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Brennan, James P., ed. Peronism and Argentina. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, 1998. Tables, notes, bibliography, index, 236 pp.; hardcover $50.
It is more than 50 years since Juan Peron first came to power and approximately 25 years since his death, yet the political force he created is still a vital part of Argentine politics. Few attempts have been made, however, to examine the Peronist Party or movement as a whole, to see what has remained constant and what has changed with time and conditions. Numerous studies exist on certain aspects of Peronism-and plenty of lacunae are still left-but few try to see the whole picture. If an advanced student or colleague asked for a work to help grasp what Peronism was and is, few sources would be available.
This volume would be a good place to start. Although it wisely does not attempt to cover all topics, and concentrates instead on the intellectual debates about the nature of Peronism, the book does paint a good "big picture," and points interested readers in new directions. Some of the chapters, especially editor James Brennan's own article on the business classes' support of Peron, stand out as important contributions on their own.
An interesting feature of the book is that all the contributors except Brennan are Argentines. They have distinct points of view and do not always agree, but the studies are far from polemical. As several of the contributors point out, the political tensions produced by the very existence of Peronism have eased, and the new climate can be felt in the academic work.
The book begins with two chapters examining the intellectual debates on the nature of Peronism. Cristian Buchrucker looks at writings on...