Las Derechas: The Extreme Right in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, 1890-1939 (review)

The history of the extreme right in South America is a compelling story, regardless of one's political perspective. Sandra Deutsch consulted a myriad of primary and secondary sources and integrates them into both the historiography of the right in Latin America and its controversies in Europe. The amount of research is astonishing and comprehensive; the result is a fascinating story that is a major contribution to modern Latin American political history.

Far too many political supporters and historians have felt contented to argue that extreme conservatism in Latin America was simply a product of either Hispanic Catholicism or European fascism and Nazi ideologies. According to Deutsch, nothing was simple about the formation of right-wing groups. They were rarely local branches of international ideologies nor were they always supporting classical right-wing goals. Some were outspokenly anti-clerical, as in Chile, while the Nacionalistas of Argentina strongly supported Church authorities. In the middle were the Brazilian Integralistas who tolerated religious diversity to promote recruitment of members of German Protestant origins. Groups in one country opposed capitalism citing Catholic views against usury and anti-Semitism, others, such as the Chilean supporters of Pinochet, actively defended neo-liberal policies that promoted multinational business. Extremists in Brazil defended women's rights to participate and vote, while Chileans were aghast as such a proposition. What, then, united extreme right-wing ideologies in Latin America?

According to the author, they ran a spectrum that at one end threatened to imitate socialist support for workers, women's rights, and freedom of religion, and at the other extreme was characterized by violent anti-democratic behavior, a belief in a supreme leader, support for corporatist political organizations and dictatorship. They all promoted an image of virulent masculinity that reinforced the connections with military groups and a willingness to promote violence. The emphasis on the masculine nature of right-wing behavior also explains why even when they were courted, women had difficulty assuming positions of leadership and significance.

Beyond these basic similarities there ranged an incredible amount of diversity, one that enabled leaders to move in and out of groups and even flirt with their supposed enemies: democrats, capitalists, and politicians. Deutsch reminds us that the use of the words "Democratic" and "Socialist" in many of these organization's names were not coincidental. Both the right and the left were trying to cope with the economic and social consequences of modernity, the rise of working class labor unions and politics, the feminist movement, and the relationship between religion and government. As a result, individuals often migrated from one end of the spectrum to the other as times changed. Anti-communists, under other circumstances, could find aspects to praise at subsequent moments, and anti-democrats found reason to participate in politics. All of this has the potential to confuse the reader, but the author has to find ways to explain how supposedly ideologically extremist politicians could change camps so frequently.

Most right-wing groups experimented with anti-Semitism, but the degree of intensity related less to European conditions or ideologies than to local racial and economic conditions. In Argentina, anti-Semitism was most virulent, and it was no coincidence that Argentina had the largest Jewish community in the region, although the numbers were always exaggerated. While anti-Semitic violence was strong during the 1930s, Perón's government of the 1940s and 1950s was far more tolerant and Jews served in important governmental positions. In Brazil, anti-Semitism was far more nuanced, as was racism.

In the end, extreme right-wing groups rarely had the same power or the same ends as European counterparts. Part of this is due to the resilience and power of the moderate right, a group that needs more study in Latin America. Ranging from nineteenth-century liberals and oligarchs confronted...