The Hemisphere: Knife at the Belly

For months, meat has been getting scarcer and prices higher in the Great Republic of Beef. Last week grumbling had grown too loud to be ignored any longer. With a great show of surprised innocence, Juan Perón burst into speech. He had no idea of what was going on, said he, until his labor leaders (all handpicked) had told him. "The workers have put a knife against my belly—and they are fully justified." Who was to blame? Not Perón or the labor leaders, of course, but cattle barons and butchers.

Said Perón: "The economic...