Peronism (Spanish: Peronismo), or Justicialism (Spanish: Justicialismo), is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and programs associated with former President Juan Perón and his second wife, Spiritual Leader of the Nation of Argentina Eva Perón. Perón's party, the Partido Justicialista (which lives on to this day), derived its name from the Spanish words for "justice" (justicia) and "socialist" (socialista).
Peronism has been difficult to define according to traditional political classifications, and different periods as well as factions must be distinguished. Perón's admiration for Mussolini is well documented. Many scholars categorize Peronism as a fascist ideology.Carlos Fayt believes that Peronism was just "an Argentine implementation of Italian fascism".Hayes reaches conclusion that "the Peronist movement produced a form of fascism that was distinctively Latin American".However, some dispute this, inside and outside the Peronist movement, and compare it with Gaullism in France. Furthermore, the absence of Perón himself, who lived for 20 years in exile in Franquist Spain, is also an important key to understanding Peronism, as he could be invoked by all kinds of Argentine sectors opposed to the current state of affairs. The personality cult of Eva Perón, in particular, was fondly conserved, while at the contrary strongly despised by the "national bourgeoisie". Thus, by 1970, many groups from opposite sides of the political spectrum supported Perón, from the left-wing and Catholic Montoneros to the Fascist-leaning and strongly anti-Semitic Movimiento Nacionalista Tacuara, one of Argentina's first guerrilla movements. All in all, Perón was a pragmatic figure, and through the course of his long career his views would frequently change.
His ideology was marked by some constants, including:
- Strong centralized government, with authoritarian tendencies.
- Freedom from foreign influences.
- A third way approach to economics which purported to be neither socialist nor capitalist, but to incorporate elements of both in a corporativist manner.
- The combination of nationalism and social democracy
