Episodio 08: El peronismo (1943-1955) - Ver La Historia

Overview

The video episode (covering Peronism from 1943 to 1955) argues that the Peronist era emerges out of a cycle of political rupture and social mobilization, transforming Argentina’s relationship with labor, the state, and mass politics.

1) Origin of the Peronist moment (1943–1944)

• The narrative begins with a major “earthquake” (the 1943 coup) and ends with political violence culminating in the 1955 bombing.
• In June 1943, a military coup led by nationalist officers overthrows the post-1930 political order, establishing a nationalist-military government.
• The episode links economic restructuring to this political shift:
  • The crisis of 1929 leads to import substitution.
  • Meat-processing and industrial production expand, increasing labor demand.
• New industrial workers—many from the provinces—enter precarious urban conditions and initially lack union experience, creating fertile ground for later political organization and labor legislation.

2) The rise of Perón and the “social question”

• The 1943 government is characterized as nationalist and military, with goals including:
  • ending fraud,
  • moving toward political legitimacy,
  • maintaining neutrality in WWII,
  • reducing foreign influence.
• Juan Domingo Perón is introduced as a central figure. After taking charge of the Labor area, he builds a political platform centered on labor reform.
• Key Perón-led measures highlighted include:
  • labor rights: severance pay, paid vacations, Christmas bonus, retirement
  • collective bargaining and vocational training
  • the Peon Statute, protecting rural workers
• The episode frames these reforms as responses to the “social question,” and as a strategy to prevent communist influence by integrating workers into a new political order.

3) 1944–1945: consolidation and backlash

• During WWII, the U.S. pressures Argentina to take a position.
• Perón’s rise coincides with political turnover when the presidency changes:
  • Ramírez is removed after breaking relations with Germany and Japan under U.S. pressure.
• By 1944, Perón accumulates major roles:
  • War Minister
  • Labor and Social Welfare Secretary
  • Vice President
  • This increases his political weight significantly.
• A major theme is the backlash Perón faces:
  • Opposition accuses him of being Nazi-fascist (linked to neutrality).
  • Opposition also accuses him of being communist (linked to rapprochement with workers within the military).
• A key opponent highlighted is General Eduardo Ávalos, associated with the Radical Civic Union.
  • Ávalos, alongside Farrell, demands Perón’s resignation.
• Perón refuses to fully comply:
  • he is arrested,
  • imprisoned on Martín García Island.
• The episode emphasizes mass worker mobilization for his release, culminating on October 17, 1945, portrayed as Perón’s consecration as a popular leader.
  • The crowd and political drama in the Plaza de Mayo are framed as defining a new era of mass politics.

4) 1946 election, Peronist program, and institutional transformation

• The episode argues that “Peronism” is not fully present in 1945, but gains momentum as Perón builds alliances and political structures—especially labor-backed networks (including radicals and Zionist groups) and the Labor Party.
• The anti-Peronist counter-coalition is described as the Democratic Union, including traditional parties and socialist/communist forces.
• An external influence singled out is U.S. ambassador Spruille Braden (“Buffalo Braden”):
  • The video presents Braden as an anti-Perón actor.
  • It claims his campaign helps unite opposition forces under the slogan “Braden or Perón.”
• In February 1946, Perón and Hortensio Quijano win the presidency with 52%.

5) The “Five-Year Plan” and the expansion of state-led social rights (first term)

• After taking office in June 1946, Perón’s program is characterized as a class alliance backed by state power (capital and labor).
• The episode describes the Five-Year Plan as shifting Argentina from an agro-export model toward industrialization.
• Economic and social policies are both emphasized:
  • nationalization of key services and infrastructure: central bank, utilities, energy, railroads, ports
  • public works and housing construction (hundreds of thousands of homes claimed)
  • expansion of schools, health centers, and social welfare, tied to the Eva Perón Foundation
• Eva Perón (“Evita”) is portrayed as central to transforming charity into state-supported social justice:
  • worker housing, polyclinics, transitional homes
  • support for vocational training and broader welfare initiatives
• Her work is also linked to raising social rights and integrating popular sectors into public life.

6) Women’s suffrage and political constitution reforms

• The Peronist movement is framed as driving women’s political inclusion:
  • women’s suffrage becomes law in 1947
  • women can also run for office; Evita helps organize Peronism’s women’s branch
• In 1949, Eva Perón pushes constitutional reform:
  • doctrinal principles of Peronism are noted,
  • and a political aim is described: enabling presidential re-election.
• The episode notes controversy and opposition rejection, though the reform is approved.

7) Economic crisis and political polarization (late 1940s–1952)

• The video attributes economic deterioration to several overlapping factors:
  • stagnation, inflation, and reduced foreign exchange earnings
  • effects connected to the Marshall Plan (lower international prices and alleged pressure/boycott of Argentine exports)
  • severe droughts damaging agriculture and livestock
  • inflation driven by high worker purchasing power and demand, while supply/prices fail to adjust adequately
• It also emphasizes rising authoritarian criticism and repression:
  • opposition media closures/censorship
  • imprisonment and exile of opposition figures (including Ricardo Balbín and Alfredo Palacios)
  • bombing incidents and retaliatory violence tied to opposition–Peronist conflict

8) Eva Perón’s illness, candidacy, renunciation, and death

• Evita becomes a major political actor in the early 1950s.
• In 1950, she faints; uterine cancer is later diagnosed.
• The episode describes her continued role amid oligarchic, ecclesiastical, and military resistance to her candidacy as vice president.
• In 1951, a massive CGT-led mobilization awaits confirmation of her candidacy; she later delivers a historic televised renunciation.
• 1951 elections:
  • women vote for the first time
  • Perón wins 62% on the Perón–Quijano ticket
• Evita appears publicly for the last time in 1952 and dies shortly after at 33.
  • The episode contrasts large popular mourning with celebrations among opponents.

9) Escalation with the Church and the 1955 coup/bombing

• Relations between Perón and the Catholic Church are depicted as worsening:
  • ending mandatory religious education
  • legalizing divorce
  • moving toward separation of church and state
• Opposition solidarity includes groups historically anticlerical (socialists/communists) joining street mobilizations for the Church.
• The episode portrays the climax as catastrophic:
  • On June 16, 1955, aircraft bomb Buenos Aires with the explicit goal of killing Perón.
  • Civilian deaths are highlighted, including schoolchildren killed when a bomb hits a streetcar near the Casa Rosada.
  • It stresses that this is the first time armed forces bomb their own citizens on such a scale.
• After the bombing, conflict continues until Perón is eventually overthrown.

10) Overthrow (September 1955) and end of the Peronist government

• On September 16, 1955, a military uprising begins in Córdoba under General Eduardo Lonardi.
• Perón abandons the government in the early hours of September 20, 1955, and goes into exile via the gunboat Paraguay.
• The episode concludes that the coup ends nine years of Peronist rule, but that Peronism persists as a lasting force:
  • supporters remember it as a movement of labor rights,
  • enemies attempt to erase it from Argentine history, but it remains contested and enduring.

Presenters / contributors

• The transcript does not clearly name any presenters or contributors.