Word: isabell
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Chance Encounter. In her months in office, Isabel proved to have little more political acumen than a cabaret dancer-which is what she was in 1956, when she had a chance encounter in Panama with Juan Perón, then freshly ousted by a coup after nine turbulent years as Argentina's President. She became his companion in luxurious exile in Madrid, married him in 1961 (she was 30, he was 66) and returned to Argentina with him in 1973. In that year she agreed to run for the vice presidency when he urged her to join...
...small clique of inept and often corrupt advisers. Among them was Astrologer-Mystic José López Rega, a kind of Pampas Rasputin whose power antagonized the military and whose conservative economic ideas upset labor. After popular demonstrations forced López Rega to quit last July, Isabel became a near recluse. At her infrequent public appearances, she was visibly nervous, often tearful and sometimes nearly hysterical. Last fall, claiming failing health, she took a leave to retreat to the hills of Córdoba to regain her strength. Many Argentines felt-and hoped-that she would resign...
Meanwhile, the country staggered from one crisis to another. To finance rising deficits, the government printed pesos at a lightning pace, and prices rose almost daily. Dissatisfied workers paralyzed industry with strikes, and terrorist killings and kidnapings mounted. Isabel's reflex response to each crisis was a Cabinet shuffle. In 20 months, she had six Economy Ministers, six Interior Ministers and four Foreign Ministers. Because she could not lead the Peronist movement she inherited, left and far-right factions fell into open warfare...
...bone) will probably appoint a civilian Economy Minister who favors business and a Foreign Minister who supports strong ties with the U.S. For the moment, his main concern seems to be to avoid the kind of Chilean-style repression that might anger world opinion and frighten away foreign investors. Isabel herself may be allowed to fly into exile, probably to Spain; if she does stand trial, it is likely to be for a relatively minor offense, such as misuse of public funds...
...Isabel's successors surely recognize that if they are to check inflation, get the farms and factories humming again and increase foreign earnings, the painful sacrifice of economic austerity will be required from nearly all Argentines. Not only will this strain the military's popularity, but it might also eventually forge a potentially explosive alliance between the violent left and hard-pressed workers. Yet unless Videla and his colleagues are ready to deal forcefully with Argentina's economic mess and restore public order, they cannot hope to do much better than the hapless former dancer they finally...