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Last week, though, Perón shuffled somebody else out of circulation, and this time the move delighted his left wing. Perón told the ubiquitous López Rega, who also triples as Argentina's new Social Welfare Minister, to take a month's vacation from domestic politics and attend a nonaligned nations conference in Algeria. Temporarily at least Lopecito had been effectively removed from what the leftists derisively call Perón's "celestial court." The remaining members: Isabelita and Finance Minister José Gelbard. Of the courtiers, only Gelbard has spent more than a few weeks in Argentina since 1955; yet Peron has been listening and talking more to his "court" than to anybody else since returning from Madrid.
Economic Curbs. Gelbard, an aluminum tycoon who immigrated from Poland, is instituting Perón's economic policies, which so far include price controls and cutbacks as well as restrictions on foreign investment. U.S. business interests, with a total $1.3 billion in direct investment, are nervous about the curbs. But the U.S. Government, which opposed Perón's first election bid in 1946, has been treading softly this time. It has even leaked stories indicating its acceptance of him as the best hope for his country's stability.
How much Perón has changed remains to be seen. His puppet government has already announced press restrictions reminiscent of the censorship imposed during his first regime. More encouragingly, Perón has issued tough statements against terrorists. Yet the level of terrorism has actually risen since his return; the rate of kidnapings recently jumped from one every three days to two a day. Internecine labor violence is also increasing, and last week Peronist youths "occupied" the Botanical Gardens in Buenos Aires. Without offering any explanation, surly, self-appointed young "guards" prevented thousands of ordinary citizens from strolling the pathways.
The real test of whether Perón can restore stability to Argentina will not come until he officially takes over the reins of government. Speculation grew last week that he may yet ascend to the presidency without another election. His succession could be decided by the Peronist-controlled Congress, in which case Isabelita could conceivably be passed over for the vice presidency. Clearly, the new era of Perón has begun with more questions than answers. Yet it is a measure of the country's anguish that uncertainty can be a source of solace. "The only hopeful thing about the present situation," says an Argentine intellectual, "is that everything is unexpected."