Peronism came to put an end to the effects of an infamous decade – the era that started in 1930 with the oligarchic military dictatorship that overthrew Irigoyen; the years of national corruption, soup kitchens, ignominious frauds and assassins paid by the committee. A time when Argentinian politics were managed between the British embassy and the army. A shameless handover of the national wealth. ibid.
Peronism displaced oligarchy and imperialism from positions of power. ibid.
He was the embodiment of a popular force. ibid.
The central bank is nationalized as are railways, gas, telephones. ibid.
Oligarchic economic power remained the same. The old regime’s institutions were not substantially modified. ibid.
In 1955 the National Front finally divided itself completely. The church, some sections of the army, and the whole of the bourgeoisie surrendered to the oligarchy and became an enemy of the revolution. ibid.
Peron resigned the presidency. The people took to the streets again. ibid.
Peron was isolated by a servile bureaucracy. ibid.
The army removed Peron from power … Peronism went down without a fight. ibid.
The Congress will be dissolved. Peronism will be persecuted and there will be a ban. ibid.
150,000 trade union leaders will be suspended. Tens of thousands will be arrested. ibid.
At the time of Peron’s fall there was no national debt. 10 years later the national debt reached 6 billion dollars. The IMF will start to influence national economic policy. The economy will start a de-nationalization process … the violent decade was about the start. ibid.
September 1955: We moved towards the bridge and started to shout, ‘Mayo Square! Mayo Square!’ As if we wanted to revive 17th October 1945. And we arrived at the bridge but the army was already there. On seeing the soldiers the people stopped. And the army began to shoot. ibid. textiles trade unionist
Often we even organised the resistance while in prison. ibid. trade unionist
After the 1955 coup d’etat the country seems to have been occupied by an invading army. ibid.
In the underground the proletariat organise the first few strikes … many national militants were shot. ibid.
The promotion of private free enterprise, and an open door for foreign capital, privatization of national enterprises, liquidation and removal of small industry, subjection to the International Monetary Fund, and a repression of the people. ibid.
In 1959 the fight for popular power became extremely violent. ibid.
The most important of these demonstrations – the occupation of the factories. ibid.
I’m travelling the length of the Americas starting at the top and heading to the toe … through North and Central America. It’s a journey of 5,000 miles through some of the biggest landscapes on Earth: it’ll take me to places of myth and wonder. The Americas with Simon Reeve, BBC 2019
I’m in a remote corner of Venezuela. I’m travelling the length of the Americas. The two continents put together form more than a quarter of the Earth’s land surface. Simon Reeve’s South America I, BBC 2022
Venezuela: Perhaps the most troubled country in South America. It’s said to have experienced the single largest economic collapse outside war in decades. ibid.
Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves of any country on Earth. ibid.
Almost a fifth of the world’s tropical rain forest is in the Guiana Shield. Along with a staggering 20% of the world’s fresh water. ibid.
Suriname: This used to be a Dutch colony. They still speak Dutch here. ibid.
Suriname is still 90% forest. That’s the highest rate in the world. ibid.
The Amazon: The greatest rainforest on planet Earth … The first new cases of what we now call Covid has just been reported in Brazil … 300 indigenous tribe still live in Brazil’s forest. Simon Reeve’s South America II
Now the Amazon is being destroyed at the fastest rate for fifteen years. ibid.
The Andes Mountains: In this part of my journey, I’ll be up at altitude with the people of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. Simon Reeve’s South America III
Peru is really a continent in a country. It has some of the highest, driest, wettest, and most inhospitable terrain on the planet. ibid.
It’s like the largest most perfect ice-skating rink you can possibly imagine … Four thousand square miles of salt flats. It was in southern Bolivia. Simon Reeve’s South America IV
Brazil: Where huge areas of wilderness have been turned over to farming … When it comes to farming, Brazil is a global superpower. ibid.
From the time the first Europeans came to the Americas, the indigenous people have suffered: slavery, disease, exploitation. In many areas they have not been fully integrated. ibid.
The driest desert on planet Earth: the Atacama … 40,000 square miles of sand, red rock and arid mountain. Simon Reeve’s South America V
Atacama desert: A mountain of used discarded clothes … Each year … sixty thousand tons of clothes have been dumped illegally … Millions of pieces are dumped here. ibid.
At the southern tip of South America the Andes mountains rise almost vertically. Their very height affects life throughout the continent. The barren slopes look inhospitable. But like all parts of South America they are actually rich with wildlife. A family of Puma. They live further south than any kind of cat on Earth. David Attenborough, Seven Worlds, One Planet III: South America, BBC 2019
Here on the coast of Peru there are so many seabirds fishing in the offshore waters that the cliffs are covered in droppings over a metre thick. ibid.
The Andean bear: only a few thousand remain. They eat mostly leaves and fruit. ibid.
A few patches of forest still remain. One in Colombia is the home of one of the world’s rarest monkeys: cotton-topped tamarins. They are critically endangered. They live largely on fruit and are particularly fond of tree sap: this is packed with sugars, so it also attracts insects. ibid.
Once fledged, these young [parrots] will follow their parents for up to a year learning where to find the salts. ibid.
Anacondas are the largest of all snakes. They grow to over 200 kilos. And they usually stalk their prey from the water. ibid.