Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that had formed in Perón's time had always resisted direction from the
CGT in Buenos Aires and nurtured a strong regional and grass-roots
identity. The young workers of the 1960s came around to Perón because
they saw themselves as disenfranchised by the anti-Peronist military. The
new generation of union leaders adopted the criticisms of the oligarchy
and foreign interests that they subscribed to Perón himself.
In 1966, when General Juan Carlos Onganía took power in a coup
d'etat, some workers were hopeful of a political alliance. Onganía had
been leader of the moderate faction of the military, which sought a
modus operandi with labor, thus some union bosses supported his
coup, thought they would regret it later. But Onganía and his new eco-
nomics minister decided on an antilabor policy of development, one
that attempted to impose—with force, if necessary—increasing worker
productivity while holding down wages. The new military government
devalued the peso, which raised the cost of living, and laid off workers
in the state industries to cut costs. Strikes were outlawed. In Córdoba,
Renault cut wages and laid off dissident workers. Onganía's repressive
policies provoked an explosive backlash among the autoworkers and
others in Córdoba.
Mounted police and demonstrators during the Cordobazo in May 1969
(Archivo Página 12)
