Perón in Salvador Allende’s Footsteps – Folha de S. Paulo, November 11, 1973
by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
Today, I conclude my reflections on the clearly extreme-leftist inspiration taking over Perón’s government.
Mr. José Ber Gelbard, Minister of Economy in the short-lived Campora government, submitted 20 bills to the legislature, most of which have already been approved, with others pending. Each bill is more leftist than the last. Taken together, their implementation will put Argentina in a situation very similar to Allende’s Chile. It goes without saying that this will produce the economic crises that socialization brings to Chile and elsewhere.
Due to limited space, I will not comment on these bills. They speak for themselves to anyone with even a basic understanding of the subjects they address.
I will therefore limit myself to a brief overview of several of them.
The Perón government’s solidarity with this ominous legislation, already approved or in the making, which creates injustice and misery, is evident in two undeniable facts. Mr. José Ber Gelbard remains Perón’s minister. Speaking to the Argentine Congress on August 30, the old caudillo urged its members to approve as soon as possible all the laws sent to the legislature during Campora’s presidential term.
Congress approved the law on the nationalization of bank deposits on August 1, and it is now regulated by the Central Bank. The law provides that all deposits received by private banks are under the management and responsibility of the Central Bank. Private banks have thus become mere agents of that official bank and receive commissions for their services. They can make loans only to persons authorized by the Central Bank who meet its requirements. Special operations are, in each case, subject to consultation with the Central Bank.
Potential Land Income Tax Law. Approved by Congress on September 11, it establishes a registry of all rural properties and assigns a value to each. Each owner must submit, under oath, a declaration of their property’s value. If the declared value is lower than the actual value, the property will be subject to expropriation. If, on the contrary, the declared value is too high, the owner will be ruined by an annual tax of up to 4% of the land’s value. The normal profitability of an agricultural property in Argentina is not much higher than that. Thus, any error in the filing will quickly leave the owner ruined.
Extension of urban leases. Evictions of urban property tenants are suspended. As a result, urban landlords are left entirely powerless against tenants.
Extension of mortgage foreclosures. The Senate approved a bill suspending mortgage foreclosure proceedings until July 31, 1974, including those already decided.
Urban property census. On August 23, a bill was signed into law ordering the Executive Branch to begin, within 90 days, and complete, within 180 days, a census of urban properties, including the number of tenants per housing unit; the age and marital status of each tenant; the date of construction of the building; the number of rooms available, etc.
Similarly, vacant residences will be surveyed to determine whether they are for sale.
It is clear that this census paves the way for a compulsory redistribution of housing in the most genuine communist style.
Law on the meat trade monopoly. The House of Representatives approved a bill to reform the Statute of the National Meat Board, empowering the State to assume a monopoly over the meat trade or to authorize intervention in butchers’ cooperatives. It now awaits Senate approval.
By Decree No. 597/73 of August 20, the Executive Branch shut down the activities of the traditional guild of “matarifes,” that is, small meatpacking plants and slaughterhouses that supplied butchers in Buenos Aires and Greater Buenos Aires. These small plants were replaced by large meatpacking plants and two state entities: FERCAM and CIFEM. Simultaneously, on August 21, the Executive Branch decreed the intervention in the Meat Producers Corporation (CAP), which owns several meatpacking plants that supply meat for domestic consumption and export. CAP is owned by agricultural producers.
Alongside the existing maximum price controls on cattle sales, these measures give the state a growing monopoly in the meat trade.
Bankruptcy of the DELTEC group. The Supreme Court upheld a leftist judge’s ruling declaring the Swift meatpacking plant bankrupt and extended the proceedings to other companies within the international DELTEC group. Among these companies are Engenho da Esperança S/A, Provita S/A, Complexo Avícola Ibri S/A, and others. On September 5, the government decided to intervene in all these companies and place them in the “social area” — to use the terminology employed by the Popular Unity in Chile. However, these companies were not in a condition that required bankruptcy.
Monopoly on the grain trade. On August 25, the Senate approved a bill authorizing the state to monopolize the entire grain trade. If the House of Representatives also approves the bill, only the state will be able to buy, store, sell, or export grain. No private company, domestic or foreign, will be allowed to engage in such trade. Only cooperatives will be authorized to do so.
Corporation of National Companies. The Senate also approved the bill establishing the Corporation of National Companies. This Corporation will be responsible for managing all companies that belong to or will belong to the State, a function similar to CORFO’s in Allende’s Chile. It is the bureaucratic instrument needed to manage a wide range of companies transferred to the “social area,” such as Swift.
Other bills presented by the Executive Branch, pending approval by the Legislature:
Unexploited Land Law. Authorizes the State to compulsorily lease private land. The State sets the lease price, which can be valid for up to 20 years.
Law establishing the Small Industry Corporation. It centralizes and controls small industries and encourages mergers when companies are deemed superfluous or for better exploitation. It will promote co-management and workers’ participation in company profits.
The Foreign Companies Act establishes an extremely strict regime for foreign companies and provides for their long-term nationalization.
Imagine a poor country subjected to the pressure and distortions of all these ironclad laws: the end result will be a catastrophe like Chile’s.
