1. Review: Argentine history to the 1900s
Spain
Sun of May/May Revolution
Caudillo
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Julio de Roca
Triple Alliance War
Neocolonialism (didn’t happen much in Argentina – why?)
Catholicism in Latin America
SE European Migration to Argentina
All this leads to massive superiority complex (want to be great, but not recognized as great by Europe the same way the USA is) on the part of the Argentinians—Argentina is THE great South American power. Couple that with nationalism and fascism…

2. First military coup
Stage is set when the Radical Phase begins in 1916 with the election of Hipólito Yrigoyen to the presidency
This is the first time the 1880s generation, led by Sarmiento, had lost power  and by this point that generation was conservative.
Yrigoyen’s party was the Radical Civic Union (UCR)
Yrigoyen wins, then loses (but to another liberal) then wins again in 1928…
… only to be toppled in the first of six military coups in Argentina in the 20th century by General José Felix Uriburu
Seizes La Casa Rosada with a few troops, who then rally the crowd and popular support—supported by the Nacionalistas & the Argentine Patriots League, both far right organizations who get a voice in politics for the first time

3. First military coup
… only to be toppled in the first of six military coups in Argentina in the 20th century by General José Felix Uriburu
Dissolves Parliament, bans political parties and elections, suspends the constitution
Essentially becomes a fascist dictatorship, something Argentina was having a mild “love affair with anyway”
Leads to the belief in Argentinian exceptionalism  Argentina is unique in Latin America and the world and should be treated as such
Sanctioned by church—bishop of Buenos Aires knew ahead of time what would happen; joined by future President Juan Domingo Peron
ISI + a corporatist autarky (Mussolini-style fascist) economy work well at first
Known as the Infamous Decade

4. Juan D. Peron (& Evita)
Infamous Decade results in a slew of conservative presidents, who are fraudulently elected and don’t answer to the people
Uriburu had wanted to go into full-fledged fascism but didn’t have the support of other key military people to do it; so instead they outlaw the liberal parties and rig elections
Uriburu rules for a couple years and then hands over power and dies
Becomes a martyr for Argentine fascists, who separate him from the conservatives in power, feel disfranchised, and become more radical.
Infamous Decade begins tradition for xenophobia—Uriburu targets foreigners and Jews in an effort to rid Argentina of its problems
Because of close ties to Europe (and fascism), Argentina’s economy actually declines under ISI because of the new influx of people
Plays perfectly to the nacionalista and their fearmongering
Then the President “handpicks” and unpopular successor; and the army mobilizes

5. Juan D. Peron (& Evita)
Originally led by Arturo Rawson and others, until colonel Juan D. Peron emerges as the populist “the man of the people”
Actually gets so popular that the leaders imprison him to try and stifle his popularity  has the reverse effect and instead people demand he lead the country
Peron takes power but doesn’t formally assume the Presidency until 1946
Peron’s wife is the high popular Eva Maria Duerte de Peron aka Evita, who takes a high profile in the administration and later devotes herself to social causes; she dies tragically in 1952
By 1945 Argentina is the 8th richest nation in the world

6. Peronism (& Nazism & Antisemitism)
Peron’s rise to power was unique for a few reasons:
Only military coup to occur in the middle of a war
It was a conservative military toppling a conservative president
It tried to return Argentina to democracy and claimed to be rooted in democracy—this was, albeit, an authoritarian form of democracy
And Peron was not fascist; he’s an authoritarian, quasi-democratic populist
Despite the fact his rhetoric, diction, & goals sounded like Mussolini
Peron definitely had sympathies towards both authoritarianism and antisemitism (a lot of this was thanks to the Argentine Catholic Church): Peronism allowed many Nazis, most famously Mengele, to flee on ratlines to South America

7. Peronism (& Nazism & Antisemitism)
Many Argentines saw him as the heir to De Rosas because Peronism essentially meant:
Demagoguery: Peron would turn to populist rallies when in political trouble; or for fun
Political expedience: Peron would support whomever, from Nazis to communist, for political gain  it didn’t matter if he contradicted himself/changed his mind
Argentine exceptionalism: Peron cultivated the idea that Argentina had a unique place in the world and could return Western Civilization to its core values
The cross and the sword: the intersection of religion, politics, war, and machismo led to a political and socially conservative ruling class—normalizing antisemitism and other prejudice and isolating the left
They liked Peron when Peron found it expedient to be on their side; but in general they thought he was a classless outsider  kinda like how the ruling class in Italy viewed Mussolini
However, the economy was good and everyone loved Evita, so Peron stayed very, very, very popular…until the mid 1950s

8. Donde esta Juan D. Peron?
By the time Peron wins a second presidency (1952) the ruling classes (i.e. church and military) are getting frustrated with his increasing populism
Means higher taxes on them, and less total power
Nazi sympathies didn’t help either
Peron was also one of the first people in Argentine history to disappear or force dissidents into exile—wasn’t popular with elites (at first, until they figured out how to use it for them)
Church objected to Peronism’s increasing influence in supposed ”private life”
Unions were nationalized, education was taken out of the Church’s hands, etc.
Cult of Personality growing up around Peron scared other elites
Causes support from the military to erode
June 14: Catholic bishops speak out against Peron

9. Donde esta Juan D. Peron?
June 16: Military forces bomb the Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada—do this to try and take out Peron and break up his people at a rally; fails and 300+ die
That night Peronists retaliate destroying and killing many
Echoes of Nazi Germany’s Night and Fog
By September, military regroups and overthrows Peron violently
Fighting occurs in some places but not for long
Culminates with Peron hiding on a gunboat up the Rio de la Plata before finally be guaranteed safe passage to Paraguay, where he goes into exile
Elite of Argentina begin dismantling Peronism—even mentioning the name or humming the Peronist anthem could land you in jail

10. Military & Church; Nationalism & Fascism
Years after Peron result in a couple more coups
Starts getting ridiculous, at one point the military even has an internal coup, overthrowing one leader for another
Most of the 1960s results in authoritarian rule, despite the fact the country is supposedly a “democracy”
End result in Argentina becomes fairly comfortable with fascism and dictatorships, violence and disappearances are slowly normalized
Something is uniquely Argentinian here: For example, Brazil had way more $$, training and help from the US and had a total of 133 people disappeared compared to Argentina’s up to 30,000
General consensus is Argentina's sociocultural history was uniquely aligned for that:
Begun with Rosas and Roca, but to a certain extent it was even perpetuated by liberals like Sarmiento
Rosas and the caudillos, which thrived in Argentina were violent bullies— nacionalistas loved him
Sarmiento was a popular man we did not cover, but he supported “Progress” but railed against the natives and uneducated, normalizing that in liberal circles

11. Military & Church; Nationalism & Fascism
General consensus is Argentina's sociocultural history was uniquely aligned for that:
Begun with Rosas and Roca, but to a certain extent it was even perpetuated by liberals like Sarmiento
Rosas and the caudillos, which thrived in Argentina were violent bullies— nacionalistas loved him
Sarmiento was a popular man we did not cover, but he supported “Progress” but railed against the natives and uneducated, normalizing that in liberal circles
Rosas hunted down and wiped out the natives, which began the nacionalista movement and Argentina’s superiority complex—and leads to a fascination with the military
Once the 20th century rolled around, and immigration from Southeastern Europe arrived in Argentina in full force, the Catholic Church gained even more power (and more antisemitism)
Couple that with traditional Latin American values of honor and machismo and the Cross and the Sword become the darlings of Argentina; adds to conservativism in the country
All this plays to the perfectly into the hands of the radical right and nationalist movements and gives them a solid, credible voice in Argentine politics

12. Peron’s second time
After two more coups and a slew of government ineptitude, the 5th coup, which took power in 1966, agreed to hold elections to quell their massive unpopularity
Scheduled for 1973; schedule to allow the Peronist to run, but not Peron himself
A Peronist wins the presidency, passes some laws allowing Peron to run, then resigned and calls new elections with Peron running from exile
Peron wins with 62% of the vote and his now-third wife Isabel Peron assumes the vice presidency
Peron then dies less than a year after being elected and Isabel assumes power

13. Peron’s second time Isabel Peron in power
Government is marred by both ineptitude and violent repression
Most of the actions of the junta, particularly the oppression of the left, began under Isabel’s government
Government goes after everyone that is not a hardcore Peronist, isolating most of the country  takes very violent action against various “communists” in the jungle
At 1:00am on March 24, 1976 a junta comprised of the leaders of each branch of the armed forces arrests Isabel and seizes power. This is the last coup.
America actually learns about and supports the upcoming coup because Peronist populism is seen as sympathetic to communism, whereas the church and the military are decidedly not

14. The coup
One of many coups in the “cone” of South America, all backed by the US as part of Operation Condor as a way to prevent the spread of communism
Having said that Argentina’s process after the coup was uniquely violent, as discussed before, compared to all other countries, but Uruguay (where 1 in 50 people were arrested)
Goal was to save western civilization and prevent World War III—only Argentina could do this—through a combination of conservativism, Catholicism, and militarism
Made no attempt to claim this was temporary or interim— goal was to establish a permanent junta to revitalize Argentina

15. The coup
Originally lead by Jorge Rafael Videla (army), Emilio Massera (navy), and Orlando Agosti (air force), but junta would change up leaders four times
Continued Isabel policy of political repression, but limited it only to liberals/liberal groups
Led to the disappearance of tens of thousands, many still missing today.
Used coded rhetoric to hide atrocities and normalize disappearances, which they also had sanctioned by the Catholic Church
Known as the National Reorganization Process or The Process

16. The original junta of the Last Dictatorship
On March 24, 1976, after several months of civil unrest and secret planning, the Argentine military deposed President Isabel Peron, a move that was met with massive popularity. Author Jorge Luis Borges commented after the coup, “now we can be ruled by gentlemen.” In order to keep up appearances of unity and separation of powers the each branch of the military nominated its head to share power in a junta. From left to right Emilio Massera, Navy; Jorge Rafael Videla, Army; Orlando Agosti, Air Force. Massera took control of propaganda, Videla was named President of Argentina and of the junta from , and Agosti had the smallest role.

17. The Process
Proceso de Reorganización Nacional or The National Reorganization Process, or simply el Proceso, The Process, was a euphemism developed by its “grand orator,” Emilio Massera, for the state sanctioned terror that occurred under the junta between , when disaster in the Falkland Islands war led to the collapse of military rule, and the return of democracy. The state terror—abductions, torture, and “transfers”—a euphemism for drugged flights of death—was directed at leftist groups in an effort to “save Argentina and Western Civilization from World War III.” This was during the height of the US anti-communism policy in Latin America known as Operation Condor. At least 9,000 people, but no more than 30,000 people were “disappeared” during this time. The terror was greatest from and the junta most popular in with a decent economy and Argentina’s victory in the World Cup, which they hosted that year.