Perón, sinfonía del sentimiento

Juan Domingo Perón was elected Argentine president in 1946 and 1952. He was overthrown and exiled in 1955 by a military coup. The last years of Peron's government were oppressive and corrupt, and many Argentines (including the leaders of most political parties, the moneyed classes, most intellectuals and the Catholic Church) supported the coup. In the coming years Peron's followers were harshly repressed (firing squads included), many of his achievements were rolled back and the Peronist party was not allowed to participate in elections even with another candidate. The mere mention of the word "Perón" in public was illegal for a time, and could land you in jail.

The incompetence/malevolence/corruption of the governments that succeeded Perón (both "democratic" and military) gradually returned him some of his luster, and his achievements began to be remembered: workers' rights flourished in his regime, and there were initiatives to develop Argentine industry, to recover resources in the hands of foreign concerns (for instance the railway system, owned by the British) and to facilitate direct commerce and collaboration among Latin American countries. By 1969 Argentina slid into increasing anarchy; there were numerous guerrilla actions, some of them by the Montoneros and the Juventud Peronista (the Peronist left) and brutal counteractions by the military and the police. Many Argentines (among them the the politicians that applauded Perón's ouster) began to realize that there could be no solution to Argentina's problems until Perón was allowed to return and participate in elections. That happened in 1973, and Perón won by a large margin at the helm of his party, assuming the presidency on October 1973.

Alas, that solved nothing. Peron's entourage at the time included characters from unsavory to sinister like José López Rega, founder of the AAA = Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, a death squad­ that soon began targeting not only the left but moderate opposition. Peron envisaged for his third wife Isabel Martínez a role similar to that of his second, Eva Perón, "Evita", but Evita was a tough act to follow. Moreover, Perón was clearly not in control even of his own party, by then including discordant elements from extreme left to extreme right. In a notorious public speech on May 1974 Perón disowned and condemned his party's left. The consequence (intended or not) was to give a green light to the AAA, the police and the intelligence services to hunt down the Montoneros and other leftist organizations. After Perón's death on July 1, 1974, and especially after the military takeover in 1976 the Dirty War began in earnest; it targeted every kind of leftist or progressive, real or suspected, lasted until 1981 and cost thousands of dead and disappeared.

Leonardo Favio's documentary is one-sided to the point of propaganda. Perón's achievements in the period 1946-1955 are no longer controversial and justly celebrated in this film, but failures and errors are entirely omitted or minimized. The picture of the period 1955-1973, with Peron in exile and Peronism underground or in opposition to successive governments is mostly accurate, but there are essential omissions; Perón's contacts with extreme right-wing clandestine organizations such as the lodge Propaganda Due (P2) in Italy are not mentioned. The period between Peron's return and his death is given a superficial treatment, and Perón responsibility for the coming Dirty War is entirely glossed over. The film ends with his death.

I believe this documentary shows no new newsreel footage. When the voice-over is not supported by images the film uses crude drawings and equally crude animation; it would have been much more effective to use photos as background. I am not sure that watching this film (five hours!) is justified.

This write the living of the general Juan domingo and his journey to the electoral audience. This movie as many others related to the fanatics. Drawer some of the particulars controversial of the living dictator. The general was a fiel adorator of the mussolini facist academy and in did his first journey to the election goberment was troguht a power strike to a elected president. This moment represent the first historical decadence of the argentinian political history.

This documentary by Leonardo Favio is pretty good. Regrettably for foreign audiences is too long to watch it on a single night. The good part about it being long, is that is very enlightening. Explains a lot of facts that the people easily forgets. Not only tells us how Peron lived and what he did but also how Argentina stood up against the Super Powers, how did the commoners lived, our great achievements those years and the evil acts of Peron's rivals. Also explains and makes you understand the lives of the people surrounding him and perhaps why Argentineans are the way they are. The production doesn't have great effects and it might abuse on drawings, it also could be a little soggy. The facts enumeration is vast but doesn't make the viewer loose the idea cause is nicely chained. Favio is a known peronist, so this film can be charged with lack of objectivity. I find it truth full and that's why I don't recommend it for Gorillas.