In nearly every account of modern Argentine history, the first Peronist regime (1946–55) emerges as the critical juncture. Appealing to growing masses of industrial workers, Juan Perón built a powerful populist movement that transformed economic and political structures, promulgated new conceptions and representations of the nation, and deeply polarized the Argentine populace. Yet until now, most scholarship on Peronism has been constrained by a narrow, top-down perspective. Inspired by the pioneering work of the historian Daniel James and new approaches to Latin American cultural history, scholars have recently begun to rewrite the history of mid-twentieth-century Argentina. The New Cultural History of Peronism brings together the best of this important new scholarship. Situating Peronism within the broad arc of twentieth-century Argentine cultural change, the contributors focus on the interplay of cultural traditions, official policies, commercial imperatives, and popular perceptions. They describe how the Perón regime’s rhetoric and representations helped to produce new ideas of national and collective identity. At the same time, they show how Argentines pursued their interests through their engagement with the Peronist project, and, in so doing, pushed the regime in new directions. While the volume’s emphasis is on the first Perón presidency, one contributor explores the origins of the regime and two others consider Peronism’s transformations in subsequent years. The essays address topics including mass culture and melodrama, folk music, pageants, social respectability, architecture, and the intense emotional investment inspired by Peronism. They examine the experiences of women, indigenous groups, middle-class anti-Peronists, internal migrants, academics, and workers. By illuminating the connections between the state and popular consciousness, The New Cultural History of Peronism exposes the contradictions and ambivalences that have characterized Argentine populism. Contributors: Anahi Ballent, Oscar Chamosa, María Damilakou, Eduardo Elena, Matthew B. Karush, Diana Lenton, Mirta Zaida Lobato, Natalia Milanesio, Mariano Ben Plotkin, César Seveso, Lizel Tornay

Concerned primarily with the formation of political culture, Plotkin (Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, Argentina) explores the mechanisms of political consent (both active and passive) used by the authoritarian regime of Juan Domingo Peron to maintain and extend its power. Peronist political imagery and the institutional framework that supported the creation of the "symbolic apparatus" are examined. Going beyond traditional explanations that have concentrated on Peron's support among the organized working class, Plotkin looks into his mobilization of marginal sectors of the population (non-unionized workers, women, and the poor). Translated from the 1993 Spanish- language work. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Populism has been one of the most important phenomena in the political and social history of Latin America. In the Shadow of Perón challenges several commonly held assumptions about the nature of populism and the relations between the charismatic leader and the popular masses. Devoted to the second line of Peronist leadership in Argentina from the 1940s onwards, it focuses on the figure of Juan Atilio Bramuglia, who tried to offer an alternative path for the movement. The volume stresses the heterogeneous nature of Peronism and traces the various ideological sources of its doctrine. It also analyzes Perón's machinations in order to maintain his leadership and eliminate any opposition within the movement.