17/10/5
The abundant history and mystery of Peronism and the "17"
<DIV>One of the amazing aspects of Argentine political life is the attachment to symbols, even long after their sell by date. Be they flags, effigies, banners and personalities, they have a lasting catchy nature. All of these elements fit into the hot spring day in October 1945 which has gone down as Peronism"s "Day of Popular Loyalty". On this sixtieth anniversary, and without many of the mysteries of Peronism fully explained, the Herald reproduces seven pages of the editions of that October week as a souvenir for readers, some who may have lived through that and, the majority now, those who have only read about it. <BR></DIV>
If there is one topic that has helped produce a library-full of books in Argentina it is Peronism. From the anti- tracts to the texts singing praises, there must be hundreds. Not all are much good. In fact, very few are.
Just about the best biography of Juan Peron is written by a US scholar, Joseph Page. This volume was translated into Spanish and was published here by Alfaguara. But the strange aspect of this edition was that it took almost a decade for Page"s original English to appear in Spanish. And although there is much debate on the quality of local "lives" of the founder of Peronism, many will plump for Tom s Eloy Martinez"s fictional account, La novela de Peron, published in the 1980s after decades of preparation (based on pre-1974 interviews with Peron), and rejection while the author was in Venezuelan exile. These were preceded, among many others, of
course, by the Cronologia historica de la vida de Peron, 1896-1974, by publisher and leading historian Oscar Antonio Troncoso.
This year has seen a few books added to the growing mountain. Nationalist historian Norberto Galasso"s two-volume Peron (Colihue), joins the ranks of earlier multi volume texts, not least the critical history by Hugo Gambini. The fiftieth anniversary of the overthrow of Juan Peron in 1955, on September 16, sparked new volumes, among them one by Israeli academic Raanan Rein, El primer peronismo (Lumiere).
The history of how the "Day of Popular Loyalty", on October 17, 1945, developed is also rich in titles. Among the most recognised is that of academic Juan Carlos Torre, whose El 17 de octubre de 1945, was published in 1995, marking the 50th anniversary of the date. Although for the faithful it is a glory day, "St Peron", for many Argentines and others it is difficult to understand why such a fuss is made about the even still today, almost as if the Peron"s were alive and ready to run in next Sunday"s election.
For this 60th anniversary of the "17th", one of Argentina"s leading trade union historians, Santiago Senen Gonzalez, has joined forces with a much younger researcher, journalist Gabriel D. Lerman, to compile a collection of essays on the event and its makers. And the mix is rich indeed.
Senen Gonzalez has a rigid anecdotal style in most of his books, pursuing fact to support his account rather than use analysis. This is what has made him a leader in the trade union history field in Argentina, and probably explains why Harvard and Di Tella universities acquired his archives for record and future research.
In the volume, Senen Gonzalez, pursues his line of chronicle _ betraying two generations of journalists in the family, as much as historical study _ to explain the CGT"s division in 1945 over whether to back the popular uprising, or to disown it. The crowd acted without leaders, although activists were obviously marshalling the marchers from all over Buenos Aires and the suburbs. In the end, the CGT called a general strike in support of Peron on October 18, 1945, in evidence of the unions" loyalty to the man who, from the labour secretariat, had started giving worker organisations a range of new benefits as from 1943. For Senen Gonzalez, Peron"s social policy is worthy of praise, but the policies were a disaster.
Gabriel Lerman, responsible for much of the compilation of detail, returned to the subject of a previous book of his making on the Plaza de Mayo at the centre of his history. The essay is almost a romantic view of a public space which has been a political symbol for two centuries.
For those interested in well researched hypothesis, Juan Carlos Torre uses his earlier work on the event to argue "what if" the "17 de Octubre" had ended in the defeat of Peron. Fascinating speculation.
Raanan Rein and Fabian Bosoer _ the latter has previously written trade union history with Senen Gonz lez _ concentrate on the international view of Argentina at the time. For Rein, Per6n and the "17th" were scrutinized in Israel in the intense " pre-independence debate on different forms of social leadership. Bosoer"s study of the reporting by Arnaldo Cortesi, Buenos Aires correspondent of the
New York Times, in 1945, shows two sides of an Argentine coin. One is the obvious fascination with Peron and his rise to power and how it was perceived. The other reflects the Argentine obsession with "what do they say about us", and the dependence of decades on the views of the press abroad about events in Buenos Aires.
In a way, Hiroschi Matsushita, of the University of Kobe, Japan, also takes up this line, trying to explain the surprise caused by Peronism, suspected of fascism and Peron seen as too sympathetic to the nazis, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
There are several very good essays in this volume, especially the one co-written by scholars Mirta Lobato and Lizel Tornay, on the meat workers in Berisso who, under Cipriano Reyes, leader of the minority Laborista party that took Peron to power, were considered the makers of the "17 de octubre". Lobato is the author of an excellent study on the life in the Berisso meat packing plants, mainly Swift, in the first half of the twentieth century.
My favourite in the book, apart from Senen Gonzalez"s detailed record, is Oscar Troncoso"s personal view of the date. This brilliant Socialist scholar was an army conscript on October 17,1945, and recalls travelling by tram to army headquarters, the gigantic building just off Paseo Colon and across from government house which is now the defence ministry, in the hope of being demobbed that day. The distressing side of his story is that he was kept on duty for another week. On the bright side is his account of events.
Troncoso says that he was allowed to go repeatedly to the Plaza in order to report on events
as they developed. His view is that the army was ignorant of most things happening around it, and especially of the wider world. In his essay he remembers that as he came out of the elevator on the 13th floor, where the cafeterja operated, there were portraits of Hitler and Mussolini on the wall. This was several months after the surrender of Germany.
Finally, among a collection of brief personal memories is that of journalist Rogelio Garcia Lupo. He recalls that as an adolescent nationalist he marched with his school chums to Plaza de Mayo from Belgrano. And Garcia Lupo also remembers taking shelter, as shooting broke out on Avenida de Mayo, in front of the offices of the evening newspaper Critica (when groups claiming to support Pertfn shot at the paper). Garcia Lupo"s safe haven was a confectionery store. And he remains grateful to the owner not only for harbouring him, but for the supply of chocolates offered to his uninvited guests through the afternoon. The owner of the store was a friend of Oscar Troncoso.
Sixty years later the "17 de octubre" provides for discussion of a multiplicity of views, recollections and interpretations of the event. In all cases the essays are more than just an "As I see it, because I was there", account. The writings are the evidence that Argentina is nowhere near laying the ghost of Peronism, is not in agreement about what it represented to the country, good and or bad, and sees a variety of meanings to the day of "Saint Peron!", October 17.
Andrew Graham-Yooll is the author of Agon la y Muerte de Juan Peron (2000 - Política - Editorial Alfaguara - Universidad Torcuato Di Tella), among other books.
Just about the best biography of Juan Peron is written by a US scholar, Joseph Page. This volume was translated into Spanish and was published here by Alfaguara. But the strange aspect of this edition was that it took almost a decade for Page"s original English to appear in Spanish. And although there is much debate on the quality of local "lives" of the founder of Peronism, many will plump for Tom s Eloy Martinez"s fictional account, La novela de Peron, published in the 1980s after decades of preparation (based on pre-1974 interviews with Peron), and rejection while the author was in Venezuelan exile. These were preceded, among many others, of
course, by the Cronologia historica de la vida de Peron, 1896-1974, by publisher and leading historian Oscar Antonio Troncoso.
This year has seen a few books added to the growing mountain. Nationalist historian Norberto Galasso"s two-volume Peron (Colihue), joins the ranks of earlier multi volume texts, not least the critical history by Hugo Gambini. The fiftieth anniversary of the overthrow of Juan Peron in 1955, on September 16, sparked new volumes, among them one by Israeli academic Raanan Rein, El primer peronismo (Lumiere).
The history of how the "Day of Popular Loyalty", on October 17, 1945, developed is also rich in titles. Among the most recognised is that of academic Juan Carlos Torre, whose El 17 de octubre de 1945, was published in 1995, marking the 50th anniversary of the date. Although for the faithful it is a glory day, "St Peron", for many Argentines and others it is difficult to understand why such a fuss is made about the even still today, almost as if the Peron"s were alive and ready to run in next Sunday"s election.
For this 60th anniversary of the "17th", one of Argentina"s leading trade union historians, Santiago Senen Gonzalez, has joined forces with a much younger researcher, journalist Gabriel D. Lerman, to compile a collection of essays on the event and its makers. And the mix is rich indeed.
Senen Gonzalez has a rigid anecdotal style in most of his books, pursuing fact to support his account rather than use analysis. This is what has made him a leader in the trade union history field in Argentina, and probably explains why Harvard and Di Tella universities acquired his archives for record and future research.
In the volume, Senen Gonzalez, pursues his line of chronicle _ betraying two generations of journalists in the family, as much as historical study _ to explain the CGT"s division in 1945 over whether to back the popular uprising, or to disown it. The crowd acted without leaders, although activists were obviously marshalling the marchers from all over Buenos Aires and the suburbs. In the end, the CGT called a general strike in support of Peron on October 18, 1945, in evidence of the unions" loyalty to the man who, from the labour secretariat, had started giving worker organisations a range of new benefits as from 1943. For Senen Gonzalez, Peron"s social policy is worthy of praise, but the policies were a disaster.
Gabriel Lerman, responsible for much of the compilation of detail, returned to the subject of a previous book of his making on the Plaza de Mayo at the centre of his history. The essay is almost a romantic view of a public space which has been a political symbol for two centuries.
For those interested in well researched hypothesis, Juan Carlos Torre uses his earlier work on the event to argue "what if" the "17 de Octubre" had ended in the defeat of Peron. Fascinating speculation.
Raanan Rein and Fabian Bosoer _ the latter has previously written trade union history with Senen Gonz lez _ concentrate on the international view of Argentina at the time. For Rein, Per6n and the "17th" were scrutinized in Israel in the intense " pre-independence debate on different forms of social leadership. Bosoer"s study of the reporting by Arnaldo Cortesi, Buenos Aires correspondent of the
New York Times, in 1945, shows two sides of an Argentine coin. One is the obvious fascination with Peron and his rise to power and how it was perceived. The other reflects the Argentine obsession with "what do they say about us", and the dependence of decades on the views of the press abroad about events in Buenos Aires.
In a way, Hiroschi Matsushita, of the University of Kobe, Japan, also takes up this line, trying to explain the surprise caused by Peronism, suspected of fascism and Peron seen as too sympathetic to the nazis, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
There are several very good essays in this volume, especially the one co-written by scholars Mirta Lobato and Lizel Tornay, on the meat workers in Berisso who, under Cipriano Reyes, leader of the minority Laborista party that took Peron to power, were considered the makers of the "17 de octubre". Lobato is the author of an excellent study on the life in the Berisso meat packing plants, mainly Swift, in the first half of the twentieth century.
My favourite in the book, apart from Senen Gonzalez"s detailed record, is Oscar Troncoso"s personal view of the date. This brilliant Socialist scholar was an army conscript on October 17,1945, and recalls travelling by tram to army headquarters, the gigantic building just off Paseo Colon and across from government house which is now the defence ministry, in the hope of being demobbed that day. The distressing side of his story is that he was kept on duty for another week. On the bright side is his account of events.
Troncoso says that he was allowed to go repeatedly to the Plaza in order to report on events
as they developed. His view is that the army was ignorant of most things happening around it, and especially of the wider world. In his essay he remembers that as he came out of the elevator on the 13th floor, where the cafeterja operated, there were portraits of Hitler and Mussolini on the wall. This was several months after the surrender of Germany.
Finally, among a collection of brief personal memories is that of journalist Rogelio Garcia Lupo. He recalls that as an adolescent nationalist he marched with his school chums to Plaza de Mayo from Belgrano. And Garcia Lupo also remembers taking shelter, as shooting broke out on Avenida de Mayo, in front of the offices of the evening newspaper Critica (when groups claiming to support Pertfn shot at the paper). Garcia Lupo"s safe haven was a confectionery store. And he remains grateful to the owner not only for harbouring him, but for the supply of chocolates offered to his uninvited guests through the afternoon. The owner of the store was a friend of Oscar Troncoso.
Sixty years later the "17 de octubre" provides for discussion of a multiplicity of views, recollections and interpretations of the event. In all cases the essays are more than just an "As I see it, because I was there", account. The writings are the evidence that Argentina is nowhere near laying the ghost of Peronism, is not in agreement about what it represented to the country, good and or bad, and sees a variety of meanings to the day of "Saint Peron!", October 17.
Andrew Graham-Yooll is the author of Agon la y Muerte de Juan Peron (2000 - Política - Editorial Alfaguara - Universidad Torcuato Di Tella), among other books.