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But a month ago the hand of Juan Perón was seen again. Argentina made a clever move. She asked the Pan American Union to call a conference of Hemisphere Foreign Ministers to hear and judge her case. Foreign Minister Orlando Peluffo offered to prove that, far from betraying her Hemisphere neighbors and helping their enemies, Argentina has complied with all the requirements of Hemisphere cooperation. But he made one proviso—the conference, if held, must not discuss Argentina's internal affairs.
How Fascist? But Foreign Minister Peluffo's proviso once again rubbed the sore spot in U.S.-Argentine relations—how Fascist is Argentina?
The prosecution could make out a case. The Government of Farrell and Perón was certainly not democratic. It acquired and held its power by military force. There had been no elections. Congress was closed down. Political parties had been driven underground. The press, though supposed to be free since last July, never attacked the Government. Labor unions had become stooges. The Communists had never been an important factor in Argentina, but many so-called Communists (mostly labor leaders) had been whisked away to unpleasant, distant prisons.
The defense could argue that these were the unfortunate commonplaces of old-fashioned Latin American dictatorships. Most of the characteristic stigmata of Fascism were missing. There was no official party. Anti-Semitism was less intensive than might be expected in a nation whose middle class had felt the competition of many refugee Jews.
There were spies and informers; civil servants might lose their jobs if they criticized the Government. But there was no glorification of brutality. Some Argentines might be afraid to talk politics with strangers, but many openly damned the Government up & down.
Moreover, the GOU Government had become less Fascist-flavored. Pro-Fascists were maneuvered from office by Perón. Now, the most important Cabinet members next to Perón were the Minister of the Interior, Admiral Alberto Tessaire, and Foreign Minister, General Orlando Peluffo. Neither has any perceptible Fascist taint.
Lately Perón had gradually done many of the things which the State Department demanded. He tightened up on Axis spies, kept closer watch on Axis nationals. He suppressed German-language newspapers, put German business houses under effective control, recognized the U.S. Black List. But, even if he had wanted to, he dared not move too fast toward reconciliation with the U.S. The extreme nationalists might do to him what he himself had done to Ramirez with their assistance. Perhaps to head off such a reaction, Perón had redoubled his efforts to build up a strong Argentine Army. Last week he even proposed to institute a health program for small children preparatory to conscription.
Argentina's demand for a hearing would probably be lost in a maze of diplomatic acrimony. Mexico had already denied her plea. Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela had consented—and had had their faces slapped by the U.S. State Department, which wants no open hearing. Many Latin diplomats believe that the system of inter-American consultation has been done to death; that the Good Neighbors were deeply divided, would split into fragments. In this sense, Perón had won again.