| Expulsion of Montoneros from Plaza de Mayo | |
|---|---|
Juan Domingo Perón during the speech against Montoneros |
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| Participants | Juan Perón Montoneros |
| Location | Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires |
| Date | May 1, 1974 |
| Result | Montoneros are expulsed from Peronism, and become a clandestine organization |
The expulsion of Montoneros from Plaza de Mayo was a key event of the third presidency of Juan Perón. It took place on May 1, 1974, during the celebrations of the International Workers' Day.[1]
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The Montoneros was a guerilla organization created by the early 1970s during the Argentine Revolution military dictatorship. President Juan Perón had been deposed in 1955 and peronism was proscript since then; Perón was living in Spain at the time. Local politics were influenced by the Cold War as well, and left-wings groups attempted to seize power, deposing the right-wing dictatorship. As a result, peronism and militant organizations worked together to topple it.[2]
Differences arise when they finally succedded, and de facto president Alejandro Lanusse called to elections, lifting the proscription over peronism. Héctor José Cámpora was elected president, but resigned shortly after, and Perón was elected president afterwards. Montoneros decreased their militant attacks after the calling to elections, but the non-peronist groups like the People's Revolutionary Army did not,[3] so they were outlawed. Montoneros were initially accepted within peronism, but to a very low degree. For instance, Perón refused to recognize top Montoneros personnel the informal military ranks they used within their organizations. Perón favored instead Labour unions and common peronist politicians.
Montoneros still thought that Perón was sympathetic to them, and that his reservations were caused by the people close to him, who would be malinforming him. Thus, they considered that they had to get rid of intermediaries, to have direct contact with Perón. This led to the muder of the union leader José Ignacio Rucci, close to Perón. But the consequence was not the expected, and Perón blamed them for it.[4]
The government organized a demonstration at the Plaza de Mayo on May 1, 1974, during the celebrations of the International Workers' Day. There were both members of Montoneros and the CGT union. Isabel Perón, wife of Juan Perón, was repeteadly insulted by the Montoneros, who preferred his second wife, the late Eva Perón. Perón forbid the use of partisan flags, but Montoneros cheated the prohibition: they hid their flags within their drums, and head to the plaza carrying national flags. Thus, the police allowed them to pass, and they later took and use the flags of Montoneros.[5]
When Perón showed up at the balcony of the Casa Rosada, he was enraged with the Montoneros, both for the murder of Rucci some months ago, and by the insults to his wife and the use of flags despite his instructions. Montoneros and syndicalists confronted demonstration songs. Perón started by praising the role of the syndicalists, which motivated stronger songs of rejection from Montoneros. Perón insisted in supporting the syndicalists for their twenty-years long fight during the peronist proscription, and contrasted them with "those stupids that scream".[6] Further songs from the Montoneros did not allow him to continue talking. Even more enraged by the interruption, he added that "...and now it happens that some callows, pretend to have more merits than those who fought during twenty years. For that reason, partners, I want to honor those organizations and those wise and prudent leaders who had kept their forces, and who saw their leaders murdered, still without the thundering punishment".[7] With this comment, Perón blamed Montoneros directly about the murder of Rucci. Montoneros, however, manifested that they were proud of Rucci's death, singing "Rucci, traitor, salutes to Vandor" (a song referencing Augusto Vandor, another unionist leader killed by militant organizations).[8]
At that point, Montoneros began to leave the plaza, with Perón still talking. Some newspapers of the time estimate that half of the people present left the plaza, others, that it was a third part. This umprecedented situation forced Perón to make a shorter speech, and end the demonstration earlier.[8]
After the demonstration, the formal relations between Montoneros and Peronism were definitely ended. Montoneros became a clandestine organization once more, and outlawed by the government a year later. José López Rega, secretary of Perón, organized the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance to fight against the militant groups.[9] Perón died of old age and Isabel Perón, who became president, signed the decree 261 designating Montoneros a subversive organization, and ordering their annihilation.[10] The National Reorganization Process deposed Isabel and continued the Dirty War against Montoneros, who were ultimately defeated.