Catholicism and Politics in Argentina, 1810–1960

282 Pages·1995·72.72 MB·English

by  Austen Ivereigh (auth.)

CATHOLICISM AND POLITICS IN ARGENTINA, 1810-1960
Catholicism and
Politics in Argentina
1810-1960
Austen Ivereigh
M
in association with
St. Martin's Press Palgrave Macmillan
© Austen Ivereigh 1995
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First published in Great Britain 1995 by
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ISBN 978-0-333-62670-2
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04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 95
First published in the United States of America 1995 by
Scholarly and Reference Division,
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-1-349-13620-9 ISBN 978-1-349-13618-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-13618-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ivereigh, Austen.
Catholicism and politics in Argentina, 1810--1960 I Austen
Ivereigh.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-349-13620-9
I. Catholic Church-Argentina-History. 2. Church and state
-Argentina-History. 3. Christianity and politics-Argentina-
-History. 4. Argentina-Church history. I. Title.
BX 1462.2.193 1995
322'.1 '0982--{)c20 94--31880
CIP
To my parents
Contents
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgements x
Abbreviations xi
Glossary xiii
Introduction 1
PART I CHURCH, STATE AND SOCIETY IN
ARGENTINA,1810-1960
1 Scholasticism and Secularism, 1810-1920 39
1.1 From independence to the fall of Rosas, 1810-1852 39
1.2 Catholicism and Liberalism, 1860-1890 49
1.3 Social Catholicism and the Triangular Conflict,
1890-1920 63
2 The Catholic Revival, 19208-19505 73
2.1 Neoscholasticism 73
2.2 Ecclesiastical expansion 76
2.3 Argentine Catholicity 82
2.4 The discourse of integral Catholicism 84
2.5 Social Catholicism before Peron 91
PART n THE CATHOLIC MOVEMENT IN
ARGENTINE POLITICS, 1930-1960
3 Catholicism and Nationalism, 1930-1939 103
3.1 The coup of 1930 103
3.2 The liberal-conservative restoration 106
3.3 Catholic political alienation 112
3.4 The Spanish Civil War and the refutation of Maritain 119
vii
viii Contents
4 War, Crisis and Military Intervention, 1939-1944 123
4.1 The question of neutrality 123
4.2 The liberal decline 129
4.3 Integral Catholicism on the eve of the coup 132
4.4 Catholics and the June Revolution 136
5 Catholicism and Peronism, 1945-1954 143
5.1 Scholasticism in Peronist discourse 143
5.2 The secular-theocratic impulse 153
5.3 The bifurcation of Catholicism and Peronism 162
5.4 Prelude to conflict: the Church campaign 168
6 Eccksia contra Peronum, 1954-1955 175
7 Secularism Revisited, 1955-1960 183
7.1 The 'Catholic' Libertadora, September-November
1955 183
7.2 The 'Liberal' Libertadora, 1955-1958 189
7.3 The University Autonomy Issue 192
7.4 Catholicism and Frondizi 194
7.5 Epilogue 200
Conclusion 203
Appendix I Argentine Catholicity in Figures 213
Appendix II Text of Catholic Action's first flyer of leaflet
campaign, 1936 219
Notes and References 221
Bibliography 251
Index 269
List of Tables
2.1 Unionised workers in 1941: non-Catholic/Catholic 95
3.1 Showing composition of Chamber of Deputies,
1930--1942 107
5.1 Results of the presidential election of 1946 in Buenos
Aires province: percentages by party/coalition 146
1.1 Number and size of dioceses in relation to population
growth, 1859-1934 213
1.2 Population in 1910 classified by religious belief and
nationality 213
1.3 Showing growth in membership of Catholic Action,
1933-1950 214
1.4 Showing relation of population to no. of dioceses,
1933-1961 215
1.5 Showing religious self-identification of Argentines,
1895-1947 215
1.6 Comparison of the number of pupils in postprimary and
secondary education whose parents opted in 1944 for
non-Catholic morality classes; by province, in order of
state school population 216
1.7 Numbers opting for sacramental marriage subsequent to
obligatory civil ceremony, Buenos Aires, 1926-1946 217
IX
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the Economic and Social Research Council for the
funding on which this research is based, and to the Interfaculty
Committee for Latin-American Studies at Oxford for contributions to
research expenses. Malcolm Deas supervised me with wit and geniality;
the staff of St. Antony's College and the Latin-American Centre
provided a friendly environment for study. Richard Mason at the
Bodleian was unfailing.
In Buenos Aires, the board and staff of the periodical Criterio, and
especially Elena Kiyamu, were endlessly accommodating, and I was
also assisted by librarians at the Instituto de Cultura Re1igiosa
Superior Femenina, the Biblioteca Nacional, the Jesuit Seminary at
San Miguel, as well as the Federacion de Asociaciones Catolicas de
Empleadas. There were many kind people at the offices of Argentine
Catholic Action, where Claudia Avila furnished me with insights into
the contemporary organization as well as transcripts of interviews. Sra.
Magdalena dell'Oro Maini de Ayerza trustingly permitted access to her
father's papers. Dr. Marcelo Montserrat allowed me to inspect
Monsignor Franceschi's personal dossier. Zachary Karabell of
Harvard University located important documents from State Depart
ment archives. I was also privileged to receive the assistance of a
number of colleagues, some of whom were protagonists in the history
that follows, some students of related issues, some both. Among many
generous and patient people, Drs. Floreal Forni, Jose Luis de Imaz,
Ricardo G. Parera, Emilio Mignone and Abelardo Soneira, were
gracious providers of documents, advice and introductions, while
Dr. Fortunato Mallimaci deserves a special mention for his hospitality,
generosity and endless encouragement, and for sharing insights,
documents, contacts, and interview transcripts from the Proyecto de
Historia Oral del Catolicismo Argentino. Roberto Bonamino,
Francisco Guido, Juan Gatti and Francisco Valsecchi were patient
interviewees. Martin Eayrs and Pedro Towers were as ever hospitable.
My brother furnished me with the technology indispensable to modem
writing. Parents were, as ever, supportive.
AUSTEN IVEREIGH
x
Abbreviations
AASF Asociacion Argentina del Sufragio Femenino (Argentine
Association for Female Suffrage)
ACA Accion Catolica Argentina (Argentine Catholic Action)
AJAC Asociacion de las Jovenes de la Accion Catolica (Catholic
Action Young Women's Association)
ALN Alianza Libertadora Nacionalista
AMAC Asociacion de Mujeres de la Accion Catolica (Catholic
Action Women's Association)
CCC Cursos de Cultura Catolica (Courses in Catholic Culture)
CCO Circulos Catolicos de Obreros (Catholic Workers' Circles)
CFCCP Centro Femenino de Cultura Civica y Politica (Female
Political and Civic Culture Centre)
CGT Confederacion General de Trabajo (Trades Union
Confederation)
DNT Departamento Nacional de Trabajo (National Labour
Department)
FACE Federacion de Asociaciones Catolicas de Empleadas
(Federation of Catholic Female Employees Associations)
FORJA Fuerza de Orientacion Radical de la Juventud Argentina
(Radical Party Argentine Youth Force)
GOU Grupo de Oficiales Unidos (United Army Officers' Group)
HAC Hombres de la Accion Catolica (Catholic Action Men's
Branch)
JAC Jovenes de la Accion Catolica (Catholic Action Young Men's
Branch)
JOC Juventud Catolica Obrera (Catholic Worker Youth)
LDC Liga Democrata Cristiana (Christian Democrat League)
LNR La Nueva Republica ('New Republic' periodical)
PAN Partido Autonomista Nacional (Liberal alliance)
PC Partido Comunista (Communist)
PDC Partido Democrata Cristiano (Christian Democrat)
PDN Partido Democrata Nacional (Conservative)
PDP Partido Democrata Progresista (Conservative)
PL Partido Laborista (Labour)
PS Partido Socialista (Socialist)
SJ Sociedad de Jesus (Jesuits)
xi