BEHIND THE FIGHT FOR POWER IN ARGENTINA

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27752, 1 September 1955, Page 10

BEHIND THE FIGHT FOR POWER IN ARGENTINA

CHALLENGE TO PERON

[By a Special Correspondent of the “Christian Science Monitor”) (Reprinted by Arrangement)

Santiago, Chile, August B.—Argentine reconciliation does not seem to be developing as fast as expected or along the lines hopefully anticipated when the revolutionary events of June 16 last jolted Government and opposition into realisation of the serious consequences likely to result from lack of national unity and harmony. Dr. Vicinte Solano Lima, leader of the Conservatives, who throughout have resisted Peronismo as tenaciously as the Radicals, declared in a recent radio broadcast: “A month has passed since the Presidential call to pacification, but during that time there have been only words, no deeds.” He added: “Words have only made expectancy grow. The tension has not diminished a jot; hopes have not increased.” This may be a slight exaggeration. Obviously, if there had been only words. Dr. Solano himself would not have been speaking over the Argentine radio, criticising Peronista Government and insisting on the full recovery of freedoms. Basically, however, there is substance to this complaint. The freedoms are coming back in only a trickle and General Peron, whom nearly all oppositionists distrust, not without reason, continues in the picture as the self-styled “President of the Argentines,” presiding over reconciliation. Evidence of Unrest Tension and disappointment undoubtedly exist. The general population is acutely conscious of this. It is difficult, virtually impossible, for matters to continue as they stand. Either the conciliation process must be expedited or, sooner or later, another explosion will occur. Downtown Buenos Aires retail and entertainment business interests report revenue down by 50 per cent, during the last two months. LOn August 15. after this dispatch was written, the Government announced the suppression of a plot against the life of the President and arrested more than 200 persons. Demonstrations against the regime also took place in Buenos Aires and Cordoba.l The Army generals, in what they deem the national interest, or perhaps for their own reasons, have decided to back, for some time at least. President Peron. They may honestly believe that this is essential to the maintenance of internal order and the salvaging of national economy and prestige. They are not alone in thinking—if they think in this way—that General Peron is the only immediate alternative to political and business chaos. More than a suspicion exists in Buenos Aires, according to reports from that city, that powerful / merican influence somewhere, somehow, is being exercised in favour of General Peron, as distinct from Peronismo, if that distinction is admissible.

American Investor Interest? This American influence is said to be the outcome of an appraisal similar to that of the Argentine Army generals—that if the President falls, worse may follow. United States officialdom, of course, is thinking primarily of its own interests. It probably feels that, since trying to get along with him, things have gone slightly smoother in continental diplomacy and Argentine business. The average resident American businessman—and official, for that matter —does not nece r ily share this viewpoint, but in recent months powerful investors have looked and come Argentina’s way. The Radical.

Socialist, and other anti-Peron elements openly suggest that the cleansing of the body politic is being hampered by this development. They point scornfully and accusingly, for example, to the big oil and steel interests. If the truth were perceptible, perhaps the oppositionists themselves, through failure to rally and coalesce in the supreme cause, are also to blame for the present dangerous stagnation. Their divisions have disappointed many who placed their trust in them. But judgment should not be harsh. It would be difficult for any body of men to think clearly and act w’isely after a decade bf persecution and frustration. Time in Peron’s Favour But it is not likely to advance the long-term interests of the United States in Argentina to have political leaders associated with the fight for freedom claiming that their cause is being retarded by official and business policies of the United States. Even some Peronista parliamentarians have hesitated to be associated with the proposed oil agreements, while the ultranationalists, the right wing of Peronism. are in a state of open and underground war on them. Whatever the real facts may be. reports from Buenos Aires have latterly tended to emphasise this international aspect of the Argentine political situation. General Peron is believed to have convinced his Army supporters that he is the only one who can assure the American financial and technical cooperation which they deem essential for the development of their brand of nationalism. The generals are known to favour extended American and foreign capital investments. The steel, oil, and automobile manufacturing programmes are basically their own projects, within the policy of military autarchy conceived and expressed years before the emergence of General Peron as a political caudillo. Actually this Argentine-American business partnership. in oil particularly, is of a recognised modern international type. It undoubtedly vital to the salvaging of the economy. Yet the political complication cannot be ignored. . The general public also has to weigh this factor against the present state df confusion and tension amid which General Peron is again inveigling himself toward the centre of the political stage. Time so far has operated morr in his personal favour than that of genuine reconciliation. Disconcerting Note The reappearance of American dailies and magazines on Buenos Aires news stands does not signify complete freedom for the Argentine press. Nor do a few speeches, precensored though nonetheless outspoken, by opposition leaders mean the right of unlimited expression. Secret negotiations proceed for a Rome-Buenos Aires concordat amid fluctuations which are not always politically comforting. The most disconcerting development, however, is the- increasing rapprochement of the Army, as led politically by General Lucero and the General Labour Confederation, with a strange new note of sympathy with Peronism and justicialism from the Army Secretary. The “internal state of war” continues, despite insistent demands that it be cancelled as the first condition for reconciliation, and General Peron remains in his new. embarrassing and unconvincing role of “President of all the Argentines.’ ’