The political frontiers of the social. Argentine politics after the emergence of Peronist populism (1955-1973)

SEBASTIÁN BARROS

Discourse Theory and Political Analysis

Manchester University Press

Lugar: Manchester; Año: 2000; p. 24 - 37

On 17 October 1945 a crowd converged in the main square in Buenos Aires, in front of the House of Government, asking for the liberation of a man who had been incarcerated days before. Most of the women and men who voiced this demand were workers. The man whose freedom was demanded was Juan Perón. On that day, a populist political movement was born: it would be called Peronism. Even though the political core of Peronism was located in its popular support, Perón managed to transform this particular movement into a nationwide, hegemonic one. Peronist hegemony allowed Perón to be elected president of the country in 1946 and 1951. However, 1954 marked the beginning of a long hegemonic crisis. This chapter will focus on the period that runs from the first stage of this crisis, Perón?s overthrow and political exile in 1955, to his return to Argentina in 1973. In analysing this period, we will show that a proper approach to Peronist populism requires a rigorous account of the way in which Peronism framed the political identi­ties and frontiers of the country. And this task presupposes placing at the very centre of analysis the particular historical context in which Peronism emerged and developed. Although the breakdown of the Peronist regime signalled the end of Perón?s political hegemony at a national level, this development did not entail the ending of the centrality of Peronist discourse in Argentine politics. Between 1955 and 1973, several attempts were made to solve the so-called ?Peronist question?: how to eliminate, assimilate or control the Peronist movement. All these attempts failed. These failures not only provoked a political crisis characterised by a permanent stalemate but also showed the vitality of the Peronist political heritage even after Perón?s overthrow. The way in which Peronism framed political identities, and therefore the political frontiers of the Argentine political system, survived Perón?s fall and ?guided? the political behaviour of both Peronist and non-Peronist political actors.