Absolutely to be read as a direct continuation of Part 8; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2025/07/lets-all-go-to-movies-pt8.html
The instability, repression and violence of Brazil's Fifth Republic was not limited to Brazil. It spread across South America, an area sometimes referred to as the; "Southern Cone."
Politics in the Americas at that time was dominated by two Argentineans; Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Juan Perón.
Che Guevara was a medical student who embraced Marxism during his gap-year travels across Latin America. After joining with Cuban brothers Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro in Mexico he led a Guerrilla army of Cuban Peasants to overthrow the Cuban government in The Cuban Revolution (1959). After spending time as President of Cuba's Central Bank and Cuba's Minister for Industry Che Guevara travelled throughout Africa and Latin America attempting to spread the Cuban model of Communist Revolution. Something which itself was based on the Maoist model of Communist Revolution which saw the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) come to power in China in 1949.
Juan Perón was an Argentine military officer and later politician. He was a classic Fascist in the mould of Getúlio Vargas in Brazil and the Sanation regime of Jósef Piłsudski in Poland. That is to say that Juan Perón was a Socialist who believed in Nationalism rather than Marxism. With both Communists and Fascists treating each other as their mortal enemy it's easy to forget that they are both Socialist siblings rather than separate, let alone opposing, ideologies. Probably the most famous Fascist party is the German Nazi Party of Adolf Hitler. However the full name of Hitler's party is actually the; "National Socialist German Worker's Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)." "Nazi" is really just a nickname, a shortening of; "National Socialist."
Against the backdrop of The Great Depression (1929-1945) Argentina experienced it’s; "Infamous Decade" - really a 15 year period of political instability marked by weak governments, electoral fraud and corruption scandals. Alongside the poverty of The Great Depression and the radical politics that swept much of the World at the time a key driver of the instability was the issue of whether Argentina should join The Second World War (1939-1945) on the side of the Allied Powers or remain neutral. Britain wanted Argentina to remain neutral as that neutrality meant its supply ships to Britain would not be attacked by the Axis Powers while the United States wanted Argentina to formally join the war by its side.
Prior to The Second World War Juan Perón, as a Colonel in the Argentine Army, had been assigned to Fascist Italy to study mountain warfare and later served as a military attaché to Nazi Germany. Having fully embraced European Fascism when he returned to Argentina at the outbreak of war Juan Perón joined the United Officers Group (GOU) - a secret society of Fascist Argentine military officers. Assigned to the Labour Department of the Argentine government Juan Perón forged strong links between the GOU and Argentina's Trade Unions, the traditionally allies of Communists.
In 1937 Roberto Ortiz was elected as Argentina's President amid widespread allegations that the election had been rigged by wealthy landowners, similar to the Donatário in Brazil. In 1943 Roberto Ortiz resigned due to ill health making his Vice-President Ramón Castillo President. The Trade Unionists hated Ramón Castillo because the viewed him as an illegitimate representative of the landowners. While the GOU hated Ramón Castillo because they thought he would bring Argentina into The Second World War against their beloved Axis Powers.
So June 4th 1943 (4/6/1943) the GOU and the Trade Unions overthrew the government of Ramón Castillo in a Military Coup which they dubbed; "The 1943 Argentine Revolution." Rather than taking power immediately Juan Perón let Pedro Ramírez serve as leader of the Military Dictatorship. In 1944 Pedro Ramírez was himself ousted by the GOU after attempting to break-off diplomatic ties with the Axis Powers. That left Edelmiro Farrell as leader of the Military Dictatorship, tasked with overseeing the end of The Second World War and returning Argentina to civilian rule.
It was at the 1946 Argentine Election, the first since the 1943 Coup, that Juan Perón made his move. Sweeping to power on the unique platform of; "Perónism." This was billed as a third way of Socialism; one which promised to bring Social Justice to Argentina's poor but rejected both Marxism and Capitalism as the way to do that. Instead it seemed to be built exclusively around the Cult of Personality of Juan Perón and his wife Eva "Evita" Perón. With Juan and Eva Perón being the almost godlike Father and Mother of the Argentinean people capable of magically solving all of their ills.
In practice this really meant a highly nationalised, centralised economy where all decisions were based on the whims of the godlike Father and Mother. In order to keep the whims of the godlike Father and Mother absolute Perónism was also extremely isolationist and protectionist. Perón's Argentina was one of only a handful of nations which didn't sign up to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), designed to eliminate all barriers to trade such as Tariffs and Import Quotas.
During his first term Juan Perón really nationalised all of Argentina's industry and carried out a period of massive public works. Similar to the policies followed by Getúlio Vargas and Juscelino Kubitschek in Brazil. Any Argentinean public money that hadn't been used for nationalisation or public works Juan Perón simply gave away to his supporters with some 70% of the population receiving some sort of welfare payment.
By the end of his first term in 1951 Juan Perón had succeeded in completely bankrupting the Argentinean economy, despite its neutrality during The Second World War leaving it in a very strong position. However Juan Perón had bankrupted Argentina by just giving a lot of people a lot of free money. Also while he'd waited to take power through a democratic election Juan Perón was still the Army Colonel who'd overthrown a civilian government to install a Military Dictatorship. So his term as President was marked by the silencing of any and all opposition to him. As a result Juan Perón was able to win a second term as President, securing some 30% of the vote.
During his second term Juan Perón's mismanagement of the Argentine economy continued and his efforts to silence any opposition to him became increasingly oppressive. By September 1955 Juan Perón's supporters in the military, government and the Catholic Church decided that he couldn't be allowed to destroy Argentina any further and Juan Perón himself was deposed in a Coup d'état conducted by the military and civil society groups. The; "Revolución Libertadro (Liberating Revolution)." Juan Perón fled into exile in Fascist Spain while Eva Perón's corpse was sent into exile in Italy.
From exile Juan Perón was able to maintain his Cult of Personality and influence over Argentine politics. Turning the next 30 years of Argentine politics into an effort to protect the nation from Perónism.
When Argentina returned to civilian rule through the 1958 Election Arturo Frondizi became President due to Juan Perón lending him his support. As a result Arturo Frondizi was overthrown in a military coup in 1962. When Argentina returned to civilian rule in 1963 the election was won by another of Juan Perón's proxies, Arturo Illia. As a result Arturo Illia was overthrown in a military coup in 1966. What the subsequent Military Dictatorship dubbed the; "Revolución Argentina (Argentine Revolution)."
Perónism is really the replacing all politics with the Cult of Personality of the Peróns. So you get different strains of Perónism like leftwing Perónism, rightwing Perónism etc. It can really be used in the same way that the term; "Politics" is used in other countries and cultures.
The Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) which served as Juan Perón's proxy under Arturo Frondizi and Arturo Illia represented the more socially liberal side of Argentine politics. One thing which really undermined Juan Perón's second term was his decision to legalise both divorce and prostitution, outraging the Catholic Church. The supporters which Juan Perón lent to the UCR were from the Trade Union movement, people who would otherwise be Communists.
The Military Dictatorship which followed the 1966 Argentine Revolution was much more socially conservative. It really modelled itself on the classically Fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco in Spain which was closely linked to the Catholic Church. It was Franco's regime in Spain which gave Juan Perón refuge after he was exiled in 1955. So while Argentina's Military Dictatorship objected to Juan Perón giving all of Argentina's money away it never really fully rejected him on ideological grounds.
By 1971 the third leader of the Military Dictatorship, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse, had decided that maintaining a dictatorship to keep Juan Perón out of power was unsustainable. So he oversaw Argentina's return to democracy in 1973. As with all previous elections since 1955 that election was won by one of Juan Perón's proxies, Héctor José Cámpora. As President Héctor José Cámpora allowed Juan Perón to return from exile in June 1973. In July 1973 Héctor José Cámpora resigned in order to allow Juan Perón to replace him as President at a special election in September 1973.
Juan Perón died while President in July 1974, at the age of 78. He was replaced by his Vice-President, his third wife Isabel Perón. Having absolutely no qualification other than being Juan Perón's wife, not even as popular as his first wife Eva Perón, Isabel Peron was an extremely weak leader.
In the time since Juan Perón was deposed in 1955 and his death in 1974 the region and particularly the United States had seen massive upheaval. The 1959 Cuban Revolution had led to The Cuban Missile Crisis (1961). The US was still fighting a (paused) war to stop Chinese Maoist style Communism spreading throughout the Korean Peninsula. It had fought and lost a war against Chinese Maoist style Communism in Vietnam. Cuba and particularly Che Guevara had been spreading similar Chinese Maoist style Communism across Latin America. With Juan Perón's return that Maoist Guerrilla warfare had even arrived in Argentina with the People's Revolutionary Army (Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo/ERP) and The Montoneros declaring was in the Tucumán Province.
As a result there was widespread fear within Argentine society and the Argentine military that Isabel Perón was too weak a leader to unite the Nationalist and Marxist Socialist factions under the banner of Perónism as Juan Perón had done. Resulting in a Communist revolution in Argentina. So in March 1976 the Argentine Military overthrew the government of Isabel Perón and installed another Military Dictatorship; The National Reorganisation Process (Proceso de Reorganización Nacional/PRN). While the United States did not plan and support Argentina's 1976 Coup as it had done with Brazil's 1964 Coup and Operation: Brother Sam it was informed of it months in advance and gave its approval. On the condition that it didn't result in so many deaths that US public opinion would turn against it. Killing is fine, just as long a US voters don't get to see the killing.
In 1939 José Félix Estigarribia was elected President of Paraguay. In February 1940 there was a failed coup to depose him. In response José Félix Estigarribia suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Legislature and gave himself emergency powers, becoming a Dictator. In September 1940 José Félix Estigarribia was killed in a plane crash with Higinio Morínigo replacing him as Dictator.
Higinio Morínigo was another classic Fascist in the mould on Getúlio Vargas in Brazil and Jósef Piłsudski in Poland. He was particularly closely allied with Juan Perón in Argentina. Following the defeat of Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy during The Second World War Fascism became very unfashionable, particularly amongst the Allied Powers including the United States.
In 1947 a Coup was attempted to overthrow Higinio Morínigo. It failed resulting in The Paraguayan Civil War (1947). Thanks to the support of Juan Perón's Argentina and the efforts of one Army officer in particular, Alfredo Stroessner, Higinio Morínigo emerged victorious from the civil war. However he was forced to return to nominal democracy and support Juan Natalicio González as his Colorado Party's and the sole candidate for the Presidency. Once Juan Natalicio González was sworn in as President Higinio Morínigo was forced into exile in Juan Perón's Argentina.
A period of great instability then followed which saw Paraguay have four Presidents in five years. All being quickly deposed due to infighting within the Colorado Party. In 1954 the then President Fredrico Chaves attempted to strengthen the National Police to protect him from being overthrown. It prompted Alfredo Stroessner to overthrow him in a Military Coup, appointing Tomás Remoro as interim President. Like Juan Perón Alfredo Stroessner waited until elections in 1954 to assume the Presidency and then establish himself as a Dictator under the guise of democractic mandate. Like José Félix Estigarribia had done in 1939. When Juan Perón was deposed in Argentina in 1955 he escaped into exile aboard a Paraguayan gunboat provided by Alfredo Stroessner.
Between 1932 and 1935 Paraguay fought a war with its neighbour Bolivia over the Gran Chaco region which borders the two countries; The Chaco War (1932-1935).
The First World War (1914-1918) is considered the first modern war. The first war fought with technological advances such as machine guns, armoured vehicles and aeroplanes which rendered existing military tactics suicidally obsolete. The Chaco War was the first modern war fought in the Americas. As with the First World War its results were absolutely devastating on all sides. Bolivia saw around 2% of its entire population killed while Paraguay saw around 3% of its entire population killed. This astonishing loss of life saw the populations of both countries lose faith in the political system that had led them into the war. Rather like how the First World War brought down the Russian Empire, the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire and led to major political changes within the British Empire, such as the right to vote being extended to all. Including women.
In the defeated nation, Bolivia, this loss of faith in the political system led to a revolution; The Bolivian Revolution (1952). In May 1951 Victor Paz Estenssoro was elected President on behalf of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario/MNR). A coalition of centre-left Liberals and revolutionary Communists they wanted to do away with the landowning oligarchs, similar to the Donatário in Brazil, by nationalising farmland and the all important Tin mines. Then allowing the people to choose their own future by introducing Democracy with Universal Suffrage, like Britain had done in the wake of the First World War. The Bolivian Donatário and the Bolivian Military then staged a Coup d'état to prevent Victor Paz Estenssoro and the MNR taking power. In April 1952 the Bolivian National Police sided with the MNR and overthrew the Military Dictatorship allowing Victor Paz Estenssoro to finally become President.
The MNR then remained in power until 1964. However due to Presidents not being allowed to serve consecutive terms Victor Paz Estenssoro was forced to alternate his Presidency with Hernán Siles Zuazo effectively standing-in between 1956 and 1960. In his second term Victor Paz Estenssoro changed the Constitution to allow elected Presidents to serve unlimited consecutive terms. Victor Paz Estenssoro then decided to run for a third term. This forced his Trade Unionist Vice-President Juan Lechin to abandon his plans to run for President. That fractured the centre-left Liberal and Communist alliance which formed the MNR with the Communist faction led by Juan Lechin formally quitting the MNR in December 1963.
This split saw the Communist Trade Unions go on strike in the all important Tin mines in an effort to bring down Victor Paz Estenssoro's government. When Victor Paz Estenssoro ordered the arrest of striking miners they responded by taking hostages at the Catavi mine, including four US citizens.
With Victor Paz Estenssoro having proved that he would keep the MNR on the centre-left Liberal side of Communism the United States had begun rewarding him from 1960 including with a massive, 600%, increase in support under The Alliance for Progress Program. Which had been launched by President John F. Kennedy in response to The Cuban Revolution (1959) and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1961).
The split between Victor Paz Estenssoro and Juan Lechin caused the United States to fear that Juan Lechin's Revolutionary Party of the National Left (Partido Revolucionario de Izquierda Nacionalista/PRIN) would defeat the MNR at the 1964 election and Bolivia would fall to Communism. A version of Communism which liked taking US citizens hostage. This shared fear along with the fear of losing massive amounts of US aid prompted the Bolivian Military to overthrow Victor Paz Estenssoro's government in The 1964 Bolivian Coup d'état.
At around 18:30 on 30/10/25 (UK date) I'm not sure when I'll be able to pick this up again.
