The Enduring Legacy of Peronism in Argentina
08/08/25
Embedded Files
JUAN PERÓN, IMAGE: RAILLYNEWS
Peronism has been the dominant force within the Argentinian political system for nearly eight decades. This piece will explain the ideological profile of Peronism, its emergence, its subsequent dominance, how the ideology has embedded itself deep within Argentinian society as well as its political system and the impact it has had on Argentina’s history and misfortunes.
Before we look at the ideological profile of Peronism, it is first worth understanding the context in which it emerged. Economically, Argentina had experienced high levels of economic growth for six decades from the 1870s and had begun a rapid transition from an agricultural economy to an industrialised economy, initiated by changes in the global economy caused by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Indeed, by the time the 1930s arrived, Argentina was the most industrialised economy in South America. This rapid economic change led to changes in Argentina’s demography with urbanisation to cities such as Buenos Aires and increased levels of inward migration – all of which led to much soul searching, even to this day, of what Argentina’s national identity is.
However, the 1930s saw the breakdown of the Argentinian economy, with the country suffering the devastating consequences of the Wall Street Crash. The consequences were so grave for Argentina that it cost the country democracy when the military took over in the first of several coups d’État during the 20th century in 1930. A second coup followed in 1943.
It was during this period of military rule that a new figure emerged, one that would shape the future discourse of Argentinian politics. Juan Perón, an experienced military figure with involvement in both the 1930 and 1943 coups, would paradoxically end over fifteen years of military rule when he successfully ran for the Presidency in 1946. But what was his appeal? To answer this question, we need to look at what Peronism as an ideology entailed, taking into account the previously discussed context of Argentina in the first half of the twentieth century.
Peronism contained populist, nationalist, and socialist elements. For the populist elements, Juan Perón demonstrated charismatic leadership and used rhetoric that we would today associate with populist political figures. A significant part of this populist rhetoric was the ‘us vs them’ divide Perón conveyed during his 1946 election campaign, when he positioned himself as a representative of “true Argentinians”. To Perón, the “true Argentinians” he claimed to champion were working-class members of society who were rooted in the values of the Catholic church and communitarianism. It was a message that resonated with the Argentinian public, who had suffered at the hands of repression during the years of military rule, when they voted Perón in as President with 53% of the vote.
Economically, Peronism held a socialist stance. He believed in extortionately high levels of public spending as well as high levels of regulation, particularly against the “elite” who Perón claimed were working against ordinary Argentinians. Perón also believed in redistributing wealth, as he believed the “elite” wanted to take Argentina’s wealth for themselves and their own interests, unfairly taking it away from “true Argentinians”, many of whom lived below the poverty line. It is partially for this reason that Peronists believe strongly in public ownership, with Perón believing the government would better represent the interests of the people than the selfish “elites”, once again tying Peronist economics to his charismatic leadership style.
However, despite his charismatic and apparent individual leadership style, there is one other person who was imperative to the enduring legacy of Peronism – his second wife, Eva. It was Eva who presided over the establishment of Peronism’s most significant legacy, and the reason it still has relevance in Argentina to this very day – the establishment of the welfare state. Much of the increased government spending Perón had introduced was spent on the welfare state, which was intended to improve living standards across the country. The legacy of this is still evident today, with Argentina boasting some of the highest literacy rates on the continent, as well as some of the best infrastructure in South America. The establishment of a welfare state was one of the first times in Argentinian history that the state had directly tried to help ordinary people, and the impact of this was an emotional attachment between beneficiaries to Peronism, a sentimental relationship that has endured, giving Peronism as much relevance as ever. The emotional attachment of some is so great that many households still have a portrait of Eva Perón on their wall, holding her in a saint-like status. Indeed, at the time she was given the title of ‘Spiritual Leader of the Nation’. I, like many academics, would argue Eva Perón was more critical to the legacy of Peronism than Juan Perón himself.
JUAN AND EVA PERÓN, IMAGE: PUBLIC DOMAIN via WIKICOMMONS
However, Perón’s presidency coincided with yet more economic decline. War industries closed at the conclusion of the Second World War, and his decision to increase the money supply into the economy led to hyperinflation and high interest rates, a common theme of the Argentinian economy going forward. Elsewhere, his populist traits intensified, eroding the powers of the Supreme Court and Congress, imposing heavy press censorship, and engaging in undemocratic behaviour, most notably, election rigging. It was also during this time that many state institutions were taken over by pro-Peronists, as well as other influential organisations such as workers' unions, which has been a continuing, systemic legacy of Peronism.
Continued economic decline into the 1950s led to yet another military coup in Argentina, resulting in the removal of Perón as President and the return of authoritarian rule. But Peronism did not die with the fall of Perón as President; indeed, he and his policies remained popular in contrast with the brutal regime and political instability that followed, and in 1973, Perón returned to power for a second tenure as President. However, Perón, now in his late seventies, would die just nine months into his Presidential return to be replaced by his third wife, Isabel Perón, but she too would be deposed by the military.
The following years, 1976-83, would be amongst some of the toughest in Argentinian history. The military junta presided over a regime that many consider to be genocidal, all in a desperate attempt to rid Argentina of left-wing ideologies such as Peronism once and for all. Over 30,000 people (mostly left-wing dissidents, teachers, academics, intellectuals and activists) suspiciously went missing, never to be seen again. The regime killed them, and their bodies were disposed of in the sea, the regime believing this to be the best way to hide the true horrors of what they were presiding over.
With growing brutality and continued economic decline, the junta, now led by Leopoldo Galtieri, tried to distract from the issues by invading the Falkland Islands in a desperate attempt to maintain power through nationalist methods. However, the UK dispatched a task force and quickly retook the islands in a war that lasted a matter of weeks. 649 Argentinians were killed in the conflict.
BRITISH SAILORS ON THE FALKLANDS , IMAGE: KEN GRIFFTHS
The Falklands War was the end for the military junta, and a fresh set of democratic elections was held in 1983. Surprisingly, the Peronists were defeated in this set of elections, despite the resistance many committed Peronists showed in the face of brutality from the outgoing military rule. But Peronist candidate, Carlos Menem, would win the following election in 1989, on the back of continued economic challenges, including the recurring problems of high inflation and stagnant economic growth. However, some of these problems were caused in part by organisations still systemically rooted in Peronism, such as the powerful workers' unions, who worked to undermine the government of Raúl Alfonsín to bring about the return of Peronism. Ironically, Carlos Menem would later adopt neoliberal economic policies, contrary to the doctrine of Peronism, but managed to win re-election comfortably in 1995, not isolating traditional Peronist supporters by breaking from the ideological platform he had run on in 1989.
This change of government set the tone for the next few decades in Argentina, up to the 2023 Argentinian election – effectively a pendulum swinging between Peronist governments and anti-Peronist governments, with no other parties or ideologies breaking this systemic battle, evidencing Peronism to still define Argentinian politics. It also shows that despite the return of democracy, Argentina has remained both politically and economically unstable, with the most recent governments often lasting a single term before being ejected, unable to deal with the deep socio-economic problems the country continues to face.
Argentina’s political instability shows no sign of abating, with the 2023 election showing a breakdown of the traditional battle between Peronists and anti-Peronists for the first time, with the election of Javier Milei. Milei beat the Liberal candidate for the second spot in the runoff ballot against incumbent Peronist President Sergio Massa. In this runoff round, defeated Liberal candidate Patricia Bullrich endorsed Milei, solely because he was not the Peronist candidate. However, Milei is very much a product of the Peronist system that has dominated Argentina since the 1940s. Milei shares the same charismatic leadership style associated with Juan Perón and, like Perón, believes himself to be above the Constitution as a directly elected head of state, and has shown much disregard for the judiciary and fractionalised legislature through his mega decree. He also claimed in his successful 2023 Presidential Election campaign that he wanted to “tear down the [existing] system”, particularly with his unorthodox and radical economic reforms, such as pledging to abolish the Argentinian Central Bank, not too dissimilar to the objective and rhetoric of Perón in his successful Presidential election campaign back in 1946.
Argentina’s romantic obsession with Peronism has clearly held the country back. Still, it is understandable why Peronism has become deeply embedded in the socio-economic fabric of the country, and why so many working-class Argentinians have remained resolutely loyal to it. However, Argentina’s story could be so very different – it could be a significant global power with its abundance of natural resources. Economist Simon Kuznets’ quote that “there are four types of economies [in the world]: developed, underdeveloped, Japan [economy significantly outperforming all metrics] and Argentina [economy significantly underperforming all metrics]” is, unfortunately for Argentinians, entirely accurate.
Google Sites
Report abuse