ArgentinaWho was Juan Perón?
Juan Domingo Perón was born in Lobos, Buenos Aires province, in 1895 and made his career in the army. After the 1943 military coup he became labour secretary and built a following among trade unions. Mass demonstrations on 17 October 1945 secured his release from detention, and he won the presidency in 1946, governing with his wife Eva Perón until her death in 1952. A military coup removed him in 1955. After 18 years in exile he returned and was elected again in 1973, dying in office in 1974.
Political views
Presented his doctrine, Justicialism, as a third position between capitalist individualism and communist collectivism.
Source: backend.educ.arOversaw a 1949 constitution stating that private property has a social function and that wealth must serve the people's welfare.
Source: es.wikisource.orgPlaced imports and exports under state control and allowed the state to monopolise economic activities by law.
Source: es.wikisource.orgNationalised the British-owned railways in 1947-1948 and expanded state management of the economy.
Source: falklandsbiographies.orgSupported women's suffrage, which was enacted during his first government.
Source: falklandsbiographies.orgAdopted Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands as government policy and rejected international arbitration.
Source: falklandsbiographies.orgSupported a constitution that allowed the president to be re-elected, removing the earlier ban on consecutive terms.
Source: es.wikisource.orgBacked state intervention in rural land use so that farming families could become owners of the land they worked.
Source: es.wikisource.org
Legacy
Peronism remains one of the strongest forces in Argentine politics, and the BBC has noted that his influence remained strong decades after his death. Supporters credit Perón with labour courts, paid holidays for the whole workforce and the political inclusion of workers and women. Critics point to restrictions on the press and opposition during his first two governments, the sheltering of Nazi war criminals, and economic policies they blame for inflation and stagnation. His brief third government coincided with violent conflict between left and right factions of his own movement, which deepened after his death and preceded the 1976 coup. Historians still disagree on whether his first governments are best described as democratic, populist or authoritarian.