“It can’t happen here”
Trump the Peronist should force America to wake up and realize the fallacy of refusing the lessons of history
“It can’t happen here” has been repeated ad nauseam since 2015 whenever anyone posits that Trump has clear and present authoritarian tendencies and that his words very much matter when the GOP candidate then POTUS blithely attacks immigrants, the media and just about anyone not named “Trump”. The good people of DC media have huffed and puffed and prevented actual scholars such as Sarah Kendzior from explaining in the mainstream US media just how much Trump mimics Central Asian strongmen. It should be added that Trump’s mix of populism and oligarchic capitalism is not new and evokes Argentina’s Peronist phase. The inability to confront both reality and History does not bode well for America as it negotiates its 8th decade as the global superpower.
Trump’s drug fuelled tweet storm on Oct 6 where, in the span of 40 minutes, he seemed to jettison any added stimulus first and then to backtrack altogether should be a wakeup call. Sadly, It won’t be for the sycophants and the corrupt who populate the Covid-infected White House. Most of them are either poor students of history or active cheerleaders for autarkic populism.
Juan and Evita Perón Photograph: Ullstein Bild/via Getty Images
Trump wants to be Juan Peron 2.0 and should be called out for it
Commentators in need of a historical analogy over the past few weeks have been trotting out “Trump = Mussolini”. Trump is much more in the mold of Argentina’s Juan Perón, the fact that POTUS is an avowed fan of the musical EVITA is but one clue. In short, Perón ascended to power in Argentina on the back of a 1943 military coup (he was VP first) which annihilated a contested democracy. In the mid 20th century Argentina was (and still is) a leading agricultural power and had attracted millions of European immigrants to its shores. It was a clear rival to the US in the late 19th century, Argentina ranked in the 10 wealthiest countries in the world for the first 3rd of the 20th century, its GDP per capita was the same as the US until 1914. Argentina’s political system remained for too long an oligarchic-centric democracy and Perón, a populist military leader, managed to connect to the Argentinean working class. Perón’s economic policies, a mix of autarkic industrialism and debt-filled runaway distribution of funds still influence Argentina to this day, Perón himself remained in power from 1943 to 1955 and then was exiled before returning for a 3rd term in 1973. Argentina’s neutral stance during WW2 protected its main export engine, agriculture and natural resources, and the country featured in the leading pack of economic powers. Corruption, political mismanagement and autarkic oligarchic capitalism and runaway inflation hobbled Argentina’s growth for decades under Peronist and military junta rule. Argentina could have remained a leading superpower but that was not to be, it’s defaulted on its debt 9 times since 1816.
Trump has displayed Peronist tendencies since 2015 and his entry into presidential politics, yet there’s virtually no mainstream analysis of this kinship. Trump’s vision of US capitalism is straight from the authoritarian strongman playbook: as POTUS he gets to pick “winners” and “losers”. Trump’s all too frequent rants against Amazon, against media companies he judges hostile should be met with stern criticism from his fellow Republicans.
Isn’t the GOP the party of business, in a country that Tocqueville defined as defined by business ?
How could this GOP let a POTUS pick “winners” and still claim to defend free enterprise ?
Trump’s poor handling of the Tik Tok “ban” is classic Peronist: populist rant paired with the “good old boy network” ‘s influence, followed by a dirigiste ukase “US Treasury must collect billions on this deal”. How US business sits silent in the face of this flagrant deviation from American capitalism is an amazing sight and they will surely be sorry for it, fast.
What can YOU DO ?
Many analysts have warned that the incessant mauling of democratic norms and the defanging of American institutions runs the risk of disgusting too many from remaining active citizens.
If you’re a business leader, lead by example: there’s no such thing as a “politics-free” zone today, you should look to sync up your values and your business day-to-day. Employees look for impactful companies and empowering them will make for a passionate organization.
If you’re a public speaker and author, write and speak up: it always seems like there’s already too many “voices” out there. Don’t let that stop you from speaking up and making the point that YOU can make to your immediate circle of friends and family. One should never refrain from alerting others to not accept out of bounds behavior. The corrupt count on good people giving up and letting them install a climate of fear and lawlessness. Don’t let them, speak up !