Juan Peron Social Justice Analysis

This investigation will seek to answer the question “To what extent was Juan Perón able to achieve social justice in Argentina from 1946 to 1955?” Social justice is part of the foundation of Peronism, which is the ideology associated with Perón. Social justice is about equality between the Argentine classes; wealth and privileges must be allocated to all the groups of Argentina. This investigation will analyze the methods by which Perón attempted to achieve social justice and the efficacy of those methods. The efficacy will be measured by evaluating the impact of each method on the members of society.
Both primary and secondary sources have been used in this investigation in order to evaluate the opinions of the time, as well as objectively
Peronism is centered on the idea of there only being one class of Argentines, a class that works towards the betterment of Argentina1. In a speech given in Buenos Aires on August 20, 1948, Perón said that the good Argentines are differentiated from the bad solely based on their contribution to society, regardless of their personal background2. This doctrine was also the first to directly involve the working class in the government. Peronism is comprised of three key beliefs: economic independence, political sovereignty, and social justice. While all three are related, social justice is the true foundation upon which lie the other two beliefs. Social justice refers to equality between all members of society, particularly economic
Two years prior to becoming president in 1945, Juan Perón began to consolidate his power beginning with the National Labor Department. This department was intended to enforce regulations and also to collect statistics pertaining to labor7. However, this organization lacked power and thus did not help the workers. Perón reformed the department and made it the Secretariat for Labor and Social Welfare, declaring that “the era of Argentine Social policy” began following the creation of this organization8. Perón provided “social security […] to the farthest fringes of labor” who previously never received any benefits from the state9. The labor laws enacted by Perón provided workers with paid vacations and holidays, retirement benefits, and health insurance10. Prior to Perón, these benefits were available to only the bourgeoisie, not the majority of the working class. Now, since more workers had these benefits, the wealth disparity between Argentine classes was reduced and consequently social justice increased. This allowed Perón to gain the respect of the workers which he helped. Some argue that Perón helped the workers not for their benefit, but rather for their political support. While it may seem that social justice was solely a means to an end for Perón, it does not change the fact that the workers did indeed profit from Perón’s labor reforms that reduced the gap between the workers and the land