Movements in Argenitine Politics: Peronism
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by: Ken Ingraham
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Word Count: 479
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 Time: 1:12 PM
When you learn Spanish in Buenos Aires, you will have plenty of history, culture, food, and art to explore. In terms of Argentine political history, Peronism is a very important concept. Argentina's current president supports Peronism, so you will probably hear it mentioned in the local news while you are attending Spanish classes in Argentina. In order to understand Peronism better, you should study it before you go to Argentina. In a nutshell, Peronism is a movement based on issues raised by former president Juan Domingo Peron and his wife Eva Peron.
There is some debate about the actual definition of Peronism, as it has meant different things at different periods of time. Clearly, not everyone is in favor of Peron's politics. In fact, he was sometimes associated with supporting fascist regimes. For example, he stated outright that he supported Benito Mussolini. Of course, many people in Argentina, especially Argentinean Jews, were quite wary of this issue. Additionally, critics feel that Peronism almost destroyed the country on multiple occasions.
However, even though Juan Peron supported Mussolini, he is not believed to be prejudiced against Jews. In fact, during his presidency, he even asked members of Argentina's large Jewish community to be in the government. It was a bit of a contradiction that although Peron supported the Axis powers, he was not anti-Semitic and even supported Jewish rights.
Those who support Peronism are in favor of the fact that it is populist movement, and looks out for the people's interests. In theory, Peronism looked to go beyond both capitalistic and socialistic extremes. When he made speeches, they tended to be nationalistic and populist.
Ultimately, Peron lived in exile in Spain. In the 1960's, people continued to support Peromism including organizations like the Peronist Youth, Frete Revolucionario Peronista and Revolutionary Peronist Youth.
The Justicialist Party, often referred to as PJ, is the official Peronist Party today. To many Argentine citizens, the fact that current president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner supports Peronism is deeply unsettling. However, this party has dominated congress since 1989. It is clear that Peronism has been a huge movement over the years, as Peron was elected to be president three times.
When you plan to attend Spanish classes in Argentina, it is important to understand Peronism, especially since this is likely the most powerful movement in recent history of Argentina. The Peronism movement seeks to assist the poor and working classes, but it is controversial because some people believe that it overreaches and actually becomes fascist. You may hear people discussing these controversial issues as the current president has been criticized for wanting more state control. The government has also been seen to have a bias against business. Regardless of what you personally think about Peronism, when you learn Spanish in Buenos Aires, you will be able to learn more about this movement and the country's politics in general.
About the Author
ECELA's Spanish language school in Buenos Aires, Argentina is open 52 weeks per year, with class size never more than seven. Cultural activities and visits are an integral part of learning Spanish in Argentina.
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