What is Peronism?

[Peeperkorn]

Peronism is a system of political pacts between different political actors (presidents, governors, unions, intendents, mayors) along Argentina in order to maintain power. Like the mafia, and I am not being hyperbolic.

Don't try to find an ideology because it doesn't exist. The same people that supported Menem's economic free market agenda now supports Kirchner's protectionist and price-controlled agenda. And the same people will support tomorrow's Massa or whoever wins the election without giving a shink if he goes back to free market liberalism.

If you want to understand Peronism I would recommend you the political scientist Guillermo O'Donnell. And if you want an apologetic but interesting approach concerning kirchnerism, read "The Populist Reason" of Laclau.

[Peeperkorn]

90% of FREPASO collapsed with De la Rúa, including Chacho Álvarez (I know he resigned after the implosion, but his political career was finished anyway).

The great majority of today's kirchnerists were menemists, including Kirchner himself.

There are no values or ideology in Argentina's politics. The politicians that try this are sooner or later destroyed by the system, like López Murphy or the orthodox left.

[Peeperkorn]

As far as uniquely Argentine concepts go, another one that deserves mention is desarrollismo.

Desarrollismo isn't that unique. It's just a moderate approach to the ISI model (Industrialización por Sustitución de Importaciones, Import substitution industrialization).

Mexico, Brazil (the biggest countries), Uruguay, Argentina and Chile (the most developed contries) tried it. It failed.

[Peeperkorn]

Basically, it's Argentine populism. Aside from that, it's a completely meaningless term.

Well, define "populism".

It's not that easy.

[Peeperkorn]

As far as uniquely Argentine concepts go, another one that deserves mention is desarrollismo.

Desarrollismo isn't that unique. It's just a moderate approach to the ISI model (Industrialización por Sustitución de Importaciones, Import substitution industrialization).

Mexico, Brazil (the biggest countries), Uruguay, Argentina and Chile (the most developed contries) tried it. It failed.

Arturo Frondizi, the promoter of desarrollismo in Argentina is revered by many politicians in Argentina (López Murphy, Duhalde, Lavagna, Carrió, Macri...) as the last president who had a project for the country. The model failed as a consequence of the 1973 crisis. During the Frondizi tenure (1958-1962), the industrial production and foreign capital investments grew considerably.

a) He is revered because he wasn't explicitly peronist or corrupt.

b) Industrialisation was functional for some years because of a highly protectionist economy. It was also highly subsidized thanks to the good prices of commodities in the international market.

Uruguay had the same policy in the 40s and 50s, and in fact the over-taxation of the rural commodities in order to protect the urban new industries was one of the reasons of the first executive defeat (*) of the social democratic faction of the Colorado Party and the first victory of the National (Blanco) Party (in alliance with the "ruralist" movement) in 60 years of real democracy (1958).

Off topic, know-Uruguay-Attention Whoring:

(*) I say executive election because at that time Uruguay was governed by a National Council (Colegiado) of 9 members, 6 from the first party, 3 from the second party. The President was a rotating position, one member per year.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consejo_Nacional_de_Gobierno

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_Government_(Uruguay)