War & Peace

For a country that regards itself as the most European and most civilized nation in Latin America, Argentina is curiously inept at governing itself.

Last week, for the fifth time in 13 months, crisis and revolution overhung the rich land of beef and wheat. Once more, it was over the issue that did in President Arturo Frondizi a year ago: whether to restore limited political freedom to the Peronistas, the 3,000,000-man political organization left behind when Dictator Juan Peron was ousted in 1955. The violently anti-Peronista navy was at war with the somewhat less violently anti-Peronista army and air force, which rule the country but promise a return to democracy in elections this June 23. And through it all, Argentina's 20 million citizens, inured to chaos and bored with it, went about their business, window-shopping in thronged Calle Florida, horseback riding in Palermo Park, or sitting in coffeehouses, hoping not to get hit by the stray bullets zinging around.

Failure of the Front. For a time last winter, it seemed as if Argentina might find its way out of the Peronista dilemma short of another fight. In September, after a bloody skirmish, a constitutional-minded faction of the military, headed by General Juan Carlos Ongania, 48, a sensible professional soldier, took power and promised to hold elections in June--even let the Peronistas campaign. The puppet government of President Jose Maria Guido set out to form a "National Front" that would wed Frondizi's old Intransigent Radical Party (with 18% of the popular vote), the Peronistas (more than 30%), and the Christian Democrats (5%). But alas, as the promised elections drew ever closer, anti-Peronista jitters set in again. And not without reason. Some Peronistas were not even interested in showing themselves well-behaved democrats. "Peronismo is not and never will be just another political party/' railed a Peronista union leader at a rally last month. "We are not interested in government unless we have power. Attaining power is the raison d'etre of our existence, and can be carried out only by revolutionary methods."

The speech, on top of the growing troubles in the front negotiations, was enough for Argentina's navy. Headed by Rear Admiral Jorge Julio Palma. 46. commander of the Puerto Belgrano naval base, a group of officers wanted an end to all talk about elections, argued for the ouster of Guido as President and the establishment of a "benevolent dictatorship" that would attempt to stabilize the economy and "normalize" the political situation. Though his forces were small--25,000 navymen and 17,000 marines, compared with 87,000 men in the army and 22,000 in the air force--Admiral Palma enlisted the support of a clutch of retired army officers, hoping that they would encourage army and air force units to come over. He was also pledged help from 1,000 to 1,500 "civilian commandos," who devised a chilling plan to assassinate 15 top officers in the enemy camp.

By Air & by Land. From the start, their plot went haywire. One murder squad shot the army's assistant chief of staff, grazing his neck, then left him for dead. An infantry regiment commander escaped a burst of fire by hitting the dirt, got up to lead his troops against the rebels. The assassins failed to find the other 13. In Buenos Aires rebel marines moved into areas near the presidential palace and took over three radio stations to broadcast a communique: "The forces of air, land and sea, interpreting for the mass of the citizenry, rise today in conjunction with the people, to put an end to ignominy, destroy the infamous regime, throw out its vices and rebuild Argentina." But the citizenry wanted no such interpreting, and the forces of air and army quickly drove the marines from the capital. A flight of navy panther jets managed to clobber one tank column, killing 28 soldiers and wounding some 150. Then the air force retaliated by virtually destroying the naval air base at Punta Indio. 80 miles southeast of Buenos Aires.

Such skirmishes continued for 48 hours before the navy, seeing itself outgunned, retreated to its major base at Puerto Belgrano. 350 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, and started talking truce. In the end, Admiral Palma surrendered to army tank troops drawn up outside his base. while an exodus of navymen headed across the River Plate for asylum in Uruguay.

At week's end General Ongania announced that elections would still be held June 23. But he also warned: "As we said in September, we will never permit a return to power of a Peronista regime."

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