1. THE RULE OF PERON (1946 – 1952; 1952 – 1955) PERON’S CONSOLIDATION -Peron also obtained a majority in the Argentinian Parliament. (see page 28 source a) -His victory was legitimate; he was the constitutional president elected in one of the cleanest elections in the history. Peron knew he owed his success to the CGT and to the Labor Party. -The first measure Peron took was to dissolve all the forces that had supported him, including the Labor Party. He replaced themwith a single party, the Partido Unico de la Revolución (PUR), later Partido Justicialista (PJ) or Peronista. -This dissolution was met with resistance but the leaders could do little to prevent it. The president of the Labor Party who was also the secretary of the CGT (Peron’s supporter) was removed. -Cipriano Reyes (see pic page 29), a Labor Party leader formed an independent bloc in the Chamber of Deputies, from his post he accused Peron of wanting to become a dictator. In 1948, he was arrested and tortured. He remained in prison until Peron’s fall in 1955.

2. -The Peronist Party (PJ) had to respect Peron’s leadership. Governors, Deputies and Senators were appointed by Peron without elections. He ordered the trade unions to become members of the official CGT. Those who opposed were persecuted and arrested. By 1948, the trade unions were under the CGT. -Political parties found it difficult to work in the congress, each party took different strategies, abstention, obstruction and open confrontation, none of which advanced their cause. -Radical leaders who voiced their anti-Peronism were expelled from the legislative body or even jailed. Three members of the Supreme Court were accused of malfeasance, impeached and convicted. New judges were appointed and the court was “Peronized”. -The Secretariat of Information was established with the purpose of controlling the press. Censorship against some publications was implemented (see page 31 source c). The government bought newspapers, magazines and radio statios to use them for propaganda. -Civil servants had to be part of the PJ in order to keep their jobs, Educations was subjected to state control, criminal laws were approved to discourage expressions of dissent, and strikes declared illegal by the government.

3. -The Peronists won the Parliamentary elections in 1948 with 62% of the votes. Peron obtained approval to call for a Constituent Assembly to reform the Constitution. THE CONSTITUTION OF 1949 http://www.argentina.ar/temas/historia-y-efemerides/17597-reforma-constitucional-argentina-de-1949 -The other parties did not obtain sufficient votes to appoint representatives, so the convention was conformed mostly by Peronists and a minority of radicals. -The new constitution did not have an entire new order, it introduced changes to the original of 1853. One of the most important changes was the Article 77 which allowed the president to stand for immediate re-election, although Peron had claimed he had no intention of running for re-election. -The radicals withdrew from the debates to express their disagreement. The convention populated by the Peronists passed the constitution.

4. -The nature of this constitution was nationalist and emphasized the strong role of the state, the state had the right to intervene and also monopolize certain economic areas. -It also included: - Special place to the family (this was seen positively by the Catholics), the state had to protect the marriage, and to assist mothers and children. - All public services were now nationalized and put under the control of the state, which would either buy or expropriate. - Sources or energy (oil, coal, and gas) were national property and could not be sold. - Property and capital had to fulfill a social role and belong to those who would work them (it opened the possibility of implementing policies to the redistribution of land.)

5. SOCIAL POLICIES -The social policies aimed at redressing the existing gaps between rich and poor. When Peron came to power, the social aid offered was inefficient. The government acted with the idea of centralizing social policies to make them more efficient. -Until then, charities which received economic support from the government as well as from private donations, and trade unions channeled social work to reach the areas where the state did not offer solutions. -The trade unions opposed the idea of centralizing the social aid, as they were reluctant to lose control of the money they had for social policies directed at their members. -Peron was esentially pragmatist and he was not ready to lose support of the unions, so he created (1948) a new and parallel organization, the FEP (Fundación Eva Perón). The FEP was organized and led by Peron’s wife.

7. -The FEP focused on areas such as welfare of children and elderly, healthcare, housing, recreation, the provision of working tools, educational facilities, hospitals equipped with modern technology, houses were built in working-class suburbs, orphanages, elderly homes, workers resorts were inaugurated. -Sanitation campaigns were organized, a hospital train traveled across Argentina detecting malnutrition cases, carrying out vaccination campaigns, performing surgeries.

8. -(see page 34 sources e and f) -Eva worked very long hours and was personally involved in the logistical aspects, she read the letters asking for assistance and received hundreds of people in her office. -The FEP played a significant role in shaping the cult to Eva, who became known as “the lady of hope”, “the mother of the innocent”, “the spiritual leader of the nation”.

9. -Eva publicly subordinated herself to Peron, saying she liked to think herself as the bridge between Peron and the masses. For Eva was not charity, it was social justice. -«El trabajo que yo hago no es filantropía ni es caridad, ni es limosna ni es solidaridad social, ni es beneficencia. Ni siquiera es ayuda social, aunque por darle un nombre aproximado yo le he puesto ése... Para mí es estrictamente justicia» From Eva Perón, La Razón de mi vida, 1951 (see page 37 i.f) STATUS OF WOMEN -Women did not have any political participation, they were exploited at work and received lower salaries than men for similar jobs, by 1947 more than 60% of women did not work outside their homes. -In 1947, a law that enabled women to vote was passed and they voted for the first time in 1951, in which Peron was re-elected obtaining 64% of the female votes; but the reason to incorporate women in political life was, as mothers, they were essential for taking Peronism at home. (see pages 36-37 sources h and i)

10. -The PPF (Partido Peronista Femenino) was formed under Eva’s command. Eva appointed delegates who traveled across the country affiliating other women to the party. -Even though the political status for women improved, they did not experience a significant change in society. There was no massive campaign for women to join the workforce due to Peronist principles shared with Catholicism the value given to the role of the family and, within it, to women as mothers and wives.