Working Politics: Juan Domingo Perón's Creation of Positive Social Identity

Author(s): Deborah L. Berhó

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Vol. 54, No. 2 (2000), pp. 65-76
Published by: Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association
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 WorkingPolitics:
JuanDomingoPer6n'sCreation
ofPositiveSocial Identity

DEBORAH
L. BERH6
GEORGE Fox UNIVERSITY

leadershavethepowerto createsocialchangethrough
theirdis-
Charismatic keyclaimsintheir1980
course.TwoofGeorgeLakoffandMarkJohnson's
publicationMetaphors WeLiveByarethat"Muchofculturalchangearisesfrom
theintroduction of new metaphorical conceptsand theloss ofold ones" (145)
and "whether in nationalpoliticsor in everyday interaction,peoplein powerget
to imposetheirmetaphors" (157, quoting Charlotte Linde). In the 1940s,Juan
DomingoPer6n,thecharismatic populistpresident ofArgentina, employedone
significant newmetaphor, is
"politics work," in hispoliticaldiscourse. This meta-
phorgavethepreviously disenfranchised workingclassa positiveidentity and at
thesametimeextendedopportunities forpoliticalparticipation. The socio-po-
liticalbackground is a necessary to
prelude understanding why thismetaphoris
so powerful, followedbya briefreviewofPer6nandhisriseto power,a summary
of pertinent literature on metaphorand politicaldiscourse,a detailingof the
methodology used,and finally, a look at theinstancesofPer6n'snewmetaphor,
"politicsis work."
JuanDomingo Per6n,presidentof Argentinafrom1946 to 1955, was the
leaderof dramaticpoliticaland social change.Thousandsof urbanworkers
thronged to hearhimspeakandshowtheirsupportofhim,whilethemiddleand
upper classes bitbacktheirdisgustorsecretly plottedto removehimfromoffice.
Eventoday,Argentines youngand old havean opinion,usuallyvehemently ex-
pressed, about Per6n.
In the 1930s and 1940s,overa millionpeoplemovedfromthepoorerprov-
incesofArgentina toBuenosAires,desperately seeking work.Therewaslittleroom
in propersocietyforthemigrants -
fromtheinterior theyworkedin "theworst-
paid and lowest-status jobs"(Andrews 210), oftenin thefactories and meat-pack-
ingplants.HistorianDanielJamesdescribes thisperiodas a timewhenthelives
oftheworkers werecompletely controlled the
by employer; fearofunemployment,

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Deborah L. Berh6

despairandcynicism wereprevalent (25-26).Whilethefactoryownerswerereap-

they
inggreatprofits, were notpassed on to the manyofwhomlivedin
workers,
miserableconditions."Asurvey of1937 found... that60% ofworkingclassfami-
in
liesintheCapitallived one room"(James8). In interviewsoftwoworkers from
thattimeperiod,Jamesreceived thefollowingcomments:"Welllifewasveryhard
backthen... working peopleweren'tworthanything andwe gotno respectfrom
thosewho controlled everything.You had to know yourplaceand keepin line"
and
One thingI remember
aboutthethirties
wasthewayyouweretreated.
Youfelt
haverights
youdidn't Another
toanything.... ... isthatI al-
I remember
thing
BuenosAires- likeyou
whenI wentto thecity,downtown
waysfeltstrange
didn't
belong which
there, wasstupid
butyoufeltthatthey
werelooking
down
onyou,thatyouweren't
dressed (29)
right.
Regarding thenormsofdressand neighborhood access,Jamesfurther notes,"Up
until1945 thePlaza [de Mayo] in frontofthepresidential palace had beenvery
muchtheterritory ofthegentedecente [decentpeople]andworkers whoventured
therewithoutjacketortiewerenotinfrequently movedon orevenarrested" (33).
The 1930sand early1940swerea periodofwidespread electoral fraudinAr-
gentina. According toJames,thecommonrefrain atelectiontimewas,"Youvoted,
nowgeton homequick"[Ya votaste, rajdpronto para tucasa](15). Partiesoppos-
ingthestatusquo hadlittlehopeofwinningthrough elections;theywererepeat-
The and
edlyrigged. wealthy powerful were "untouchable," althoughtheirscan-
dalousbehaviorwas reported regularly.Overall,theworkerofBuenosAireshad
littleeconomicand politicalpower,and no socialprestige whatsoever.
Hundredsof workshave beenwrittenaboutJuanDomingo Per6nand his
government. The perspectivesofArgentine and scholarselsewhere
literature vary
widely.In theU.S., Barager's earlyand widely-read workon Per6nis extremely
negativeand accuseshimoffascism.David Rock'sauthoritative historiesofAr-
gentinaaremorebalanced,butstillquitecritical ofPer6n.Morerecent worksthat
discussPer6n(Fraserand Navarro, also
James) present both and
positive negative
aspectsof theman and his government. One of thedifficulties in carrying out
research on thisperiodand on thePer6ns,as notedbyFraserand Navarro(x), is
thatmanysourcedocumentsareinaccessible.
Per6nwas from"an immigrantmiddle-classfamily"(Rock,Argentina...
Alfonsin 252). He wasa careermilitary officerwhowasstationed in theArgentine
provinces in the1930s and alsoin Italyfora periodof about two years,beginning
in 1939. He becameresponsible fortraining youngmilitary recruits,as Professor
ofMilitaryHistory(Fraserand Navarro37).

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 Working Politics: Juan Domingo Per6n's Creation of Positive Social Identity

Historiansdiffer in theirviewsof Per6n'smilitaryexperience and itsapplica-

tionto hisroleas president. According to Rock,he learnedtheropesof"thecom-
plex,devious,and secretive ofmilitary
recesses politics"(252) whichpresumably
servedhimlateras Secretary ofWarand thenPresident. ThosewhoaccusePer6n
ofbeinga fascist assertthathe becamefascinated byMussoliniduringhisstayin
Italy(Barager27). Fraser and Navarro see Per6n'smilitary experiencein a differ-
entlight:"Becauseofhiscontactswithrecruits, hisfirst-hand experienceofgarri-
son life,and his closeviewof ruralpoverty, he was able to grasptherealities of
Argentina (36). At anyrate,duringhisfirst presidency, Per6nwas strongly sup-
portedby the military, unusualin LatinAmerica for a leader who also had tre-
mendousworkingclasssupport.
Per6nwas a memberofan officers' groupthateffected a coup inJune1943 to
preventyetanotherpresident frombeingelectedfraudulently. Therewas some
shuffling this and
ofpositionsamong group, byFebruary 1944, General Edelmiro
Farrellbecamethe thirdpresidentof the militarygroup.Per6nsteppedinto
Farrell's
former positionas SecretaryofWar,and inJune1944 becameVicePresi-
dent.Rocknotes,
Asthefirst
half
of1944passed,itbecame
clear
thatFarrell
himself more
waslittle
thana figurehead,
thatthegovernment's
mostpowerful
figurewasFarrell's
aide,
ColonelJuanPer6n.Though Per6n a
remained somewhat shadowy he
figure,
wasquietly as
emerging the
most and adroit
imaginative, politically
energetic,
oftherevolutionary
leaders.
(252)
Per6nused his positionas Secretary ofWarto bolsterthemilitary. He also be-
cameinvolvedwithlaboraffairs and createdtheSecretariat forLaborand Social
Welfarein October1943. This agencywas builton a previousgovernment de-
partment, butPer6ngreatly expandeditsroleand his,as Secretary. Per6nbegan
interveningin strikes
and made decisionsthatfavored the workers. He developed
a hugefollowing among the rank and but
file, also created a union systemthat
his
wouldrespect leadership. He dealtonly with "those unions recognized byhis
as possessing
secretariat fulllegalstanding[personeria gremial].Bythismeanshe
isolatedthoseunionleadersopposedto dealing with him" (Rock254).
Factoryowners and other capitalinterests
did not easilyacceptPer6n'sdeci-
sionsthattookmoneyoutoftheirpocketsand putitin theworkers'. Theycom-
binedtheireffortswiththoseofU.S. Ambassador SpruilleBraden, to demand that
PresidentFarrellremovePer6nfromall government functions and jail him.In
September1945,a massivemarchbyopponentsto Per6nand Farrell was heldin
BuenosAires,and Farrellacquiescedto theirdemands.

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Deborah L. Berh6

The oppositiondid not immediately act to takeovertheentiregovernment

once Per6nwas removed.This gavePer6n'ssupporters timeto organize.Led by
hisintimate associates, including EvaDuarte,Per6n's soon-to-be wife,a seemingly
spontaneous march of thousands of workers burst into central BuenosAireson
October17, 1945. TheydemandedthatPer6nbe freedand returned to them.
This massiveshowofsupportforPer6neffected hisreleaseand return to gov-
ernmentalongsideFarrell.ElectionswereannouncedforFebruary1946, and
Per6n was the primarycandidate. He and his Vice-Presidential candidate
HortensioQuijano won theelectionswith54 percentofthevote,despitea last-
minutedefamation campaignbytheUnitedStates.Byall accounts,theelections
werefreefromthefraudandballotrigging thathadplaguedArgentine suffrage in
thepast.
Per6nand hiswifeEva madevastimprovements fortheworkingclassofAr-
gentina,bothin BuenosAiresand theprovinces. These improvements included
material benefitssuchas schools,hospitals, and roads;itemssuchas houses,beds,
medicine,and sewingmachineswereprovidedthroughtheEva Per6nFounda-
tion,paid for,in part,byforcedcontributions fromworkers. ButthePer6nsex-
tendedintangible benefits as well,whichwereperhapsmoreimportant thatgoods
and services.As previously indicated, the urban workers had a dismal life,many
futilely to
trying escape the harsh isolationand scarcityfound in theprovinces.
Theywerenotwell-received bythe"decentpeople"[gente decente]ofBuenosAires,
and quicklyreceivedderogatory nicknames suchas "littleblackheads"[cabecitas
negras],"shirtless ones" and
[descamisados], "greasers" [grasitas].The Per6nsex-
tendeddignity to theworkers, makingworkan honorableoccupationand creat-
inga powerful groupidentity. Daniel Jameswrites,"In an important sensethe
working class[of Argentina] was constituted by Per6n: itsself-identificationas a
socialand politicalforcewithinnationalsocietywas,in partat least,constructed
byPeronist politicaldiscourse"(38).
Per6n'sfirstpresidential periodendedin 1952,and he was re-elected to begin
a secondsix-year term,thendeposedin 1955, and laterreturned fromexilein
Spainto holdthepresidency againin the 1970s.The following focusesonlyon
thefirstpresidential period, 1946-1952.
One ofthekeysto Per6n'ssuccesswiththeworking classwasan extraordinary
abilityto communicate - to create visionand enthusiasm, to motivate followers.
His speeches,oftenmadefromthebalconyoftheCasa Rosada,wereenthusiasti-
callyreceivedbythousands. Historians havecommented on Per6n's styleofspeech,
usingphrases such as "direct and friendly,neither nor
hectoring condescending"

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 Working Politics: Juan Domingo Per6n's Creation of Positive Social Identity

(Fraserand Navarro34) and "theatricality, display, and charismatic authority ...

semanticlegerdemain" (Rock285-86).
We can assessthemeansused by Per6nto construct socialidentity, usinga
cognitiveapproachto examinehis use of metaphor, in particular as firstdevel-
oped by Lakoff and Johnson in 1980, and Lakoff and Turner in 1989. Modern
metaphor theory refutes theideathatmetaphors areunusualpoeticdevicesrather
thanpartofeveryday speech. Lakoff and hiscolleaguesfoundthatmetaphors were
presentregularly and in nearlyeveryrealmofspeechand thought. Accordingto
thisapproach,basedon thesheerpredominance ofmetaphors in humanspeech,
metaphoris a centralhumanwayof conceptualizing, used "unconsciously and
automatically ... for life"
understanding (Lakoff and Turner 5). Lakoff goes far
as
as to assertthat"Metaphoris themainmechanismthrough whichwe compre-
hendabstract and
concepts perform abstract reasoning" and that "Muchsubject
matter, fromthemostmundaneto themostabstruse scientific theories,can only
be comprehended via metaphor"("Contemporary of
Theory Metaphor"41).
In metaphor theory, metaphors are seen as a veryfrequent and commonway
to
ofreferringand understanding thing, one known as the "target domain"(often
an abstract concept) in terms of another (usuallysomething tangible),calledthe
"sourcedomain."
According to metaphor theory, an examination ofcommonplace metaphorical
expressions yieldsa groupofbasic,overarching metaphors thatareheldbymem-
bersofa givensociety.In theirbookMoreThanCoolReason,Lakoffand Turner
explorethemetaphorical expressions surrounding lifeand death.Theyobserve
thatin U.S. English,one findsexpressions suchas "We'vestillgota lotofground
to cover,""He's reallygoingplaces,""BabyJonescame intotheworldat 12:10
p.m.,""Mytimeto leavethisplaceis near,"etc.LakoffandTurnerthenasserted
thatcommon,basicmetaphors aboutlifeand deathinclude"lifeis a journey,"
"birthis arrival," and "deathis departure."
Each metaphorhas a set of correspondences, or mappingsfromthe source
domainto thetargetdomain.Forexample,the"lifeis a journey"metaphorre-
latestoourcommonexperience ofjourneys anda generalsetofexpectations about
themsuch as pointof departure, typeof transportation, a path,a destination,
a
perhaps guide or a map, and so on, that we take from the sourcedomainand
map onto lifein thefollowing ways:"The personleadinga lifeis a traveler; his
purposes aredestinations; the means for achieving purposes are routes;progress is
thedistancetraveled," etc. (3). This transfer of concreteto abstract allowsus to
betterunderstand abstract concepts.

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Deborah L. Berh6

Contemporary metaphor theory doesnotdiscardwhatweretraditionally con-

sidered"metaphors," butrather seesthemas novelextensions ofbasicmetaphors.
Forexample,in themetaphor "loveis a journey," commonlinguistic expressions
thatevidencethismetaphor might be "We're at a dead-end," "This relationship is
goingtoo fast,"and "We'regoingnowhere." A novelextension ofthismetaphor
is "We'redriving inthefastlaneon thefreeway oflove"("Contemporary" 8). This
typeofexpression "works" preciselybecauseitmakesuseofpossibleextensions of
thesourcedomain"journey" that, while not commonly used, are understandable
and applicableto thetargetdomain"love."
Linguistshaveremarked on theinteraction betweenlanguageand societyfor
at leastfifty
years.EdwardSapircommented, "Thoughlanguageis notordinarily
thought of as ofessential interestto students of socialscience,itpowerfully con-
ditionsallourthinking aboutsocialproblems andprocesses" (qtd.inMandelbaum
162). Sapir'sstudent, BenjaminWhorf, observed that"peopleactaboutsituations
in wayswhicharelikethewaystheytalkaboutthem"(148). Thesetwolinguists
cameunderattackfortheirideas:theassertion thatone'sworldview is shapedand
limitedbyone'slanguagewas noteasilyaccepted.
Metaphoris justone specificpartoflanguageand thoughtthataffects social
as
processes, proposed more generally bySapir and Whorf. If human understand-
ingis in largepartmetaphorical, thenmetaphor can be a powerful toolforcom-
municating, and
persuading, effecting change. Lakoff and Johnson werethefirst
to assertthatmetaphors "playa centralrolein theconstruction ofsocialand po-
liticalreality"(159).
Since Lakoffand Johnson's 1980 publication, severalstudiesrelating to lan-
guage,politics, and social change have been carried out (e.g., Howe; Lakoff,
"Metaphor and War"; Lakoff, MoralPolitics; Rohrer; Curry Jansen and Sabo;Van
Teeffelen; and Semino and Masci). These researchers focus on the use of meta-
phorsbypoliticians to communicate and effect socialchange.In general,thelit-
erature on politicaldiscourse andmetaphor as a subpartofthisdiscoursefallsinto
twogroups.Lakoffand othersassertthatnewmetaphors canconstruct newreal-
ity. Another proponent of thisview, Van Teeffelen, claims, "it has become com-
monknowledge in cognitive andculturalstudiesthatmetaphors do notonlyem-
bellisha preconstituted realityfor rhetorical purposes, but also contribute to the
construction and understanding ofsocialreality itself"(384).
Geis,Rohrer, and Semino and Masci,amongothers,arguethatwhilemeta-
phormaychangethefocusofpeople'sthinking, newmetaphors arequitehardto
introduce.Rohrerobserves,"Politicallanguagedoes not createpoliticalreality.
However, politicalinstitutions clearly legitimize someunderstandings ofpolitical

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 Working Politics: Juan Domingo Per6n's Creation of Positive Social Identity

whilemarginalizing
reality otherunderstandings" (179). He tempers Lakoffand
and VanTeeffelen's
Johnson's strongclaim,saying,"Although politicallanguage
andmetaphor do notbythemselves politicallanguageand
createpoliticalrealities,
metaphoricalreasoning constitute
do substantially ourunderstanding ofpolitical
and politicalevents"(179).
reality
Seminoand Masci arguethatnewmetaphors create"redflags"in thehearers'
minds,and thatold metaphors withslightchangesmaybe morepersuasive:
useofconventional
creative
Thispartly metaphors ... canbe an effective
wayof
one's
presenting own view of as
reality "natural"
and "common-sense" and of
the
reducing chancesthat
the audience willnotice
and challengethemetaphors
involved.
(245)
Thus we can see how Per6n,a veryarticulate and persuasive politician,created
and usedonlyone newmetaphor, "politicsis work,"to shapebothpoliticalreal-
ityand socialidentity.1
In orderto discoverifPer6ninsertednewmetaphors in Argentine discourse
we
and society, can examine metaphors found in Buenos Aires in
society theten
yearspriorto Per6n'ssuccession,comparing andcontrasting themwithmetaphors
usedbyPer6nin hisspeechesduringthefirst sixyearsofhispresidency. In fact,
Per6ncreatedand usedone entirely newmetaphor:"politicsis work."
Photocopiesof magazineand newspaperarticlesand Per6n'sspeecheswere
obtainedduringa researchtripto Argentina in February1997. For theperiod
1936-1946(thetenyearspriorto Per6n'sfirst presidency), twopublications were
examinedformetaphorical expressions. More than 63,000 words of text were
examinedfromCarasyCaretas(a popularArgentine magazinesimilarto theU.S.
publicationLife) from 1936 to 1939, when publicationended.Issuesfromthis
timeperiodwerechosenat randomfromthoseavailableforphotocopying at the
BibliotecaPtiblicaGeneralSan Martinin Mendoza,Argentina. Approximately
19,700wordsoftextofthenewspaper El Mundo,a nationaldaily,werealso ex-
amined.TheseweredrawnfromtheissuesavailableattheBibliotecadelCongreso
forthefirstMondayofthemonthfortheperiod1936-1946,specifically thefront
page and theeditorialpage. (The Monday issue was consideredto be the most
one).This led to theestablishment
significant ofthecommonmetaphors in cur-
rencypriorto Per6n'spresidency. The secondcorpus is basedon an analysisofsix
speechesmadebyJuanDomingoPer6nduringhisfirst sixyearsas President of
Argentina (1946-1952), a totalofapproximately 16,295 words of text.
Individualmetaphorical expressions were taken verbatimfromthetextsand
thengroupedintocategories ofmajormetaphors. Forthepopulartexts,a "major
metaphor" was considered to be one forwhichat leasttenindividualmetaphori-

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Deborah L. Berh6

werefound,an arbitrary
cal references cut-off point.BecausethecorpusforPer6n's
speecheswas so much smaller,five metaphorical werethecut-off
expressions point
to be considereda "majormetaphor."
Upon comparingthesesetsofdata,it becameevidentthatPer6nintroduced
onlyone entirelynewmetaphor toArgentine societythrough hisspeeches.There
weremanycurrent metaphors he did not use, and many he I focusonly
altered.
on hisnewmetaphor, "politicsis work,"a structural metaphor. Structural
meta-
phorsprovideunderstanding of one concept in termsof another,oftenveryfa-
miliar,experience.This was especially appealingto thelargeworking-class con-
stituencyof Buenos as
Aires, they could all identifywithwork. The entailments
foundin the19 metaphorical expressions include products,wages,and employ-
ees, and specifictypes of work. Words indicatingproductionare "product"
"tocreate,to work"[labrar],and "tobuild"[elaborar].2
[producto],
1El bienestar,
la abundancia,y azlnlafelicidad noesobradeungobierno
delpueblo,
dela accidndelpueblo
... sinoelproducto mismo. abundance,
[Thewell-being, and
eventhehappiness ofthepeoplearenottheworkofthegovernment ... butthe
productoftheactionofthepeoplethemselves.] (18/2/52,
8)
2 ... la rentadelpals esproductodel trabajo... [... the country'sprofitsare the
productof work ...] (1/5/52,57)
3 ... haberlabradola grandezade la Patria. [... forhavingcreatedthe greatness
ofthefatherland.]
(17/10/46,
5)
4 ... en lasfdbricasque elaboranla riquezade la Patria. [... in the factoriesthat
buildthewealthoftheFatherland.]
(1/5/52,57)
The productsin theseexamplesarebothmonetary and intangible items,all for
thebenefitofArgentina or Argentines. The expressionsrelateto thetargetdo-
main"politics"becausepoliticiansareexpectedto createall theproductsmen-
tioned:well-being,abundance,happinessof thepeople,a soundeconomy,and
of
greatness theFatherland.
The politicalbenefitof rightsis expressedas wages,something"earned"
[ganado]through work:
5 Nogananelderecho a lafelicidad. tohappiness.]
[Theydon'tearntheright (18/
2/52,8)
6 ... despues
dehaberseganadoesederecho sinmedirlossacrificios,
trabajando, por
la grandezadela Patria.[... after
havingearnedthatrightbyworking, without
measuring forthegreatness
sacrifices, oftheFatherland.]
(1/5/52,12)
Insteadofreferring to moneyas wages,Per6nmakesmoneyan "employee." He
couldhaveusedotherverbsin thefollowing suchas "touse"[usar]or
expressions,
buthe chose"toemploy"[emplear]:
"toutilize"[utilizar],

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 Working Politics: Juan Domingo Per6n's Creation of Positive Social Identity

7 ... empledmuchosmillones... [... he employedmanymillions ...] (25/7/49,

11)
paladas de millones.[... we didn'temployshovelsfulof mil-
8 ... no empleamos
lions.](25/7/49,11)
These two quotationsreferto U.S. Ambassadorto Argentina SpruilleBraden's
activeinvolvementin Per6n'spoliticalopponent's campaign. Thus, moneywasan
employeein theworkofpolitics.
Workersneedtools.Per6nsometimes refers to thepoliticalprocessas a tool,
andin othercasespeoplearetools,manipulated inothers'hands.Per6nindicated
thatpoliticalprocessesarea "lever"[palanca],a typeoftoolthatlifts,thusinter-
actingwiththecommonspatialmetaphor:"goodis up."
detransformacidn
9 Esteproceso ... serdenelfuturo
orgdnica lapalancaquedaremos
al movimientoperonistay
quepermitirdlevantary movera la Repzblicaparaelbien
delapatria.[Thisprocessoforganictransformation ... willinthefuture be the
leverthatwe willgiveto thePeronist
movement and thatwillpermitit to lift
andmovetheRepublicforthegoodofthefatherland.] (25/7/49, 8-9)
In otherexpressions,
peoplecan eitherbe "skilledcraftsmen" working
[artifices],
forthemselves,or "instruments" [instrumentos],tools manipulatedin others'
hands:
10 ... todosseamosartifices del destinocoman,peroninguninstrumento de la
ambicidn de nadie.[... letus allbe craftsmenofthecommondestiny, butnone
ofus thetoolofanyone's ambition.] (25/7/49,21)
11Lospueblos, comoloshombres, sonlosu'nicos desupropiafelicidad.
artifices [The
like
peoples, men, are the only craftsmen oftheir (1/5/52,
happiness.] 29)

Again,intangiblethingslikedestinyand happinessare theproductsof Per6n's

work.
In additiontothegeneralterm"skilledcraftsman" two
Per6nspecifies
[artifice],
typesofwork,bothmanuallabor.The first isconstruction, indicatedbythewords
"toconstruct" and
[construir] "tolift to
[lit], build" [levantar].
12 ... pagamos
sudeuday estamos construyendounanuevaArgentina paralo cual
noescatimamosni trabajonisacrificios.
[... we paidtheir
debt and we arebuild-
ing a new for
Argentina which we don'tskimp on workor sacrifice.]
(25/7/49,
12)
13 ... porcada unode estosdetractores
inconstructivos
surgirdun nuevoperonista
decidido a construiry
a levantar.
[... foreveryone ofthoseunconstructivede-
tractors,a Peronist
willcome up, determined to and
construct build.](8/3/50,
6)

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Deborah L. Berh6

The secondspecifictypeofworkmetaphorically is agri-

appliedto "politics"
work.Termsexpressing
cultural theagriculture are"field"[campo]and
entailment
[siembra]:
"planting"
14Elquetrabaja quesevayaa otro
porsucuenta, [Hewhoworks
campo. forhim-
lethimgotoanother
self, field.]
(25/7/49,15)
15 Las divisas... vanalpuebloennuestra siembra permanentede bienestar.
[The
profits... go to thepeoplein ourpermanent of
planting well-being.]
(1/5/52, 57)
16 ... doctrinaperonistaque heinculcado enel almade todoslostrabajadores
de
estatierra y que, como una siembra
prodigiosa, entre
prolifera los de
trabajadores
delmundo.[... thePeronist
doctrine thatI haveinculcatedinthesoul
Americay
ofall theworkers ofthislandand that,likea prodigiousplanting,proliferates
among the workers ofAmericaandoftheworld.](1/5/52, 75)

In expression 14, Per6nis admonishing selfishPeronists and exhorting themto

workforthecommongood,notselfish ends.Expressions 15 and 16 refertowell-
being and the Peronist two
doctrine, amorphous ideas, as plants in thefieldof
Peronism.
"Politicsis work"is obviouslyan important newmetaphor, centralto Per6n's
areaof greatest focusand support,theurbanworkers of BuenosAires,and the
greaterpoliticalparticipation he invitedfrom them,albeit in the formof
corporatism. Itwasnotpresent in thepopularpublications priorto Per6n'spresi-
dency. "Politics is is
work" extremely in
meaningful lightof thepreviously de-
scribedsocialclimate.The metaphor gaveworkers a powerful newidentity, mak-
ingworka positiveactivity, ratherthansomething to be lookeddownon. It dig-
nifiedtheworkingclass,and openedpoliticalparticipation up to themforthe
first
time.Thus,bytheuseofthismetaphor, Per6naffirmed andempowered those
whowerehisgreatest supporters.+

Notes

1 Per6n
madeslight inmanyexisting
alterations SeeBerh6,
metaphors. "Bad
Circles."
2
All translations
aretheauthor's.

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 Working Politics: Juan Domingo Per6n's Creation of Positive Social Identity

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