Dignifying Argentina: Peronism, Citizenship, and Mass Consumption

Conclusion

 conclusion The Dignified Life and Beyond Much has changed since Perón was deposed over Wve decades ago. Today the overwhelming majority of Argentines have no direct experience of life in the Nueva Argentina. With each passing year, less evidence of a once commanding regime remains, for subsequent administrations reduced its social programs, lifted commercial and labor regulations,dismantled the propaganda machine,and destroyed physical reminders of the era. The military rulers of the Revolución Libertadora went so far as leveling the Palacio Unzué, the belle-époque mansion where Juan and Evita had lived in Buenos Aires (and where she eventually died). After sitting vacant for years, the lot became home to the relocated National Library; few people strolling by this severe,brutalist-style building realize the site’s former centrality to Perón’s presidency (as, ironically I myself did not prior to beginning research on this book in the same library).1 Other landmark projects—the vacation hotels, social assistance facilities,and union-run department stores—have fallen into ruin or been sold oV to private investors. These examples serve as reminders that Peronistera reforms were mostly transitory and this moment in time was short-lived. Yet the era’s brevity belies its traumatic intensity, which unleashed antagonisms that dominated national aVairs for generations.Its legacies still weigh on the present, for in certain respects the Peronist era has never ended. Although the New Argentina may be in ruins, Peronism survives to this day, a remarkable feat when compared to similar mass political “-isms” that Xowered and then faded in the mid-twentieth century. It has, to be sure, become an accepted feature of the landscape . Having survived periods of anti-Peronist backlash, the Justicialista Party is once again the country’s principal political force. The most signiWcant jockeying  I Conclusion for state control occurs within its ranks rather than against external rivals, and Peronist organizations have coalesced into a new establishment. But they still operate as a nexus for disputes over redistribution and market regulation. Their patronage networks provide access to food and essential consumer staples among the country’s poor while serving as channels to express frustrations during riots, boycotts, and other protests. The presidencies of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2003–present) have seen the revival of the controversies that animated midcentury politics. State proposals to boost social spending by taxing agro-exports, denunciations against proWteers who prey on consumers, frustrations with uncontrollable prices—all these issues have stirred debate again. In one way or another, all works on Peronism try to explain why the movement has become such a fundamental, enduring feature of Argentine life. This problem remains vital not only to explaining the unfolding of the country’s past but also to making sense of its present condition and future course. As I have shown, clues to Peronism’s resonance may be found in the intensity of its formative years. One must be careful not to read too much back onto origins, however; doing so would ignore Argentina’s twisting path to the present and the redirections within justicialismo itself. Yet the “classic” Peronist era (1943–1955) was undoubtedly the major turning point of twentieth-century Argentine history. In coming to terms with this transformative moment, I have focused on one of Peronism’s most potent innovations: the articulation of an expansive sense of national belonging that spoke to the material needs and aspirations of popular households.Moreover, I have argued that contests over consumption provide us with a better understanding of Peronism’s practices of social citizenship,insights that in turn can oVer fresh answers to a variation of the question posed above: namely,why did Peronism strike such a chord in midcentury Argentine society? Clearly, state power mattered. As Peronist institutions staked a presence across a vast territory, reforms targeting living standards went hand in hand with eVorts to shape a partisan worldview. OYcials Xooded society with information to inculcate complementary ways of thinking and commanded the resources to rally potential supporters behind promises of plenty.Argentina’s rulers rejected pluralism as a threat to the nation and defended a rigid model of ideological consensus. The intimidation of outspoken critics revealed the menacing side of populist nationalism ; often overlooked, however, is the disciplinary attention that fell on the movement ’s working-class base. State campaigns sought to correct “unruly” behavior and instruct the citizens on their proper duties not only as laborers and voters but also...