wages and working conditions.
THE ELIMINATION OF OPPOSITION AND RULE
OF THE REGIME
• Peron participated in the military coup that overthrew the
conservative president, Ramon Castillo
• The police force was used to oppress Peron’s liberal
opponents
• Peron had complete control of Argentina’s armed forces
• In opposition areas he restricted civil liberties
• In 1949 Peron changed the Constitution so that he could
be re-elected
• He denounced any opposition as traitors
• Peron avoided allying with either the socialist of capitalist
cause
• The US initially opposed Peron, claiming that he had fascist
ties
• Peron took power just after World War Two ended, and
remained in power for much of the Cold War
• Peron’s policies mirrored his belief that another world war
was going to break out
● Peron’s economic program was initially successful and in July 1947
Argentina paid off its entire foreign debt.
● From 1949 onward Peron’s programs were less successful.
• To raise money to fund the creation of new industries, the
government created the Instituto Argentino de Promocion del
Intercambio (Argentine Institute for the Promotion of Trade) or IAPI.
THE ELIMINATION OF OPPOSITION AND RULE
OF THE REGIME CONT…
• Peron bought out most Argentinian newspapers in
order to weaken his opponents
• Wages were increased for laborers
• Extensive railroads were built in the country to help
“nationalize” it
• Thousands of hospitals and schools were built under
his regime
• Evita was used effectively for propaganda; her
popularity along with her radio talk show helped raise
support for Peron’s government
● Juan was elected to his first term as president in 1946
● Eva was now the first lady, the most powerful woman in
Argentina
● The rich had a hard time accepting her, as evidenced
by the Charitable Society, a women’s organization,
denying Eva the honorary position of President
● Eva retaliated against this by cutting of the society’s
federal funding and starting her own foundation, The
Eva Peron Foundation
⦿Eva’s foundation helped the poor get jobs, food,
clothing, money, and anything else they could want
⦿There are no financial records for the foundation, so it
is not known how much money was taken in and how
much was kept
⦿The people adored Eva for what she did for them,a and
considered her a saint
• Peron’s relationship with the United States reflected the ideas of his
political party the Peronist.
•
He dislike the United States involvement in world affairs and their
involvement in war trade.
•
United States did not support the Peronist party because they were based
on European fascist and communism.
•
Peron did not agree on many of the same issues as the United States,
• so this put a major boundary between the two countries.
•
Peron stated this “We are not anit-American, but we do not desire to
march to the beat of foreign drums”.
•
This statement not only talks about the United States, he also refers to
the rest of the world.
•
Peron wanted to have a self sufficient country, so this affected his image
at home and the rest of the world.
•
This helped Peron become president for the second time in Argentina
⦿In 1951, Juan decided to run again for President
⦿Eva wanted to run with him as Vice President
⦿When she accepted the nomination, she made it look
like she was bowing to the people’s will , but it didn’t
work
⦿The military told Peron that they would try revolution if
Eva didn’t renounce her candidacy
⦿Juan told Eva to step down and, though crushed, she
did as she was instructed
● Shortly after her renunciation,
Eva began feeling ill
● She was diagnosed with Uterine
Cancer, the same disease that
had killed her predecessor,
Aurelia
● She had a hysterectomy, but it
wasn’t enough to stop the cancer
● She voted in the election from a
hospital bed and, though
seriously ill, attended the
inauguration
● She got through the ceremonies
with a triple dose of pain-killer
before and a double dose after
● Shortly after the inauguration,
Eva died at the age of 33.
EVA PERON
PERON’S FALL FROM POWER
● Except for a short recovery during the Korean War, after 1949
Argentina entered a period of severe recession which included
several drought-induced bad harvests.
● The 1948 Marshall Plan gave loans and credits to Western European
countries that could be used only in the US and Canada.
● Exports dropped so low that in 1952 Argentina actually had to
import wheat.
● Real wages dropped 20% from 1949 to 1952 as inflation reached 30
% per annum.
● The amount of money in circulation increased from 6 to 45 billion
pesos during Peron’s two terms.
● Starting in 1951, the regime grew more repressive.
● In 1953 Peron gave Standard Oil the rights for exploration, drilling,
refining, and distribution in Argentina and this was the last straw for
the nationalist military.
● After Eva died, Juan planned on having her embalmed, so she would last forever
● Dr. Pedro Ara was asked to do the job, and he did it beautifully
● A tomb for Eva was in the works, but Peron was ousted before it could be
completed
● When Eva died, Peron lost his link to the people, and this hurt him greatly
● September 1955 military overthrows Peron.
● After his overthrow, Peron fled the country
•
After the military coup, Peron went into exile in Paraguay.
•
His escape was facilitated by his friend, President Alfredo Stroessner of
Paraguay
•
who placed a gunboat at his disposal on the River Plate.
•
Later he lived in Panama, where he met nightclub bolero singer María Estela
Martínez.
•
Eventually settling in Madrid, he married her there in 1961. She became better
known as Isabel.
• Back in Argentina, Peronism was still banned and active Peronists
were sometimes persecuted.
•
In the 1950s and 1960s Argentina was marked by frequent coups
d'états.
•
It experienced low economic growth in the 1950s but rebounded with
some of the world's highest growth rates in the 1960s.
• The nation also faced problems of continued social unrest and labor
strikes.
• Yet during those years poverty almost disappeared, with poverty rates
between two percent and five percent in the first years of the 1960s .
• General Alejandro Lanusse took power in March 1971 and had
declared his intention to restore constitutional democracy by 1973.
•
The way was thus open for Peron's return.
•
From exile Peron supported centrists such as Radical Party leader
Ricardo Balbín, as well as Catholic-left-wing Peronists, and proPeronist labor unions
• On March 11, 1973, general elections were held.
• Peron was banned from running, but a stand-in candidate,
Héctor Cámpora, was elected and took office on May 25.
● On June 20, 1973 Juan and Isabel returned to Argentina
● On July 13, President Hector Campora resigned to make
way for Peron
● Peron shocked the nation when he announced that he and
Isabel would run together on August 4
● Isabel accepted the nomination, and the Peron’s won the
election, thus giving Isabel the office that had been denied
to Evita, the Vice-Presidency
● Isabel, however, was thrust into the spotlight when Peron
died on July 1, 1974 of bronchial pneumonia
JUAN PERON
● Perón died on July 1, 1974, recommending that his wife, Isabel,
rely on Balbín for support.
● At the president's burial Balbín uttered a historic phrase, "This
old adversary bids farewell to a friend."
● Isabel Perón succeeded her husband to the presidency
● but proved thoroughly incapable of managing the country's
mounting political and economic problems the violent left-wing
insurgency and the reaction of the extreme right.
● Ignoring her late husband's advice, Isabel granted Balbín no
role in her new government, instead granting broad powers to
López Rega.
⦿Isabel took over the presidency when Juan died, and
promised to adhear to his policies strictly
⦿Problems beset her presidency from the start
⦿Inflation rose and political struggle continued between the
Peronists
⦿What the army feared would happen if a female became
president happened with Isabel
⦿In 1976, Isabel was ousted in a coup, thus ending the Peron
regime, and a great chapter in Argentine history