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105-618: Social welfare in Argentina was highly underdeveloped before Juan Perón was elected President in 1946 and his wife, who had been born into the working classes , was aware of this. Most charity work was undertaken by the Sociedad de Beneficencia , which was controlled by eighty-seven elderly women of the upper classes . The orphans whose care the Sociedad controlled had to wear blue smocks and have their heads shaved; at Christmas they were put out onto

210-504: A white paper , otherwise known as the Blue Book accusing Perón, President Farrell and others of Fascist ties. Fluent in Spanish, Braden addressed Democratic Union rallies in person, but his move backfired when Perón summarized the election as a choice between "Perón or Braden". He also rallied further support by responding to the "Blue Book" with his own "Blue and White Book", which was a play on

315-406: A 22 km (14 mi) freeway into Buenos Aires. This freeway was followed by one between Rosario and Santa Fe . Perón had mixed success in expanding the country's inadequate electric grid, which grew by only one fourth during his tenure. Argentina's installed hydroelectric capacity, however, leapt from 45 to 350 MW during his first term (to about a fifth of the total public grid). He promoted

420-541: A Spanish economist who had years earlier advised that nation's ill-fated regime of Miguel Primo de Rivera . Intervention of their behalf by Perón's appointees encouraged the CGT to call strikes in the face of employers reluctant to grant benefits or honor new labour legislation. Strike activity (with 500,000 working days lost in 1945) leapt to 2 million in 1946 and to over 3 million in 1947, helping wrest needed labour reforms, though permanently aligning large employers against

525-545: A broad constitutional reform in September. The elected convention (whose opposition members soon resigned) approved the wholesale replacement of the 1853 Constitution of Argentina with a new magna carta in March, explicitly guaranteeing social reforms; but also allowing the mass nationalization of natural resources and public services, as well as the re-election of the president. Emphasizing an economic policy centerpiece dating from

630-533: A decree saw the establishment of five different faculties in the University of Buenos Aires. The Department of Exact Sciences became two separate faculties: the Faculty of Mathematics, and the Faculty of Physical-Natural Sciences. Engineering degrees were imparted by the Faculty of Mathematics. An 1891 degree re-established the Faculty of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences. In 1894, a group of engineering students founded

735-460: A final nail into the coffin that bore Perón's ambitions to transform Argentina into an industrial power". The policy deprived Argentina of potential agricultural markets in Western Europe to the benefit of Canadian exporters , for instance. As relations with the U.S. deteriorated, Perón made efforts to mitigate the misunderstandings, which were made easier after President Harry Truman replaced

840-430: A fourth during Perón's first two years, saw zero growth from 1948 to 1952. After 1952, however, wages began rising in real terms once more. The increasing frequency of strikes, increasingly directed against Perón as the economy slid into stagflation in late 1954, was dealt with through the expulsion of organizers from the CGT ranks. To consolidate his political grasp on the eve of colder economic winds, Perón called for

945-522: A giant thermometer hung from the Buenos Aires Obelisk to track the fundraising. The effort's success and relief for earthquake victims earned Perón widespread public approval. At this time, he met a minor radio matinee star, Eva Duarte . Following President Ramírez's January 1944 suspension of diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers (against whom the new junta would declare war in March 1945),

1050-590: A little-known rank-and-filer who was close to the first lady. The meat-packers' union leader, Cipriano Reyes  [ es ] , turned against Perón when he replaced the Labour Party with the Peronist Party in 1947. Organizing a strike in protest, Reyes was arrested on the charge of plotting against the lives of the president and first lady; according to Time , Reyes was contacted by two police officers posing as disloyal airforce lieutenants who convinced him of

1155-576: A lump sum at the end of the year amounting to one-twelfth of the annual wage) and the National Institute of Compensation, which implemented a minimum wage and collected data on living standards, prices, and wages. Leveraging his authority on behalf of striking abattoir workers and the right to unionise, Perón became increasingly thought of as presidential material. On 18 September 1945, he delivered an address billed as "from work to home and from home to work". The speech, prefaced by an excoriation of

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1260-482: A main stockholder in its sugar industry. As a colonel, Perón took a significant part in the military coup by the GOU ( United Officers' Group , a secret society) against the conservative civilian government of Castillo. At first an assistant to Secretary of War General Edelmiro Farrell , under the administration of General Pedro Ramírez , he later became the head of the then-insignificant Department of Labour. Perón's work in

1365-415: A recently aired History Channel documentary , the secrecy, Nazi connections, declassified US intelligence documents, and military infrastructure located around the remote facility all argue for the more likely objective of atomic bomb development. The Argentine navy actually bombed multiple buildings in 1955 – an unusual method of decommissioning a legitimate research facility. Eva Perón was instrumental as

1470-660: A rivalry with Eva Perón. Faculty of Engineering, University of Buenos Aires The Faculty of Engineering ( Facultad de Ingeniería ; FIUBA ) is a faculty of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), the largest university in Argentina . It offers graduate courses on various fields of engineering , including civil engineering , computer science and engineering , mechanical engineering , electronic engineering , naval engineering , among others. It also offers graduate courses on system analysis , as well as post-graduate degrees on

1575-592: A scientific team to investigate Richter's activities. Reports by José Antonio Balseiro and Mario Báncora revealed that the project was a fraud. After that, the Huemul Project was transferred to the Centro Atómico Bariloche (CAB) of the new National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and to the physics institute of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo , later named Instituto Balseiro (IB). According to

1680-726: A single purchaser for the nation's mostly export-oriented grains and oilseeds, the Institute for the Promotion of Trade ( IAPI ). The IAPI wrested control of Argentina's famed grain export sector from entrenched conglomerates such as Bunge y Born ; but when commodity prices fell after 1948, it began shortchanging growers. IAPI profits were used to fund welfare projects, while internal demand was encouraged by large wage increases given to workers; average real wages rose by about 35% from 1945 to 1949, while during that same period, labour's share of national income rose from 40% to 49%. Access to health care

1785-751: A special annex for the chemical engineering and food engineering departments at Ciudad Universitaria . The University of Buenos Aires began imparting courses on engineering as early as 1865, when Rector Juan María Gutiérrez ordered the re-establishment of the Department of Exact Sciences, which saw courses on "pure and applied mathematics", as well as natural history. By 1866, the department counted with thirteen enrolled students: Valentín Balbín, Santiago Brian, Adolfo Büttner, Jorge Coquet, Luis A. Huergo, Francisco Lavalle, Carlos Olivera, Matías Sánchez, Luis Silveyra, Miguel Sorondo, Zacarías Tapia, Guillermo Villanueva and Guillermo White. The first of them to graduate from

1890-759: A staunch anti-communist and champion of containment , fed U.S. suspicions that Argentine goals for economic sovereignty and neutrality were Perón's disguise for a resurgence of communism in the Americas. The U.S. Congress took a dislike to Perón and his government. In 1948 they excluded Argentine exports from the Marshall Plan , the landmark Truman administration effort to combat communism and help rebuild war-torn European nations by offering U.S. aid. This contributed to Argentine financial crises after 1948 and, according to Perón biographer Joseph Page, "the Marshall Plan drove

1995-654: A successful coup deposed him . During the following period of two military dictatorships , interrupted by two civilian governments, the Peronist party was outlawed and Perón was exiled. Over the years he lived in Paraguay , Venezuela , Panama , and Spain . When the Peronist Héctor José Cámpora was elected president in 1973, Perón returned to Argentina amidst the Ezeiza massacre and was soon after elected president for

2100-414: A symbol of hope to the common labourer during the first five-year plan . When she died in 1952, the year of the presidential elections, the people felt they had lost an ally. Coming from humble origins, she was loathed by the elite but adored by the poor for her work with the sick, elderly, and orphans. It was due to her behind-the-scenes work that women's suffrage was granted in 1947 and a feminist wing of

2205-497: A third time (12 October 1973 – 1 July 1974). During this term, left- and right-wing Peronists were permanently divided and violence between them erupted, which Perón was unable to resolve. His minister José López Rega formed the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance , believed to have committed at least hundreds of extrajudicial killings and kidnappings. Perón's third wife, María Estela Martínez , known as Isabel Perón,

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2310-456: A treaty negotiated by Central Bank President Miguel Miranda; but after a year, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee suspended the provision. Perón accepted the transfer of over 24,000 km (15,000 mi) of British-owned railways (over half the total in Argentina) in exchange for the debt in March 1948. Due to political disputes between Perón and the U.S. government (as well as to pressure by

2415-460: A viable alternative to liberal democracy (which he viewed as a veiled plutocracy ) or to totalitarian régimes (which he viewed as oppressive). He returned to Argentina in 1941, and served as an Army skiing-instructor in Mendoza Province . In 1943 a coup d'état was led by General Arturo Rawson against Ramón Castillo , who had assumed the presidency a little less than a year earlier as

2520-422: A wide range of social welfare benefits for unionised workers. Employers were forced to improve working conditions and to provide severance pay and accident compensation, the conditions under which workers could be dismissed were restricted, a system of labour courts to handle the grievances of workers was established, the working day was reduced in various industries, and paid holidays/vacations were generalised to

2625-723: Is strict justice... I do nothing but return to the poor what the rest of us owe them, because we had taken it away from them unjustly." In 1948 she established the Eva Perón Foundation , which was perhaps the greatest contribution to her husband's social policy. Enjoying an annual budget of around US$ 50 million (nearly 1% of GDP at the time), the Foundation had 14,000 employees and founded hundreds of new schools, clinics, old-age homes and holiday facilities; it also distributed hundreds of thousands of household necessities, physicians' visits and scholarships, among other benefits. Among

2730-602: The 1951 Pan American Games , both of which Argentine athletes won resoundingly. He also sponsored numerous notable athletes, including the five-time Formula 1 world champion, Juan Manuel Fangio , who, without this funding, would have most likely never competed in Europe. Perón's bid to host the 1956 Summer Olympics in Buenos Aires was defeated by the International Olympic Committee by one vote. Economic success

2835-510: The 24 February 1946 presidential elections . When Perón became president on 4 June 1946, his two stated goals were social justice and economic independence. These two goals avoided Cold War entanglements from choosing between capitalism and socialism, but he had no concrete means to achieve those goals. Perón instructed his economic advisers to develop a five-year plan with the goals of increasing workers' pay, achieving full employment, stimulating industrial growth of over 40% while diversifying

2940-763: The Bank of England . The money was useless to the Argentine government, because the treaty allowed Bank of England to hold the funds in trust, something British planners could not compromise on as a result of that country's debts accrued under the Lend-Lease Act . The nation's need for U.S. made capital goods increased, though ongoing limits on the Central Bank's availability of hard currency hampered access to them. Argentina's pound Sterling surpluses earned after 1946 (worth over US$ 200 million) were made convertible to dollars by

3045-502: The CGT on Buenos Aires' wide Nueve de Julio Avenue failed to turn the tide. On 28 September, elements in the Argentine Army led by General Benjamín Andrés Menéndez attempted a coup against Perón. Although unsuccessful, the mutiny marked the end of the first lady's political hopes. She died the following July. The first to vocally oppose Perón's rule were the Argentine intelligentsia and

3150-614: The Catholic Church . After he deported two Catholic priests and was mistakenly thought to be excommunicated , pro-Church elements of the Argentine Navy and Air Force driven by the U.S government bombed Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires , where supporters of Perón had gathered, in June 1955. More than 300 civilians were killed in this coup attempt, which in turn prompted violent reprisals against many churches by Perón's supporters. Within months,

3255-521: The Democratic Union nominated José Tamborini and Enrique Mosca , two prominent UCR congressmen. The alliance failed to win over several prominent lawmakers, such as congressmen Ricardo Balbín and Arturo Frondizi and former Córdoba governor Amadeo Sabattini , all of whom opposed the Union's ties to conservative interests. In a bid to support their campaign, US Ambassador Spruille Braden published

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3360-458: The Eva Perón Foundation , on Av. Paseo Colón 850, was additionally granted to the faculty in 1956, in the aftermath of the 1955 coup d'état . The ten six-meter high statues on the roof of the headquarters, representing the " descamisados ", were designed and sculpted from Carrara marble by the Italian sculptor  Leone Tommasi  and installed in 1950. In 1955, after the coup d'état,

3465-919: The Faculty of Engineering, University of Buenos Aires in 1956. The ten six-meter high statues on the roof of the headquarters, representing the " descamisados ", were designed and sculpted from Carrara marble by the Italian sculptor  Leone Tommasi  and installed in 1950. In 1955, after the coup d'état, the statues were removed and thrown into the  Matanza River , from where, in 1996, by order of President  Carlos Menem , only three were found and were retrieved. The three statues can currently be seen in  San Vicente  where Juan Perón is buried. Juan Per%C3%B3n Juan Domingo Perón ( UK : / p ɛ ˈ r ɒ n / , US : / p ɛ ˈ r oʊ n , p ə ˈ -, p eɪ ˈ -/ , Spanish: [ˈxwan doˈmiŋɡo peˈɾon] ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974)

3570-526: The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) was given overwhelming support by the new administration, which introduced labour courts and filled its cabinet with labour union appointees, such as Juan Atilio Bramuglia (Foreign Ministry) and Ángel Borlenghi (Interior Ministry, which, in Argentina, oversees law enforcement). It also made room for amenable wealthy industrialists (Central Bank President Miguel Miranda) and socialists such as José Figuerola ,

3675-491: The Huemul Project would produce nuclear fusion before any other country. The project was led by an Austrian, Ronald Richter , who had been recommended by Kurt Tank . Tank expected to power his aircraft with Richter's invention. Perón announced that energy produced by the fusion process would be delivered in milk-bottle sized containers. Richter announced success in 1951, but no proof was given. The next year, Perón appointed

3780-638: The Italian Alps in 1939. He also attended the University of Turin for a semester and served as a military observer in countries across Europe – holding positions as a military attaché in Berlin and in Rome. He studied Benito Mussolini 's Italian Fascism , Nazi Germany , and other European governments of the time, concluding in his summary, Apuntes de historia militar ( Notes about military history , first published in 1932, 2nd ed., 1934 ), that social democracy could be

3885-531: The Port of Buenos Aires and domestic and foreign-owned private cargo ships , as well as the purchase of others, nearly tripled the national merchant marine to 1.2 million tons' displacement, reducing the need for over US$ 100 million in shipping fees (then the largest source of Argentina's invisible balance deficit) and leading to the inauguration of the Río Santiago Shipyards at Ensenada (on line to

3990-515: The fossil fuel industry by ordering these resources nationalized, inaugurating Río Turbio (Argentina's only active coal mine), having natural gas flared by the state oil firm YPF captured, and establishing Gas del Estado . The 1949 completion of a gas pipeline between Comodoro Rivadavia and Buenos Aires was another significant accomplishment in this regard. The 1,700 km (1,060 mi) pipeline allowed natural gas production to rise quickly from 300,000 m to 15 million m daily, making

4095-512: The magister , doctoral and post-doctoral levels. It was founded in 1952, as a split from the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences . As of 2011, it counted with 8,698 graduate students, making it the eighth-largest constituent faculty at the university. The faculty has its main seat on Av. Paseo Colón 850, in a Neoclassical building in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Telmo . It also has an annex building on Av. Las Heras, in Recoleta , and

4200-526: The 1830s; in later life Perón would publicly express his pride in his Sardinian roots. He also had Spanish, British, and French ancestry. Perón's great-grandfather became a successful shoe merchant in Buenos Aires, and his grandfather was a prosperous physician; his death in 1889 left his widow nearly destitute, however, and Perón's father moved to then-rural Lobos, where he administered an estancia and met his future wife. The couple had their two sons out of wedlock and married in 1901. His father moved to

4305-414: The 1920s, Perón made record investments in Argentina's infrastructure. Investing over US$ 100 million to modernize the railways (originally built on myriad incompatible gauges), he also nationalized a number of small, regional air carriers, forcing them into Aerolíneas Argentinas in 1950. The airline, equipped with 36 new DC-3 and DC-4 aircraft, was supplemented with a new international airport and

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4410-420: The 20th century, and his influence extends to the present day. Perón's ideas, policies and movement are known as Peronism , which continues to be one of the major forces in Argentine politics. Perón had previously served in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President under presidents Pedro Pablo Ramírez and Edelmiro Farrell . His first presidential term (1946–1952), Perón

4515-435: The 3rd party in Argentina was formed. Simultaneous to Perón's five-year plans, Eva supported a women's movement that concentrated on the rights of women, poor people, and disabled people. Although her role in the politics of Perón's first term remains disputed, Eva introduced social justice and equality into the national discourse. She stated, "It is not philanthropy, nor is it charity... It is not even social welfare; to me, it

4620-467: The Argentine flag colors, and focused on the antagonism of Yankee imperialism. He persuaded the president to sign the nationalization of the Central Bank and the extension of mandatory Christmas bonuses, actions that contributed to his decisive victory. Perón and his running mate, Hortensio Quijano , leveraged popular support to victory over a Radical Civic Union -led opposition alliance by about 11% in

4725-458: The Fatherland. Kill a Student" ( Haga patria, mate a un estudiante ). Perón opposed the universities, which questioned his methods and his goals. A well-remembered slogan was, Alpargatas sí, libros no ("Shoes? Yes! Books? No!") ... Universities were "intervened". In some a peronista mediocrity was appointed rector. Others were closed for years. The labour movement that had brought Perón to power

4830-589: The Foundation a free donation of sweets for underprivileged children. There was, however, only one example of Evita targeting the landed aristocracy and this was when the Foundation received most of the 97 million pesos which the Bemberg dynasty were forced to pay after they had attempted to evade tax after their patriarch died abroad. Allegations of a secret bank account in Switzerland have been dismissed by her more recent biographers. After Evita's premature death in 1952,

4935-407: The Foundation briefly passed under the control of other Peronist women; but it did not outlast the fall of the regime itself in 1955 and had been in terminal decline since 1952 anyway. It was disbanded like every other Perónist organization by the military junta in 1955, after they overthrew Juan Perón on September 19, 1955 . Its headquarters was located on Avenida Paseo Colón 850, which was granted to

5040-485: The Foundation. By the time of Evita's death in 1952, the popularity of the Foundation amongst her millions of followers had given her an aura of sainthood. There were allegations that most of the Foundation's wealth was ill-gotten, with Evita coercing people into donating. There were examples of pressure, particularly with the infamous case of the Mu-Mu sweet manufacturers, who were temporarily shut down after they refused to give

5145-537: The Foundation’s work. More importantly, the Catholic Church had endorsed her projects, citing Biblical exhortations towards charity for the poor and Evita’s own personal priest, Father Benítez, claimed that the need to help the poor had taken over Eva Perón’s life. Finally, Congress assisted in 1950 by ruling that a proportion of all lottery tickets, cinema tickets and gambling games played in casinos should be given to

5250-487: The GOU junta unseated him in favor of General Edelmiro Farrell . For contributing to his success, Perón was appointed vice president and Secretary of War, while retaining his Labour portfolio. As Minister of Labour, Perón established the INPS (the first national social insurance system in Argentina), settled industrial disputes in favour of labour unions (as long as their leaders pledged political allegiance to him), and introduced

5355-679: The Labour Department witnessed the passage of a broad range of progressive social reforms designed to improve working conditions, and led to an alliance with the socialist and syndicalist movements in the Argentine labour unions, which increased his power and influence in the military government. After the coup, socialists from the CGT -Nº1 labour union, through mercantile labour leader Ángel Borlenghi and railway union lawyer Juan Atilio Bramuglia , made contact with Perón and fellow GOU Colonel Domingo Mercante . They established an alliance to promote labour laws that had long been demanded by

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5460-757: The Patagonia region that year, where he later purchased a sheep ranch . Juan himself was sent away in 1904 to a boarding school in Buenos Aires directed by his paternal grandmother, where he received a strict Catholic upbringing. His father's undertaking ultimately failed, and he died in Buenos Aires in 1928. The youth entered the National Military College in 1911 at age 16 and graduated in 1913. He excelled less in his studies than in athletics, particularly boxing and fencing. Perón began his military career in an Infantry post in Paraná, Entre Ríos . He went on to command

5565-521: The Peronist movement to the working-class people from which Eva had come. Her strong ties to the poor and her position as Perón's wife brought credibility to his promises during his first presidential term and ushered in a new wave of supporters. The first lady's willingness to replace the ailing Hortensio Quijano as Perón's running mate for the 1951 campaign was defeated by her own frail health and by military opposition. A 22 August rally organized for her by

5670-510: The Peronists. Labour unions grew in ranks from around 500,000 to over 2 million by 1950, primarily in the CGT, which has since been Argentina's paramount labour union. As the country's labour force numbered around 5 million people at the time, Argentina's labour force was the most unionized in South America. During the first half of the 20th century, a widening gap had existed between

5775-996: The Secretary of the Media, Raúl Apold , socialist dailies such as La Vanguardia or Democracia, and conservative ones such as La Prensa or La Razón , were simply closed or expropriated in favor of the CGT or ALEA, the regime's new state media company. Intimidation of the press increased: between 1943 and 1946, 110 publications were closed down; others such as La Nación and Roberto Noble 's Clarín became more cautious and self-censoring. Perón appeared more threatened by dissident artists than by opposition political figures (though UCR leader Ricardo Balbín spent most of 1950 in jail). Numerous prominent cultural and intellectual figures were imprisoned (publisher and critic Victoria Ocampo , for one) or forced into exile, among them comedian Niní Marshall , film maker Luis Saslavsky , pianist Osvaldo Pugliese and actress Libertad Lamarque , victim of

5880-601: The Soviet Union, as allies rather than enemies. He restored diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, severed since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, and opened grain sales to the shortage-stricken Soviets. Peron’s ability to effectively deal with points of contention abroad was hampered by Perón's own mistrust of potential rivals, which harmed foreign relations with Juan Atilio Bramuglia 's 1949 dismissal. The rising influence of American diplomat George F. Kennan ,

5985-536: The U.S. agricultural lobby through the Agricultural Act of 1949 ), Argentine foreign exchange earnings via its exports to the United States fell, turning a US$ 100 million surplus with the United States into a US$ 300 million deficit. The combined pressure practically devoured Argentina's liquid reserves and Miranda issued a temporary restriction on the outflow of dollars to U.S. banks. The nationalization of

6090-567: The best-known of the Foundation's many large construction projects are the Evita City development south of Buenos Aires (25,000 homes) and the " Republic of the Children ", a theme park based on tales from the Brothers Grimm . Following Perón's 1955 ousting, twenty such construction projects were abandoned incomplete, and the foundation's US$ 290 million endowment was liquidated. The portion of

6195-619: The centrist Radical Civic Union (UCR), the Socialist Party , the Communist Party and most of the conservative National Autonomist Party (in power during most of the 1874–1916 era) had already been forged into a fractious alliance in June by interests in the financial sector and the chamber of commerce, united solely by the goal of keeping Perón from the Casa Rosada . Organizing a massive kick-off rally in front of Congress on 8 December,

6300-440: The classes; Perón hoped to close it through the increase of wages and employment, making the nation more pluralistic and less reliant on foreign trade. Before taking office in 1946, President Perón took dramatic steps which he believed would result in a more economically independent Argentina, better insulated from events such as World War II. He thought there would be another international war. The reduced availability of imports and

6405-422: The conservative opposition, provoked an ovation by declaring that "we've passed social reforms to make the Argentine people proud to live where they live, once again." This move fed growing rivalries against Perón and on 9 October 1945, he was forced to resign by opponents within the armed forces. Arrested four days later, he was released due to mass demonstrations organised by the CGT and other supporters; 17 October

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6510-429: The construction of 650,000 new, public sector homes, as well as of the international airport , one of the largest in the world at the time. The reactivation of the dormant National Mortgage Bank spurred private-sector housing development: averaging over 8 units per 1,000 inhabitants (150,000 a year), the pace was, at the time, at par with that of the United States and one of the highest rates of residential construction in

6615-621: The controlled exchange rate, employed over 14,000 workers, purchased 500,000 sewing machines, 400,000 pairs of shoes and 200,000 cooking pots for distribution annually and it had succeeded in building numerous new houses, schools, hospitals and orphanages. The vast majority of these funds came from willing donors and the Peronist-dominated Congress , who were keen to back the First Lady's endeavours. The trade unions, who saw Evita as their patron, regularly sent enormous contributions to

6720-404: The country self-sufficient in the critical energy staple; the pipeline was, at the time, the longest in the world. Propelled by an 80% increase in output at the state-owed energy firm YPF , oil production rose from 3.3 million m to over 4.8 million m during Perón's tenure; but since most manufacturing was powered by on-site generators and the number of motor vehicles grew by a third,

6825-494: The creation of works tending to satisfy the basic needs for better life of the less privileged classes.’ Initially work began with nothing more than garden parties for single mothers or Evita’s personal trips to the ghettoes of Buenos Aires to hand out aid parcels. By the end of the 1940s, Evita and her team of advisers had worked so effectively that the Foundation was better-funded and organised than many departments of State. It had funds of over three billion pesos, $ 200 million on

6930-460: The director of the War Academy , General José Félix Uriburu , to collaborate in the latter's plans for a military coup against President Hipólito Yrigoyen of Argentina. Perón, who instead supported General Agustín Justo , was banished to a remote post in northwestern Argentina after Uriburu's successful coup in September 1930 . He was promoted to the rank of Major the following year and named to

7035-425: The economically active population) were covered by social security. Health insurance also spread to new industries, including banking and metalworking . Between 1945 and 1949, real wages went up by 22%, fell between 1949 and 1952, and then increased again from 1953 to 1955, ending up at least 30% higher than in 1946. In proportional terms, wages rose from 41% of national income in 1946–48 to 49% in 1952–55. The boost in

7140-444: The entire workforce. Perón also passed a law providing minimum wages, maximum hours and vacations for rural workers, froze rural rents, presided over a large increase in rural wages, and helped lumber, wine, sugar and migrant workers organize themselves. From 1943 to 1946, real wages grew by only 4%, but in 1945 Perón established two new institutions that would later increase wages: the " aguinaldo " (a bonus that provided each worker with

7245-450: The existence of an organised conspiracy to overthrow Perón in the air force, which Reyes agreed to support. Tortured in prison, Reyes was denied parole five years later, and freed only after the regime's 1955 downfall. Cipriano Reyes was one of hundreds of Perón's opponents held at Buenos Aires' Ramos Mejía General Hospital, one of whose basements was converted into a police detention center where torture became routine. The populist leader

7350-599: The face of public opposition). Perón was opposed to borrowing from foreign credit markets, preferring to float bonds domestically. He refused to enter the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (precursor to the World Trade Organization ) or the International Monetary Fund . Believing that international sports created goodwill, however, Perón hosted the 1950 World Basketball Championship and

7455-620: The faculty at the Superior War School, however, where he taught military history and published a number of treatises on the subject. He served as military attaché in the Argentine Embassy in Chile from 1936 to 1938 and returned to his teaching post. His wife was diagnosed with uterine cancer that year and died on 10 September at age 36; the couple had no children. The Argentine War Ministry assigned Perón to study mountain warfare in

7560-464: The first students' union in Argentina, La Línea Recta ("the straight line"). A national decree in 1952 officially established the Faculty of Engineering as an autonomous faculty within the university. The faculty had its seat at the Illuminated Block , on Perú 222, up until it was relocated to a Neo-Gothic building on Las Heras Av. in the Recoleta barrio in 1948. The former headquarters of

7665-414: The five-year plans which argued for full employment, public healthcare and housing, labour benefits, and raises were a result of Eva's influence on the policymaking of Perón in his first term, as historians note that initially he simply wanted to keep imperialists out of Argentina and create effective businesses. The humanitarian relief efforts embedded in the five-year plan were Eva's creation, which endeared

7770-552: The hostile Braden with Ambassador George Messersmith . Perón negotiated the release of Argentine assets in the U.S. in exchange for preferential treatment for U.S. goods, followed by Argentine ratification of the Act of Chapultepec , a centerpiece of Truman's Latin America policy. He even proposed the enlistment of Argentine troops into the Korean War in 1950 under UN auspices (a move retracted in

7875-451: The middle-class. University students and professors were seen as particularly troublesome. Perón fired over 2000 university professors and faculty members from all major public education institutions. These included Nobel laureate Bernardo Houssay , a physiologist, University of La Plata physicist Rafael Grinfeld, painter Emilio Pettoruti , art scholars Pío Collivadino and Jorge Romero Brest , and noted author Jorge Luis Borges who at

7980-684: The need for oil imports grew from 40% to half of the consumption, costing the national balance sheet over US$ 300 million a year (over a fifth of the import bill). Perón's government is remembered for its record social investments. He introduced a Ministry of Health to the cabinet; its first head, the neurologist Ramón Carrillo , oversaw the completion of over 4,200 health care facilities. Related works included construction of more than 1,000 kindergartens and over 8,000 schools, including several hundred technological, nursing and teachers' schools, among an array of other public investments. The new Minister of Public Works, General Juan Pistarini , oversaw

8085-614: The other half to finance both public and private investments; the roughly 70% jump in domestic fixed investment was accounted for mostly by industrial growth in the private sector. All this much-needed activity exposed an intrinsic weakness in the plan: it subsidized growth which, in the short term, led to a wave of imports of the capital goods that local industry could not supply. Whereas the end of World War II had allowed Argentine exports to rise from US$ 700 million to US$ 1.6 billion, Perón's changes led to skyrocketing imports (from US$ 300 million to US$ 1.6 billion) and erased

8190-570: The political movement known as Peronism, which in present-day Argentina is represented mainly by the Justicialist Party . Juan Domingo Perón was born in Lobos, Buenos Aires Province , on 8 October 1895. He was the son of Juana Sosa Toledo and Mario Tomás Perón. The Perón branch of his family was originally Spanish, but settled in Spanish Sardinia , from which his great-grandfather emigrated in

8295-552: The post, and in this capacity mediated a prolonged labour conflict in 1920 at La Forestal , then a leading firm in forestry in Argentina . He earned instructor's credentials at the Superior War School , and in 1929 was appointed to the Army General Staff Headquarters. Perón married his first wife, Aurelia Tizón ( Potota , as Perón fondly called her), on 5 January 1929. Perón was recruited by supporters of

8400-489: The present day). Exports fell sharply, to around US$ 1.1 billion during the 1949–54 era (a severe 1952 drought trimmed this to US$ 700 million), due in part to a deterioration in terms of trade of about a third. The Central Bank was forced to devalue the peso at an unprecedented rate: the peso lost about 70% of its value from early 1948 to early 1950, leading to a decline in the imports fueling industrial growth and to recession. Short of central bank reserves, Perón

8505-487: The press was closely controlled. Several high-profile fascist war criminals, such as Josef Mengele , Adolf Eichmann , and Ante Pavelić , were given refuge in Argentina during this time. Perón was re-elected by a fairly wide margin, though his second term (1952–1955) was far more troubled. Eva, a major source of support, died a month after his inauguration in 1952. An economic crisis was ongoing, Perón and his plans to legalise divorce and prostitution damaged his standing with

8610-417: The real incomes of workers was encouraged by government policies such as the enforcement of minimum wage laws, controls on the prices of food and other basic consumption items and extending housing credits to workers. Perón first articulated his foreign policy, the "Third Way", in 1949. This policy was developed to avoid the binary Cold War divisions and keep other world powers, such as the United States and

8715-491: The rest of the University of Buenos Aires's faculties, the Faculty of Engineering operates under the principle of tripartite co-governance, wherein authorities are democratically elected and professors, students and graduates are represented in the faculty's governing bodies. The faculty is headed by a Dean ( Spanish : decana or decano ), who presides over the Directive Council ( Consejo Directivo ). The Directive Council

8820-476: The sector (then dominated by food processing), and greatly improving transportation, communication, energy and social infrastructure (in the private, as well as public, sectors). Perón's planning prominently included political considerations. Numerous military allies were fielded as candidates, notably Colonel Domingo Mercante who, when elected Governor of the paramount Province of Buenos Aires , became renowned for his housing program. Having brought him to power,

8925-565: The simpler Eva Perón Foundation . Its opening charter declared that it was to remain ‘in the sole hands of its founder… who will… possess the widest powers afforded by the State and the Constitution.’ The Foundation's aims were to provide monetary assistance and scholarships to gifted children from impoverished backgrounds, build homes, schools, hospitals and orphanages in underprivileged areas and ‘to contribute or collaborate by any possible means to

9030-488: The statues were removed and thrown into the  Matanza River , from where, in 1996, by order of President  Carlos Menem , only three were found and were retrieved. The three statues can currently be seen in  San Vicente  where  Juan Perón  is buried. FIUBA offers graduate ( licenciatura ) degrees on: In addition, the faculty offers a number of specialization degrees, as well as magister degrees , doctorates and post-doctoral degrees. Like

9135-497: The streets of Buenos Aires with collecting tins. Their policies are supposed to have been the inspiration behind Evita's famous declaration that, 'When the rich think about the poor, they have poor ideas.' The chairpersons of this society were traditionally the Papal Nuncio to Argentina and the First Lady, but the society refused to extend the invitation to Evita when her husband was elected president. At first they insisted that it

9240-413: The surplus by 1948. Perón's bid for economic independence was further complicated by a number of inherited external factors. Great Britain owed Argentina over 150 million pounds Sterling (nearly US$ 650 million) from agricultural exports to that nation during the war. This debt was mostly in the form of Argentine Central Bank reserves which, per the 1933 Roca-Runciman Treaty , were deposited in

9345-594: The test flights, the planes were flown by Lieutenant Edmundo Osvaldo Weiss and Tank, reaching 1,000 km/h (620 mph) with the Pulqui II. Argentina continued testing the Pulqui II until 1959; in the tests, two pilots lost their lives. The Pulqui project opened the door to two successful Argentinian planes: the IA 58 Pucará and the IA 63 Pampa , manufactured at the Aircraft Factory of Córdoba. Perón announced in 1951 that

9450-577: The time was head of the National Library of Buenos Aires , was appointed "poultry inspector" at the Buenos Aires Municipal Wholesale Market (a post he refused). Many left the country and migrated to Mexico, United States or Europe. The theologian Herold B. Weiss recalls events in the universities: As a young student in Buenos Aires in the early 1950s, I well remember the graffiti found on many an empty wall all over town: "Build

9555-764: The university was Luis Huergo , who graduated as an "Engineer of the School of this University in the Faculty of Exact Sciences". The first woman to graduate with an engineering degree from the university was Elisa Bachofen , who became the first woman to graduate as an engineer in Argentina and in Latin America in 1918. The first pensum of the degree counted with 18 mandatory subjects, of which 30% were linked to technical drawing and 30% to mathematics. Only two of these subjects were related to construction, while an additional two were on geology and minearology. In addition, engineers were expected to be educated in surveying . In 1874,

9660-470: The vice president of Roberto María Ortiz following Ortiz's resignation due to illness; both Ortiz and Castillo had been elected in the 1937 presidential election , which has been described as being among the most fraudulent in Argentine history. The military was opposed to Governor Robustiano Patrón Costas , Castillo's hand-picked successor, who was the principal landowner in Salta Province , as well as

9765-511: The war's beneficial effects on both the quantity and price of Argentine exports had combined to create a US$ 1.7 billion cumulative surplus during those years. In his first two years in office, Perón nationalized the Central Bank and paid off its billion-dollar debt to the Bank of England ; nationalized the railways (mostly owned by British and French companies), merchant marine , universities, public utilities, public transport (then, mostly tramways); and, probably most significantly, created

9870-688: The workers' movement, to strengthen the unions, and to transform the Department of Labour into a more significant government office. Perón had the Department of Labour elevated to a cabinet-level secretariat in November 1943. Following the devastating January 1944 San Juan earthquake , which claimed over 10,000 lives and leveled the Andes range city, Perón became nationally prominent in relief efforts. Junta leader Pedro Ramírez entrusted fundraising efforts to him, and Perón marshaled celebrities from Argentina's large film industry and other public figures. For months,

9975-569: The world. Perón modernized the Argentine Armed Forces , particularly its Air Force . Between 1947 and 1950, Argentina manufactured two advanced jet aircraft: Pulqui I (designed by the Argentine engineers Cardehilac, Morchio and Ricciardi with the French engineer Émile Dewoitine , condemned in France in absentia for collaborationism ), and Pulqui II , designed by German engineer Kurt Tank . In

10080-458: Was also made a universal right by the Workers' Bill of Rights enacted on 24 February 1947 (subsequently incorporated into the 1949 Constitution as Article 14-b), while social security was extended to virtually all members of the Argentine working class. From 1946 to 1951, the number of Argentinians covered by social security more than tripled, so that in 1951 more than 5 million people (70% of

10185-486: Was an Argentine lieutenant general, politician and statesman who served as the 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to his overthrow in 1955, and again as the 40th president from October 1973 to his death in July 1974. He is the only Argentine president elected three times, and holds the highest percentage of votes in clean elections with universal suffrage. Perón is the most important and controversial Argentine politician of

10290-466: Was because she was too young; but it was widely interpreted as an insult to the new First Lady. Evita was furious and moved against the society, effectively bringing it to an end in 1947. She then created her own foundation to replace it. ‘It is time,’ Evita declared, ‘for [real] social justice .’ On 8 July 1948 the María Eva Duarte de Perón Foundation was established. Its name was later changed to

10395-566: Was elected as vice president on his ticket and succeeded him as president upon his death in 1974. Political violence only intensified, and she was ousted in 1976 , followed by a period of even deadlier repression under the junta of Jorge Rafael Videla . Although they are still controversial figures, Juan and Eva Perón are nonetheless considered icons by the Peronists. The Peróns' followers praised their efforts to eliminate poverty and to dignify labour , while their detractors considered them demagogues and dictators. The Peróns gave their name to

10500-539: Was forced to borrow US$ 125 million from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to cover a number of private banks' debts to U.S. institutions, without which their insolvency would have become a central bank liability. Austerity and better harvests in 1950 helped finance a recovery in 1951; but inflation, having risen from 13% in 1948 to 31% in 1949, reached 50% in late 1951 before stabilizing, and a second, sharper recession soon followed. Workers' purchasing power, by 1952, had declined 20% from its 1948 high and GDP, having leapt by

10605-476: Was intolerant of both left-wing and conservative opposition. Though he used violence, Perón preferred to deprive the opposition of their access to media. Interior Minister Borlenghi administered El Laborista , the leading official news daily. Carlos Aloe, a personal friend of Evita's, oversaw an array of leisure magazines published by Editorial Haynes , which the Peronist Party bought a majority stake in. Through

10710-457: Was later commemorated as Loyalty Day . His paramour, Eva Duarte , became hugely popular after helping organize the demonstration; known as "Evita", she helped Perón gain support with labour and women's groups. She and Perón were married on 22 October. Perón's candidacy on the Labour Party ticket, announced the day after the 17 October 1945 mobilization, became a lightning rod that rallied an unusually diverse opposition against it. The majority of

10815-460: Was not exempt from the iron fist. In the 1946 elections for the post of Secretary General of the CGT resulted in telephone workers' union leader Luis Gay's victory over Perón's nominee, former retail workers' leader Ángel Borlenghi – both central figures in Perón's famed 17 October comeback. The president had Luis Gay expelled from the CGT three months later, and replaced him with José Espejo,

10920-456: Was short-lived. Following a lumbering recovery during 1933 to 1945, from 1946 to 1953 Argentina gained benefits from Perón's five-year plan . The GDP expanded by over a fourth during that brief boom, about as much as it had during the previous decade. Using roughly half the US$ 1.7 billion in reserves inherited from wartime surpluses for nationalizations, economic development agencies devoted most of

11025-481: Was supported by his second wife, Eva Duarte ("Evita"); they were immensely popular among the Argentine working class. Perón's government invested heavily in public works , expanded social welfare , and forced employers to improve working conditions. Trade unions grew rapidly with his support and women's suffrage was granted with Eva's influence. His government was also known to employ dictatorial tactics; several dissidents were fired, exiled, or arrested, and much of

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