Television preview – The Times, 26 October 1992

The "Other" Americas

by Peter Waymark

Ch 4

CHOICE

Argentina entered the 20th century as one of the world’s richest countries but is now among the poorest. The film links this economic failure to the inability to establish a cohesive national identity. The approach is historical, showing how a powerful landed elite, usually backed by the military, has jostled for supremacy with the urban working class. The biggest assertion of working class power came under Juan Peron, though after his death the landowners and military soon reasserted themselves. The decision to invade the Falklands is seen as an attempt to unite the country around a popular cause. Now President Menem is trying to square the circle, a former Peronist who has abandoned Peronist principles.

This even-handed survey maintains the standard of a thoughtful series.

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