Dignifying Argentina: Peronism, Citizenship, and Mass Consumption

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Dignifying Argentina Peronism, Citizenship, and Mass Consumption Eduardo Elena LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY “Eduardo Elena’s study is a major contribution to Argentine historiography; it represents one of the most important studies of the last decade. Dignifying Argentina presents a cogent analysis of state policies and their reception, the nature of Peronism, and modern Argentine history itself.” —James Brennan, University of California, Riverside “This is a compelling account of how consumption became a central focus of state policy, popular demands, and political struggles in Peronist Argentina. Built on solid research and advanced by clear argument, Elena’s book not only opens up new questions for the Argentine case but also places this case into an important comparative conversation.” —Mark Healey, University of Connecticut During the mid-twentieth century, Latin American countries witnessed unprecedented struggles over the terms of national sovereignty, civic participation, and social justice. Nowhere was this more visible than in Peronist Argentina (1946–1955), where Juan and Eva Perón led the region’s largest populist movement in pursuit of new political hopes and material desires.Eduardo Elena considers this transformative moment from a fresh perspective by exploring the intersection of populism and mass consumption. He argues that Peronist actors redeWned national citizenship around expansive promises of a vida digna (digniWed life), which encompassed not only the satisfaction of basic wants but also the integration of working Argentines into a modern consumer society. Drawing on documents such as the correspondence between Peronist sympathizers and authorities, Elena sheds light on the contest over the vida digna. He shows how the consumer aspirations of citizens overlapped with Peronist paradigms of state-led development , but not without generating great friction among allies and opposition from diverse sectors of society. Consumer practices encouraged intense public scrutiny of class and gender comportment, and everyday objects became charged with new cultural meaning. By providing important insights on why Peronism struck such a powerful chord, Dignifying Argentina situates Latin America within the broader history of citizenship and consumption at midcentury and provides innovative ways to understand the politics of redistribution in the region today. Eduardo Elena is assistant professor of history at the University of Miami. PITT LATIN AMERICAN SERIES University of Pittsburgh Press www.upress.pitt.edu Cover art: An elderly woman and man pause to window shop at a proveeduria in Buenos Aires city. Archivo General de la Nación, Departamento FotográWcos, Subsecretaría de Informaciones, C-13,A doc. 243796 (Aug. 1951); reproduced courtesy of the archive. Cover design by Chiquita Babb Elena Dignifying Argentina Pittsburgh ISBN 13: 978-0-8229-6170-3 ISBN 10: 0-8229-6170-9 ...