Duke University Press
Reviewed by:
  • Peronismo, populismo y política: Argentina, 1943–1955
Peronismo, populismo y política: Argentina, 1943–1955. By Raanan Rein. Translated by Eliezer Nowodworski. Buenos Aires: Editorial de Belgrano, 1998. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. 282 pp. Paper.

Given the centrality of Peronism to Argentine politics and society for over 50 years, it is not surprising that much attention has been paid to the years that Juan Perón was president. There have been additional studies about his rise to power. In Peronismo, populismo y política, Rein has put together eight loosely connected but informative chapters on the years between 1946 and 1955. He focuses on three major themes: the nature of Argentine politics, the country’s foreign relations, and several aspects of the regime’s social policies.

The first chapter explores the various theories that have been put forth to explain Peronism, with Rein favoring populism as the paradigm that allows the best understanding of this movement. He then offers as something new the idea that at least during the initial stages of Peronism, mediators intervened between Perón and his followers. Rein then looks briefly and suggestively at five of these figures: Juan Bramuglia, José Figuerola, Miguel Miranda, Domingo Mercante, and Angel Borlenghi. The author is undoubtedly correct in his analysis of this early period, but readers would have benefited from more information on each of those examined. For several, such information is readily available. Moreover, Rein’s idea that Perón’s contact with the working class was mediated is not new; indeed, it is central to the now classic works of Juan Carlos Torre.

In Peronismo, populismo y política, Rein also offers readers several chapters on Argentina’s foreign policy, which is clearly a primary interest of the author, given his past publications and his stated intent to write a biography of Bramuglia, who was Perón’s first foreign minister and whose private papers Rein has made good use of in this work. A significant portion of these chapters is spent on documenting bureaucratic infighting to show that Perón’s influence was limited by the nature of Argentine bureaucracy and the personnel involved. Rein examines Bramuglia’s role in the political maneuvering that took place in the United Nations during the Berlin Crisis of 1948, and he discusses [End Page 577] how this played out in Argentina. He also presents one chapter on the development of Argentina’s position on the partition of Palestine, with a well-documented emphasis on the bureaucratic conflicts, and another on the Franco-Perón alliance and how and why it came about. Rein also discusses how the Perón regime used Argentina’s Hispanic legacy to develop a nationalist sentiment. While he views this principally through the prism of Argentina’s foreign policy and its relationship with Franco and Spain, the chapter on this topic is also a contribution to the understanding of Peronist culture. The book concludes by examining the perspective on Perón presented in six Israeli newspapers. While interesting, this study tells the reader more about the nature of the Israeli press than about Argentina.

For this reviewer the most interesting chapters are those that examine the cultural aspects of Peronism, particularly the regime’s attempt to create a new hegemonic vision of Argentine society that would replace the old liberal one. Studies such as this are likely to explain better than others the hatred that Peronism inspired in many. Rein presents a useful study of primary education. The author shows that during the first years of the Perón administration, an emphasis was placed on the growth and availability of education. For the period after 1953, the author examines textbooks and related material, showing that the entire system had become Peronized and had become a means of imparting Peronist values. Rein also has a chapter on how the regime used sports as a mechanism to build support. The chapter on the Hispanic legacy also contributes to the study of Peronist culture.

Rein, through his investigations of various discrete elements of the Peronist regime, has furthered our understanding of this critical period. It is a book well worth reading.

Joel Horowitz
Saint Bonaventure University

Share