Evening star., 1962-08-27

WIFI NtSl-llllS IildIl was O4lC
picture Of respectability. He is
one of the few intellectuals re-
manning in the Peronist move
ment, but he and his COM
panions currently hold the
reinS of power in it.
All We want is a left-of-
center solution within the
democratic order" he said over
tea and toast. BY "left-of-
center" he meant the kind of
welfare state which exists today
in Great Britain and Sweden.
I'VE have no intention of
running Peron for President or
any other office. We constantly
tell the military: give us le-
gality, give us a chance to COM
pete politically, and we will
handle Peron. He does not
want to return. He listens to
US"
What does Peron want? He
wants his name rehabilitated.
He does not want to go down in
history AS a bloody tyrant. He
wants a return to respectability
. and-that is what we want
too"
Next came a list of reasons
why PeroniSm today is no
longer a threat to genuine
democracy. First, everyone in
side and outside the movement
knows the military will never
permit re-establishment of a
PeroniSt dictatorship.
I'VE are too closely watched
by the army and police to do
anything really revolutionary, "
he said.
Second, the system of pro-
portional representation re-
Gently announced for congress
sional and presidential elec-
tions next year works against
the mass PeroniSt movement.
Majority Lacking
Our vote is concentrated
Even in the last elections we
received only 80 per cent OF
the vote. Say that figure rises
even to 40 per cent in the next
election" he continued. I'VE
still would not have a major
ity, and the other parties coulo
form a coalition against US"
/ He thought for a moment, as
if searching for ultimate proof
of how sincere this moderation
is.
I'VE would even be prepared
to support a general for pres
ident," he said, providing only
that he gives US legality"
The catch in all this reason
ableness comes in the contrast
between private image anc
public image the Peronist lieu
tenants give themselves.
. Says one experienced United
States diplomat: "Of course
these leaders talk sense in pri-
vate-to us and to everyone
else. But in the end the differ
ence between a 'hard-line
Peronist and a 'soft-line' Per.
onist is purely academic. Ir
public they all shout about the
glories of returning to the
Peronist state"
Herein lies the great tragedy
of preSent-day Peronism: Its
innate hypocrisy. Without the
myth Of Peron and all his old
symbols, his successors lose
their appeal to local leaders
like Geronimo Izetta and his
workers. And without mass sup
port, the Peronist lieutenants
lose their only claim to power
AT the beginning Of the last
election campaign we tried
playing down Peron," explained
the intellectual leader. But al
mass meetings people began
shouting 'Peron', Peron'
'Peron'."
He waved his arms in the
crowded cafe to emphasize the
mystique of the name.
What could we do-disowr
the man they supported?"
Yet it is exactly this failure
to disown publicly the man ant
his methods which makes tn,
: military and their conservative
civilian supporters determined
that no one bearing the Peron
: iSt label shall ever again hav
r public office in Argentina.
> These admirals and general
: fear not only for their careers
r but also for their lives, shoull
: their Peronist antagonists re
( turn to power.
> Radical TakeOver
4