Argentina

THE LEFT IN ARGENTINA includes different groups that have reacted against traditional reactionary forces. These elements can be seen in social movements starting in the 1880s until the return to democracy in 1983. However, these movements also had the counterpoint of several crises in 1922, 1952, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1966 and 1975, characterized by military coups d'etat. Thus, the left in Argentina is represented by its attempts to react to the constant challenges of the right.

[Page 32]After Argentine independence in 1810, groups continued to struggle to establish a constitution and to lead revolts whenever their interests were contradicted by the ruling elite. After the conservatism of President Guillermo Rosas and the Paraguay War between 1865 and 1870, younger intellectuals began to advocate a new movement in Argentine history, which would be called the “generation of the 1880s.” At the same time, immigrants who came from Europe brought their socialist and anarchist experiences, while the military middle class questioned traditionalism and adopted positivism in order to propose the modernization of the country.

One important result of the 1880s is the foundation of the Radical Civic Union Party (Unión Civica Radical) in 1891. The Socialist Party was founded in 1896. Anarchists articulated their forces with groups that founded the Workers Federation (FORA). However, the influence of these groups was better felt during a series of crises between 1907 and 1913, which were recorded by the leftist newspaper La Crítica. These groups were motivated even more by World War I and the Russian Revolution.

Within this context, the election of Hypólito Yrigoyen as president in 1916 became a historical mark for the left in Argentina. Yrigoyen and the Unión Cívica Radical performed a series of social reforms that provoked the reaction of the right. Yrigoyen was reelected in 1928, but the political situation had worsened and a military coup took him out of office. The articulation between the army and Catholic groups was responsible for the imposition of an authoritarian nationalism from 1930 to 1943.

One of the most peculiar and important phenomena in politics in Argentina is the nationalist populism of Juan Perón, which can be related to both the right and the left. Peronism was able to involve liberals, socialists, and the labor movement for its causes—at the same time that it had the support of oligarchism, integralism, fascism, and authoritarianism. Perón was part of the government that assumed power in 1943, had spent some time in Europe, and was influenced by the experiences he observed in Spain, Italy, France, and Germany.

Moreover, he became an advocate of the “shirtless masses” (descamisados) and the working class in Argentina. Based on this political platform, he was elected in 1946 and began to promote a series of measures akin to socialist ideas. What brought him closer to the left was his alliance with the worker's movement. Further-more, Perón upheld a very liberal agenda in opposition to the Catholic Church, which then provoked a reaction against his government, leading to another coup by the military in 1955.

The 1960s started with the impact of the Cuban Revolution, Marxism, and anti-Peronism. The guerrillas promoted by the Argentinean Ernesto Che Guevara in Bolivia motivated several groups. However, it was only after 1966 that these movements began to express their ideas and actions more radically—motivated also by yet a new coup by the military. In 1968, leftist groups led a series of protests in the streets. In 1969, the General Union of Workers called a general strike and university students in Cordoba organized a demonstration, which became known as Cordobazo.

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