Peronism

Peronism (Peronismo), also called Justicialism (Justicialismo), is a political movement of Argentina that originated in 1946, derived from the philosophy of Juan Domingo Peron and Evita Peron, the former president and first lady of Argentina. The Partido Justicialista, founded by Juan Peron, is populist in nature, focused on social justice and elimination of class divisions.

The Justicialist Party (PJ) is the official Peronist party in Argentina. Breakaway parties have formed since the early 1990s; in 2003 Nestor Kirchner was elected president of Argentina running as a member of one of these, the Front for Victory.

The "three flags" of Peronism include social justice, economic independence and political sovereignty. Through support of corporatism and rejection of capitalist and communist extremes, Peronism promotes the state position as negotiator of conflicts between classes, as defined as management versus workers.

Over time, Peronism has become more of a movement than a narrowly-defined political ideology, as various parties and leaders have embraced some parts of the original philosophy but rejected others. At present, Peronism is most often espoused by leftists, working class citizens and union members and is now considered mainly a proletarian school of thought.

Peron has been criticized as a populist, compared even to fascists, and opponents of Peronism dismiss it as authoritarian. Conservatives have rejected Peronism as a threat to their status, socialists consider Peronism as a means to maintain division of classes and liberals reject it because of their disapproval of Peron's administration itself as dictatorial.

Peronists view the philosophy as a positive manifestation of populism in that it allows the masses to have a voice in speaking out for their own interests. They view Peron's history as one of anti-imperialism and increased social justice for even the lowest strata of Argentina's people.

In Argentina's presidential elections since 1946, Peronist candidates have won the office of president in eight of ten elections in which they have run.