''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') was the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
that ended the second
presidential term of
Juan Perón in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
, on 16 September 1955.
Background
President Perón was first elected in 1946. In 1949,
a constitutional amendment sponsored by Peronism introduced a number of workers'
rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
and the possibility of presidential reelection. The
legitimacy
Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to:
* Legitimacy (criminal law)
* Legitimacy (family law)
* Legitimacy (political)
See also
* Bastard (law of England and Wales)
* Illegitimacy in fiction
* Legit (d ...
of the new constitution is still controversial.
Perón
was reelected in 1951. At the time, his administration was widely supported by the
labor unions, the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
.
However, economic problems, some of the government's policies, and Perón's own
personality cult changed this situation. The opposition criticized Perón because of his treatment of dissidents. (Writers, artists, politicians and other intellectuals were harassed and sometimes were forced into exile.) The
government's relationship with the Catholic Church also worsened. As the Church increasingly distanced itself from Perón, the government, which had first respected the Church's privileges, now took them away in a distinctly confrontational fashion. By 1954, the Catholic clergy was openly anti-Peronist, which also influenced some factions of the military. Meanwhile, a
Christian Democratic Party was founded in 1954 after several other organisations had been active promoting
Christian democracy in Argentina.
By 1955, Perón had lost the support of a large part of the military, who conspired with other political actors (members of the
Radical Civic Union and the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...
, as well as conservative groups). There was turmoil in different parts of the country. On 14 June, Catholic bishops spoke against Perón during a
Corpus Christi procession which turned into an anti-government
demonstration.
Military uprising
First coup attempt
On 16 June 1955, 30
Argentine Navy and
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
aircraft
bombed Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires' main square, killing over 300 civilians and wounding hundreds more. The attack remains to this day the largest aerial bombing ever executed on the Argentine mainland. The bombing targeted the adjacent
Casa Rosada, the official seat of government, as a large crowd was gathered there expressing support for president
Juan Perón. The strike took place during a day of official public demonstrations to condemn the burning of a
national flag allegedly carried out by detractors of Perón during the recent
procession of
Corpus Christi.
In retaliation, extremist Peronist groups attacked and burned several churches that night, allegedly instigated by Vice-President
Alberto Teisaire
Alberto Teisaire (20 May 1891 – 11 September 1963) was an Argentine naval officer and Vice President of Argentina.
Life and times
Early life and Navy career
Alberto Teisaire was born in 1891 to Clementina Cejas and Eduardo Teisaire, in M ...
.
The only important political support for Perón came from the
General Confederation of Labour (the main confederation of labor unions), which called the workers to defend the president. Perón addressed a workers' demonstration on 31 August.
September uprising
On 16 September, a new uprising, led by General
Eduardo Lonardi, General
Pedro E. Aramburu and Admiral
Isaac Rojas
Isaac Francisco Rojas Madariaga (December 3, 1906 – April 13, 1993) was an Argentine Admiral of the Navy and de facto Vice President of Argentina. He joined the Argentine Navy and had an unremarkable career until the 1946 election of Juan Perón ...
, deposed Perón and established a provisional government. For several days, there was some fighting in places like the city of
Córdoba (Lonardi's central command), the
Puerto Belgrano
Port Belgrano Naval Base ( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires. It is named after the brigantine ''General Bel ...
Naval Base near
Bahía Blanca, another naval base at
Río Santiago, near
La Plata, and a
mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force).
As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...
regiment at
Curuzú Cuatiá, Corrientes Province. The rebellion in Corrientes, which was initially defeated, was led by
Pedro Eugenio Aramburu, who later became one of the main players of the future government. Two rebel
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...
s, that were enforcing the blockade of the
Río de la Plata, were strafed by loyalist aircraft and suffered some casualties. The port and the
army garrison at
Mar del Plata was subjected to naval bombardment on 19 September by the light cruiser
ARA ''9 de Julio'' and
several destroyers, while scattered skirmishes and air strikes took place elsewhere, including
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
itself.
After realizing that the country was on the brink of a
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
, Perón decided to avoid massive bloodshed and resigned as President, subsequently seeking
asylum in
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...
after taking shelter aboard the
''Paraguay'' gunboat.
On 23 September, Lonardi assumed the presidency and gave a conciliatory speech from the balcony of the
Casa Rosada, saying that there would be "neither victors nor vanquished" (''ni vencedores ni vencidos'', replaying a phrase uttered by
Urquiza when he was victorious over
Rosas at the
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros ( es, Batalla de Caseros) was fought near the town of El Palomar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas and the Grand Army (''Ejército G ...
). General Lonardi promised that the interim administration would end as soon as the country was "reorganized". His conciliatory tone earned him the opposition of hard-liners, and in November an internal coup deposed Lonardi and placed General Aramburu in the presidency, giving rise to a wild "anti-Peronism".
Aftermath
After the ''Revolución Libertadora'', Perón and his followers were accused of treason, and
Eva Perón's remains were moved secretly to Italy and buried in a graveyard at
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
under a fake identity. Public references to Perón or his late wife, including songs, writings and pictures, were forbidden. Even sportsmen like
Delfo Cabrera
Delfo Cabrera Gómez (April 2, 1919 – August 2, 1981) was an Argentine athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in one of the most dramatic finishes in athletics history.
Biography
Born in Armstrong, Santa Fe Prov ...
,
Mary Terán de Weiss, many of the major basketball players, as well as Olympic-level athlete,
Osvaldo Suárez
Osvaldo Roberto Suárez (March 17, 1934 in Wilde – 16 February 2018) was a long-distance runner from Argentina who won four gold medals at the Pan American Games. He was punished by the ''Revolución Libertadora'' (''The Liberating Revolution' ...
, were unfairly punished, by being accused of having gotten their sports success only because they were Perón followers.
The
Peronist Party
The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism.
Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...
suffered a proscription that was to last until Perón's return in
1973, even though Perón influenced the results of the
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
and
1963 elections from his
exile in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
.
References
Bibliography
Online Sources
* ''Peronismo''.
* ''Historia Argentina: Los gobiernos de Perón''.
* ''Sucesos Históricos Argentinos''.
* ''Civiles y militares de 1955 a 1983''.
*
''La Revolución Libertadora en Internet''
*
16 de septiembre de 1955 – Golpe autodenominado “Revolución Libertadora”
Further reading
* Potash, Robert A. (1980) ''The Army and Politics in Argentina, 1945–1962: Peron to Frondizi'' Stanford, California: Stanford University Press,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolucion Libertadora
1950s coups d'état and coup attempts
1955 in Argentina
1956 in Argentina
1957 in Argentina
1958 in Argentina
Anti-Peronism
Conflicts in 1955
History of Argentina (1955–1973)
July 1955 events in South America
June 1955 events in South America
August 1955 events in South America
September 1955 events in South America
Military coups in Argentina
Military dictatorships
Revolutions in Argentina
Counter-revolutionaries