Argentina has really surprised the world by choosing a far right leader. This was the land of Peronism and Che Guevara. No one, inside or outside Argentina, is sure what to expect. Let's have a look at Argentina and it's history this week.
Buenos Aires, the capital and largest city of Argentina, started as a Spanish settlement, but wasn't considered as important as Lima, on the Pacific coast of South America. During the Napoleonic Wars, settlers deterred a British takeover of the region without assistance from Spain, but that got them thinking about independence. The uprising known as the May Revolution began the Argentine War of Independence from Spain. In 1910 there was a great celebration of the centennial of the May Revolution.
The modern history of Argentina revolves around one person. That person is Juan Domingo Peron. The name of Peron in Argentina is like Kennedy in America, Cardenas in Mexico or, Gandhi in India.He was a general who was elected president three times, ruling from 1946 to 1955 when he was overthrown in a coup, and spent 16 years in exile in Spain. After his overthrow it was forbidden to even mention the name of him or his popular late wife, Eva (Evita) Peron who had died of cancer in 1952.
In the first attempt at a coup against Peron in 1955, on June 16, military planes attacked the Plaza de Mayo, the main square of Buenos Aries, killing over 300 people. A second attempt, three months later, prompted Peron to resign and go into exile to avoid civil war. This overthrow is commonly referred to as the "Liberating Revolution".
The ideology of Juan Domingo Peron is known as Peronism. It is a socialist philosophy specially tailored for Argentina. It favored self-sufficiency for the country, including railway and industrial nationalization, and non-alignment in the global Cold War. In the economic depression of the 1930s many poor rural people had migrated to the cities and these people formed the support base of Peronism. They were known as "The Shirtless Ones".
Loyalty Day is a remembrance of October 17, 1945, when a demonstration at Plaza de Mayo demanded the release of Peron, who had been imprisoned basically because the government feared his popularity. It is often considered to be the beginning of Peronism.
During Juan Domingo Peron's exile there were four governments in Argentina, two of them military. In 1973, a Peronist named Hector Campora was elected president and Peron returned from his Spanish exile. He would have another term as president. Following the death of Peron, in 1974, his third wife who was also the vice president, Isabel Peron, succeeded him as president.
But she lost political power and was overthrown in a 1976 military coup. Isabel had been with Juan Peron during his Spanish exile, marrying him in 1961, and then was exiled to Spain herself in 1981. She does go into history as the world's first female president. The government of Argentina later wanted to question her but Spain refused to extradite her.
The late 1970s saw increased conflict between the political left and the right in Argentina. It was the right that had overthrown Isabel Peron. During this time in the Cold War the U.S. supported anti-left and anti-Communist movements in Latin America in what is known as Operation Condor. The U.S. had earlier supported the overthrow of the Communist Salvador Allende in neighboring Chile. Isabel Peron was replaced by Jorge Rafael Videla, who led a government that set about purging leftists.
My impression is that Peronism is an ideology that is nebulous enough to split into left and right factions, after the death of Juan Peron. That is the major question with any ideology that is based on the personality of it's founder or leader, what happens after the leader dies?
There was an economic crisis after the death of Juan Peron and this is what led to the downfall of Isabel Peron in 1976. She had supported violent suppression of the left, appointing Jorge Videla who would later replace her. There are stories, I am not sure how factual, that Isabel Peron's decisions in running the country were heavily influenced by astrology.
After the military government that had replaced her was removed, and the country returned to democracy in 1983, some wanted Isabel Peron, still in Spanish exile, to run for president but she declined. She was a guest of honor at the inauguration of Raul Alfonsin as president. But hyperinflation brought about his resignation in 1989. A new currency had been introduced, the austral, to replace the traditional peso. But the peso was brought back several years later.
There was another severe economic crisis around the time of the new millennium, known as the Argentine Great Depression. But the economy recovered from that and has not had another such crisis since. According to one report, the Argentine economy doubled from 2002 to 2013.
The first of the following scenes begin in the Metropolitan Cathedral. in Buenos Aries' Plaza de Mayo, which is the central square of the city. The Casa Rosada is the office of the president. The pyramid monument is to celebrate Argentine independence.
This view of Plaza de Mayo is from Google Earth. The pyramid monument is in the center. The Casa Rosada is in the background.
These two images, from Google Street View, are of the courtyard and exterior of the Casa Rosada.
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.6076265,-58.3732466,3a,75y,123.84h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNLSkjIdVd5B7e1n3lljhnVSkzdEvPgHZpalaGD!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNLSkjIdVd5B7e1n3lljhnVSkzdEvPgHZpalaGD%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya318.1652-ro-0-fo100!7i9728!8i4864
The following scenes begin at the obelisk on 9 de Julio Avenue. July 9 is Argentina's independence day and this is the widest street in the world. The street is a block wide. Avenida de Mayo leads from the Casa Rosada to the National Congress, crossing 9 de Julio Avenue. Two diagonal streets lead from the Casa Rosada, one of which terminates at the obelisk.
These two images are from Google Earth and Street View.
In the following image, from Google Earth, the avenue behind the obelisk leads to the Plaza de Mayo.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.6038416,-58.3817054,3a,75y,113.45h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swYI1xrksFP8TNBmzAPm3EQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DwYI1xrksFP8TNBmzAPm3EQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D117.78474%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
This is the Argentine National Congress, at the western end of Avenida de Mayo. The first image is from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.6096983,-58.3899525,2a,75y,139.22h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sbMjERXkfsKT5uOGftDZVeg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DbMjERXkfsKT5uOGftDZVeg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D144.62958%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100
The first of the following views is in General San Martin Park. San Martin was, along with Simon Bolivar, the two great liberation leaders of South America from Spanish rule. San Martin was Argentine, Bolivar was Venezuelan. The mausoleum of General San Martin is in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires. The two had a meeting in Ecuador. No one knows what was said between them but San Martin suddenly resigned and let Bolivar take over the liberation of South America from colonial rule.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.5948708,-58.3759761,2a,75y,297.9h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1s-65lr3VN2pGoSflvY5Dxng!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D-65lr3VN2pGoSflvY5Dxng%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D302.7525%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100
This is the district of Buenos Aries known as Almagro. Argentinians like to read and supposedly have the highest number of bookstores per person.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.611056,-58.419771,3a,75y,77.62h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1suRjB9Dvfa0biv59Mli42Ww!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DuRjB9Dvfa0biv59Mli42Ww%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D77.61712%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
The first of the following scenes is at Immaculate Conception Seminary, in Villa Devoto, where Pope Francis studied.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.5937858,-58.5086438,3a,75y,197.83h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s29oiSGMggLvHcwKs9wEdvQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D29oiSGMggLvHcwKs9wEdvQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D194.83324%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
This is the city of La Plata, of the same name as the river and estuary, to the south of Buenos Aries. La Plata is a late Nineteenth Century planned city. It is constructed in a grid pattern with diagonal streets and parks at regular intervals. In the center is the main square with the city hall and red brick cathedral. The first image is from Google Earth.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-34.9214913,-57.9552486,2a,75y,195.68h,106.02t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sAbtREnA7i5Kfr-aYrmnpAA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DAbtREnA7i5Kfr-aYrmnpAA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D195.67708%26pitch%3D-16.020834%26thumbfov%3D100
Further south from Buenos Aires, this is the seaside city of Mar Del Plata. The first image, of the beach, is from Google Street View. This is the Argentine version of Copacabana.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-38.0041261,-57.5433105,3a,75y,113h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOaKW-t1pZ_Ysn5AxAJ-g6pKGz989v29RaSdx48!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOaKW-t1pZ_Ysn5AxAJ-g6pKGz989v29RaSdx48%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.125-ya331.0625-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352
Here is the city of Rosario, to the northwest of Buenos Aries. Rosario is where Che Guevara is from. He was a world-famous leftist revolutionary and intellectual. Che was instrumental in the Cuban Revolution and traveled the world promoting Communism. He was finally captured and executed in Bolivia, but that only made him a martyr. The image of Che Guevara is seen all over the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara#/media/File:ZZZ_wiki13.jpg
The first view of Rosario is of Plaza San Martin.
Argentina has something that I have never seen before anywhere else. In Rosario there is a monument dedicated to the national flag. We saw in our visit to "Pretoria" that South Africa has a monument dedicated to the Afrikaans language, but I have never seen a monument dedicated to a national flag.
The flag of Argentina has the Sun of May in the center. I believe that this is an Inca symbol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Argentina#/media/File:Flag_of_Argentina.svg
The following scenes begin at the National Flag Monument, which is the stone tower. The first image is from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-32.9477017,-60.6305165,2a,75y,289.89h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sN_Qz0kh95hzQC9dyOnnTWw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DN_Qz0kh95hzQC9dyOnnTWw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D293.32626%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100
Further to the northwest of Buenos Aries is the city of Cordoba. The following views begin in Espana Square, in the center of the city. Cordoba was one of the original Sixteenth-Century Spanish colonial cities.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-31.4285302,-64.1847485,2a,75y,257.5h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sR2voyr6b2oGpOjK9EqrY9g!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DR2voyr6b2oGpOjK9EqrY9g%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D255.44058%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
FREEMASONRY AND ARGENTINE CITIES
One question that has arisen is how the layout of the main streets might be an intentional reflections of the symbols of Freemasonry. La Plata is a planned city that was reportedly designed by a Freemason. The basic grid pattern with diagonal streets across the grid resembles the compass and square, the grid representing the square and the arms of the compass the diagonals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_and_Compasses#/media/File:Square_and_compasses2.JPG
As for the center of Buenos Aires, the square could represent the right angle intersection formed by Avenida de Mayo and 9 de Julio Avenue. The arms of the compass could represent the two diagonal streets from the Casa Rosada, one of which terminates at the obelisk on 9 de Julio Avenue.
THE PHENOMENON OF EVITA
The world has never seen anything quite like the story of Eva (Evita) Peron. She was the Argentine first lady during the first two presidential terms of Juan Domingo Peron. Evita died of cancer in 1952, before Peron was overthrown in 1955. Isabel was his next, third, wife who was first lady after Peron's return from exile to the presidency in 1973.
Unlike Isabel, who was vice-president before succeeding Peron as president upon his death in 1974, Evita was never either vice-president or president. But holding office would have made her temporal, instead she is remembered as a saint.
She was an actress before meeting Peron, before he was elected as president. She showed her loyalty on what is now known as Loyalty Day, when there was a massive demonstration in the Plaza de Mayo demanding the release of Peron, who had been imprisoned basically because the government resented his popularity.
An extended tour of western Europe, as first lady, is what really got Evita into the world's consciousness. Argentina is a republic but she can be considered as it's "uncrowned queen". The queen of the Netherlands is actually Argentine by birth so if there was an Argentine royal family it would be connected to the royal houses of Europe.
The story of Evita (or Eva) Peron is one of rags-to-riches. She was from a poor village and remembered the poor for the rest of her life in the same way as fellow Argentine Che Guevara. Her saint-like work with the poor and sick is what she is remembered for, not for actually holding office like Isabel.
Evita was ill herself, dying of cancer. Toward the end of her life, in 1952, she was unable to stand without support from her husband or a specially-made wire frame. She never held elected office but was awarded a title by the government that no other person has ever gotten, "Spiritual Leader of the Nation". Her autobiography was read almost like a holy book. She died at age 33, likely the same age as Jesus at his death.
Her body was embalmed and millions of people came to see it. It was one of the greatest funerals the world had ever seen. The body was put on display as an icon of the nation.
But the story of Evita doesn't end with her death. A major part of the story is the travels and intrigue of her embalmed body after death.
When Juan Domingo Peron was overthrown he had to go into exile before having the chance to decide what to do with his late wife's body. The military government who overthrew him seized the body and it was unknown what had happened to it for sixteen years.
It turned out that the government, clearly fearing her popularity even after death, had the body buried in distant Milan under a false name. Juan Peron, with new wife Isabel, was in exile in Spain and had no idea that his late wife's body was in Europe too.
In 1971 the body was exhumed and given to Peron, who made a place for it in his exile home in Spain. When a Peronist, Hector Campora, was elected president, Peron returned home and regained the presidency in 1973.
He died the following year, before Evita's body had been brought back from Spain. It was Isabel that got it brought back home. But she was overthrown before the body could be permanently buried, and it was the military government that took power in 1976 that finally gave Evita a permanent funeral. The body of Evita was buried in a mausoleum in La Recoleta, which can be considered as Argentina's national cemetery.
An interesting fact about Isabel, Peron's last wife, is that, since meeting Peron more than sixty years ago, she has spent only eight years in Argentina, and five of those years was under house arrest after being overthrown by the military coup in 1976. Almost all of the rest of those years has been spent in Spain, where she still lives today.
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