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In Politics, Blind Loyalty Is a Problem-But Yang Isn’t The Solution
Real discussion, not loyalty, is crucial for a democracy. That’s not what Andrew Yang is offering, though.
On October 17th, the Justicialists of Argentina celebrate el Día de la Lealtad Peronista, the Day of Peronist Loyalty.
It began in 1945 after Perón, formerly Labor Secretary and Vice President of the military government that had taken power by coup, was jailed. His superiors had understood the popularity Perón had accumulated among the working class and the trade unions, and that this power could eventually lead to their own demise. So, off to the infamous prison of Isla Martín García he goes, and it’s over.
Not so fast.
What the military leadership hadn’t taken into account was how strong the relationships Perón had built with the working class really were, and how loyal they would be to him.
Citizens took to the streets of Buenos Aires and headed to the presidential palace to demand Perón’s release. The government soon understood they couldn’t contain this expression of popular will and acquiesced. Perón recovered his freedom and won the presidential election in 1946. The rest, as they say, is history, albeit not a simple one.
