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From Peron to Dirty War


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Questions | Bibliography

Chapter Reference: Nationalism; Revolution; Reaction

The phenomenon called Peronism looms large on the political horizon of twentieth-century Argentina. Juan Perón rose to power immediately after World War II, governed the country directly for a decade, then went into exile in 1955. But the Argentine working class that he had mobilized politically maintained a powerful Peronist movement during Perón's prolonged exile through the 1960s and into the 1970s. By the 1970s, the movement had divided. The Montonero leftist guerrilla movement emerged from Peronism, but so did reactionary forces of the right allied with the military dictatorship. When Perón finally returned to Argentina in 1973, left-wing and right-wing Peronists fought over his legacy. Actual shootouts occurred in the crowd that gathered to greet Perón at the airport when he landed in Buenos Aires. Papers on Peronism often highlight the charismatic figure of Evita Perón rather than her husband, but they should also include at least the broad contours of the movement from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Questions for Analysis and Further Reflection:

  1. What allowed Perón to garner massive political support in the early 1940s—support that propelled him to the presidency?


  2. Juan Perón's wife Evita played a major part in the creation and legacy of Peronism, though Evita was always quick to point out that she served Perón. What role did Evita play on the political stage, how did she inspire followers, and how did she represent a step forward for women's rights in Argentina?


  3. What changes have Peronism and the Peronist party undergone since the early 1970s, especially following the Dirty War?

Bibliography: (Titles with ** are good starting places.)

Crassweller, Robert D. Perón and the Enigmas of Argentina. New York: Norton, 1987.

Students will want to focus on parts three and four of this study of Perón.

** Fraser, Nicholas, and Marysa Navarro. Evita: The Real Life of Eva Perón. New York:
           Norton, 1996.

Students will find this biography of Eva Perón an engaging read and informative overview.

** Gillespie, Richard. Soldiers of Perón: Argentina's Montoneros. Oxford, England:
           Clarendon Press, 1992.

Students interested in the Montonero guerrilla movement, its ties to Peronism, and the Montoneros as a political force will find this book useful.

** Hodges, Donald C. Argentina, 1943—1987: The National Revolution and Resistance, rev.
           and enl. ed. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1988.

Hodges' monograph (with proper scholarly trimmings) provides a synthetic overview of the period, stretching from Perón's rise to power and the tragic "dirty war."

________. Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography. Austin: University of Texas
           Press, 1991.

Eloy Martínez, Tomás. Santa Evita. Translated by Helen Lane. New York: Knopf, 1996.

Eloy blends fiction and fact to explore the myth that surrounds Evita.

** Perón, Eva. My Mission in Life. Translated by Ethel Cherry. New York: Vantage Press, 1953.

This collection of Evita's writings offer students a firsthand perspective on Evita's thinking and the motivations behind her work.

________. In My Own Words. With an introduction by Joseph A. Page. New York: The New
           Press, 1996.

Here students will find a translation of the document that is supposedly the deathbed manuscript of Evita, controversial for its critique of the Church and the military.

Turner, Frederick C., and José Enrique Miguens, eds. Juan Perón and the Reshaping of
           Argentina.
Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983.