Peronism (Spanish: Peronismo), or Justicialism (Spanish: Justicialismo), is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and programs associated with former president Juan Peron. Peron's party, the Partido Justicialista (which lives on to this day), derived its name from the Spanish words for "justice" (justicia) and "socialist" (socialista).

Peronism has been difficult to define according to traditional political classifications, and probably different periods must be distinguished. A populist and nationalist movement, it has sometimes been accused of Fascist tendencies, and Peron's admiration for Mussolini is well documented. Furthermore, Argentina became a popular country of exile for ex-Nazis who entered clandestinity after World War II and fled using various ratlines Uki Goni, The Real Odessa: Smuggling the Nazis to Peron's Argentina (Granta Books, 2002, ISBN 1862075816 . However, this has been strongly disputed by others, inside and outside the Peronist movement, and it might as well be compared with Gaullism in France, which at first succeeded in creating in the immediate post-war period a large coalition from the left-wing (excluding only Communists) to the right-wing, before turning itself into a more conservative movement in the 1960s-70s. Furthermore, the absence of Peron himself, who lived during 20 years in exile in Franquist Spain, is also an important key to understand Peronism, as he could be invoked by all kind of Argentine sectors opposed to the current state of affairs. The memory of Eva Peron, in particular, was fondly conserved in workers' hearts, while at the contrary strongly despised by the "national bourgeoisie". Thus, the left-wing and Catholic Montoneros supported Peron as well as, at its end, the Fascist-leaning and strongly anti-Semitic Movimiento Nacionalista Tacuara'', one of Argentine's first guerrilla movement. All in all, Peron was a pragmatic figure, and through the course of his long career his views would frequently change. His ideology was nevertheless marked by some constants, including:

Strong authoritarian centralized government, with strict control of opposition forces.
Freedom from foreign influences.
A third way approach to economics which purported to be neither socialist nor capitalist, but to incorporate elements of both in a corporativist manner.
The combination of nationalism and social democracy

Peronist policies

Peron's ideas were widely embraced by a variety of different groups in Argentina across the political spectrum. Peron's personal views would eventually become a burden on the ideology, his anti-clericalism did not strike a sympathetic chord amongst upper class Argentinians. Peron's public speeches were consistently nationalist and populist. It would also be difficult to separate Peronism from corporate nationalism, for Peron nationalized Argentina's large corporations, blurring distinctions between corporations and government. At the same time, the labor unions became corporate themselves, relinquishing the right to strike in agreements with Peron as Secretary of Welfare in the military government from 1943-45. In exchange, the state was to assume the role of negotiator between conflicting interests.

Peronism and Fascism

Peronism is sometimes considered to be a fascist ideology, though this would be a rather shallow reading of Peron's government. After Peron was overthrown in a coup in 1955 (the Revolucion Libertadora), led by General Aramburu, he spent 18 years in exile, mostly in Francisco Franco's Spain. Though his feelings for Franco were mixed, Peron never disguised his admiration for Benito Mussolini's domestic policies.

Despite fascist comparisons, Peron and his administration never resorted to systematically organized violence. Peronism also lacked a strong interest in matters of foreign policy other than the belief that the political and economic influences of other nations should be kept out of Argentina and could thus be said to be somewhat isolationist.

Peron, despite his ties to Mussolini, never showed parallels to Hitler's Nazi regime, and never exhibited racist ideas or views like that of the Third Reich or several other fascist regimes. However, under his regime many Nazi war criminals were granted asylum after the Second World War. In 2005, as a result of revelations in Uki Goni's book The Real Odessa: Smuggling the Nazis to Peron's Argentina, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner ordered the repeal of a secret directive issued in 1938, under the presidency of Roberto Maria Ortiz, prohibiting Argentine diplomats from granting visas to Jews fleeing the Holocaust in Europe. This was the first admission by the Argentine government of the anti-Semitism that marked the country's immigration policies during and after World War II.

Legacy

Today, there are several Argentine political parties identifying themselves as Peronist.

References

Bibliography

Tomas Eloy Martinez, El Sueno Argentino' (The Argentine Dream, 1999) and Memorias del General'' (Memoirs of the General, 1996).
Daniel James (historian), Resistance and Integration: Peronism and the Argentine Working Class, 1946-1979. NY: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

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