Mike Ledbetter
8 May 2009
History 162
Dr. Skuban

Nationalism exists among nearly every individual living within any given nations borders. However, within said borders nationalist sentiment does not remain static. Individuals will often have dissimilar views as to what is best for the success of their country. Another factor, and one which will be examined in greater detail in this essay, is the role powerful political leaders play in altering their constituents national identity, whether through beneficial or repressive means, for political gain. The governments of Juan Domingo Perón, in Argentina and Augusto Pinochet, in Chile will provide the framework for this study. Both leaders exhibited staggering amounts of power and influence in their countries, though achieved by different means. Much study has been devoted to Perón and Pinochet, however two main sources will be referenced for this essay; “ Manana es San Perón: A Cultural History of Perón’s Argentina”, written by Mariano Ben Plotkin and “ A Nation of Enemies: Chile Under Pinochet “, written by Pamela Constable and Arturo Valenzeula. Both books examine each respective regime and the lengths they went to procure their nations national identity. The power wielded by Parón and Pinochet was truly astonishing and changed the political and cultural landscape not only of Argentina and Chile, but all of South America. Before examining the cases of Juan Perón and Augusto Pinochet one must first understand the historical timeframe in which each served as well as their vastly different ascents to power. Juan Perón emerged as one of the main leaders of the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos (GOU). The group was made up of midlevel military officers, and was responsible for the overthrow of Argentine President Ramón Castillo on June 4, 1943. Peron took the position of National Labor Officer, and later served simultaneously as secretary of labor and welfare, war minister, and vice president (Plotkin, 19). Peróns connections with the labor unions gained him vital support from the Argentine working class: A group which played a pivotal role in Peróns successful bid for the presidency in 1946. Peróns rise to power coincided with a trend taking place in South America, especially Argentina; the rapid growth of the middle class. Another phenomenon sweeping through Latin America was Populism. Argentina's large middle class provided the perfect environment for a populist regime, one which Juan Perón would lead. Just as with Perón, Augusto Pinochet served in the military and aided in the overthrow of his nations president, Salvador Allende in 1973. However, that is were the similarities end. Shortly after the coup Pinochet took control of the military junta that was in power and declared himself “Supreme Chief” of Chile. Pinochet quickly detained those loyal or believed to be loyal to Allende’s socialist government and sent them to makeshift detention centers were they were interrogated and often times murdered. Pinochet came to power at the height of the cold war, which, in part explains his abhorrence to the socialist movement in Chile. Pinochet reversed much of what the Allende government implemented immediately after taking power, thus ending the socialist experiment in Chile. The success of Chile post coup would be predicated on open markets, deregulation of business, and privatization of state-owned companies. The age of neoliberalism had dawned and would dominate Latin America for nearly three decades. As mentioned before Juan Perón aligned himself with the working class and quickly gained their trust. The Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) was the largest labor union in Argentina at this time and allied with Perón. Perón vowed to improve working conditions, raise wages, and supported the workers right to unionize. However, Peróns populist rhetoric created a cleavage between himself and his military cohorts, which led to his resignation and subsequent arrest in October 1945. Many Argentines were outraged, according to Mariano Ben Plotkin, “On October 17, 1945, the unionized working class spontaneously mobilized with the aim of forcing the military government to free Perón and respect the social benefits granted by him” (Plotkin, 43). The significance of the protest cannot be underscored. Scores of working class Argentines declared their loyalty to Perón on the seventeenth of October, and Perón would not fail to capitalize on it. Juan Peróns followers became know as descamisados and they viewed Perón as their champion. Perón used the events of October 17, 1945, to further cement his relationship with the descamisados. In a speech given by Perón on the seventeenth, he affirmed, “ I leave this glorious and sacred uniform that the fatherland granted me in order to wear the civilian jacket and to blend myself with the suffering and sweating masses…. And I also give my first embrace to this great mass that represents the synthesis of a feeling that died in the republic: the true civility of the Argentine people. You are the people” (Plotkin, 55). The speech, given from the balcony of the government palace reaffirmed Peróns status as a man of the people, yet also established him as the “ first descamisado “. Peron vowed to watch over the descamisados from the palace and ask the people if they were happy with his government every October seventeenth. In affect, what Perón had done was incorporate the descamisados into the government decision making process, thus further strengthening the bond between Perón and his descamisados. The “Peronization” of historical events can also be seen in the case of the annual May Day celebration. The celebration originated in 1890 as a socialist holiday; the Dia del Trabajo. Perón would turn what was originally a celebration organized by workers into one monopolized by the state. The Perón government portrayed past May Day celebrations as violent events and an “occasion for protest by a working class made up, overall, of foreigners who held intentional ideologies”, however; under Perón, “A working class purged of its alien elements was the standard-bearer of national sentiment” (Plotkin, 61). Perón transformed May Day from a socialist workers holiday into a celebration of unity which promoted Argentine nationalism, thus strengthening his influence over his constituents. A necessary step in constructing nationalism is indoctrinating the masses. As President, Juan Perón advocated social justice (justicialismo) that called not only for workers rights but also a unification of the various social classes struggling in Argentina. In order to accomplish the goals of justicialismo Perón needed to spread his message as efficiently as possible, to you young and old. The pro-Peronist media was used heavily to promote the accomplishments of Peróns government. Newspapers such as La Epoca and Democracia promoted the virtues of the Peronist government, and the man himself. The publication Democaracia went as far as to declare, “God is a Peronist“, during the 1951 October seventeenth celebration (Plotkin, 79). However, those publications which questioned Peróns policies suffered from repeated sabotage attempts by pro-Peronist groups and closure by the government. Traditional mainstream media was not the only target for Perón. In order for Peronism to survive the youth of Argentina would also have to be indoctrinated. In order to achieve such a goal Perón aimed to expand the public educational system, and more importantly use it for political purposes. The Peronist regime proclaimed, “School texts will be structured in accordance with the principles of the national doctrine [and] will include special reference to the goals that the present plan establishes for each activity of the nation” (Plotkin, 83). The new textbooks would present a more homogenized version of Argentine society; a departure from the liberal texts of the past. Pre-Peronist texts often represented ideas and lifestyles of Argentina’s elite class. However, Peronist texts present the worker as the protagonist, who belongs to a union and adheres to the Peronist Doctrine. Perón also manipulated history books in order to further promote his excellence. According to Plotkin, “To stress Perón’s glory, the entire period between 1816 and 1945 had been eliminated”, a period that started with Argentine independence and ended with the rise of Perón (Plotkin, 126). The actions of Eva Peron are central to the success of Peronismo, and cannot be overlooked. The Eva Perón Foundation (FEP) is perhaps the greatest contribution to her husbands policy. The foundation was responsible for hundreds of new schools, clinics, old age homes and vacation facilities. Athletic leagues were created through the Campeonatos Evita program for under privileged children, as well as pro-Peronist magazines targeted specifically for children, such as, Mundo Infintal. However, paramount among Eva’s accomplishments was her work with the women of Argentina. Juan Perón recognized the importance of women as a potential voting block and as, “ missionaries who could spread the Peronist creed within families and thus further the creation of spiritual unity” (Plotkin, 164). Juan and Eva created the Partido Peronista Femenino (PPF), which would be used to incorporate women into the political system. Argentine women gained the right to vote in 1947, making the formation of the PPF even more critical. The women of the PPF would prove to be a powerful ally Perón, adding even more strength to his base. Nearly 30 years after Peróns rise to power, another military leader on the other side of the continent took center stage. On October 11, 1973, Augusto Pinochet led a successful military coup d’ etat, ousting socialist President Salvador Allende. Pinochet quickly seized control of the governing military junta, and asserted his dominants over the Chilean people. Pinochets disdain for the previous socialist regime was apparent immediately. According to Pamela Constable and Arturo Valenzuela, “Within weeks of the coup, a secret war was launched against Marxist ‘subversion’ and enemies of the regime” (Constable & Valenzuela, 91). Almost immediately after the military’s seizure of power, the junta banned all leftist parties that had constituted Allende’s UP coalition. The Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA) was created to gather intelligence to aid in locating and putting down subversives. The “Caravan of Death” is one example of DINAs murderous exploits, in which a military helicopter flew missions throughout Chile in which DINA operatives sought out and murdered imprisoned leftist leaders. Another more common tactic was a simple abduction off of the street of anyone suspected of having leftist ties. Pinochet’s “Shadow Army” would embark on a reign of terror, which according to the 1991 Rettig report resulted in the death of 2,279 Chileans. The exploits of DINA left many Chileans paralyzed with fear, afraid to oppose or even question the government. Pinochet’s harsh measures against the left were met with great satisfaction by many Chileans. However, it must be stated that the human rights violations Pinochet committed were not immediately recognized by the public. It was the reversal of Allende’s policies which many Chileans celebrated. Much of the population had suffered food shortages under Allande, and the wealthy protested tax increases mad by the socialist regime. According to Constable and Valenzuela, the lives “of the moneyed elite and striving middle class…. returned to normal within weeks, and military rule was virtually invisible” (Constable & Valenzuela, 142). These groups praised Pinochets actions and pledged their support to the regime. Beyond the vocalized support provided by Pinochistas, was the use of various forms of media to deliver pro-regime propaganda. Pinochet utilized the Chilean press to both bestow onto the people righteousness of the military government and to refute any negative claims made against it. One such example was the conservative morning paper, El Mercurio, which became the mouthpiece for the Pinochet regime. However, Pinochet discovered a far more efficient medium for spreading propaganda; the television. Pinochet’s economic policies, which will be examined in greater detail shortly, virtually eliminated tariffs on foreign television, allowing nearly 78 percent of Chileans to own a set by 1982. According to Constable and Valenzuela, “This was the ideal medium for a modern authoritarian government: it kept people home, created a direct link between the individual and the state, filtered reality through an appealing prism, and encouraged consumption instead of thought” (Constable & Valenzuela, 155). The state controlled television stations dictated the programing, which assured no opposition voices would be heard. Just as Juan Perón had utilized the educational system, so to did Pinochet. However, Pinochet set his sights on secondary education mores so than Perón. Pinochet appointed high ranking military officials to run all Chilean universities, in an attempt halt the spreading of any further Marxist thought. The military government had a clear idea for the future of Chile’s universities. The regime goal was to provide a training ground for young Chileans to meet the needs of Chiles science and technology sectors. University admissions were cut, and professional degrees were limited to twelve disciplines, nine of them in science fields. Social science and humanities courses were nearly eradicated in favor of the new curriculum, which aimed to produce a large skilled working for for Chile. Perhaps the most important legacy left by Pinoche was his economic plan for Chile. Utilizing advice given by a handful of economist known as the “Chicago Boys”. Based on information given by his economists Pinochet transformed Chile into a free market economy. Pinochet launched an era of deregulation of business and privatization of state owned companies. Tariffs were lowered if not all together ended and foreign investment was promoted. A vast majority of social services were cut in order to reduce the Chilean deficit. The economy slowly started to improve,and by the 1980s Chiles economic boom was viewed as a miracle. However, the miracle was not experienced by most Chileans. Lower and middle class citizens were not experiencing the trickling down of wealth. Due to economic factors as well as growing disillusionment with a military dictatorship, Chileans voted Pinochet out of office in a 1988 plebiscite, called for by the dictator himself. As proven by Juan Perón and Augusto Pinochet national identities can be formed and altered through social justice in the case of Perón, and likewise through fear and repression in the case of Pinochet. This assertion is echoed by William Skuban in his book, “Lines in the Sand: Nationalism and Identity on the Peruvian-Chilean Frontier”, in which he states, “Dominant groups will emerge, attended by their highly particularistic projects for organizing society, and they will invariably attempt to impose these on all people within their state’s territorial grasp” (Skuban, xx). Peron and Pinochet no doubt imposed their ideas on the citizens of their respective countries. Both leaders used different tactics to achieve the same goal; that of indoctrinating a population gain political supremacy.