Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore the way in which the shantytowns association Federación de Villas y Barrios de Emergencia (Buenos Aires, 1958) gave way to the Movimiento Peronista Villero (1973), in a context in which Peronism was becoming increasingly relevant for the urban claims of the shantytowns.

Paper long abstract:

The Federación de Villas y Barrios de Emergencia (FVBE; Federation of Shantytowns and Emergency Neighbourhoods) was created in 1958 by shantytown residents of Greater Buenos Aires in order to resist state plans of eradication and to claim for urban improvements in their neighbourhoods. After an initial period of intense activity (1959-1966), the Federation faced some years crisis, mainly due to government neglect and repression (1966-1971). By 1970, however, the FVBE was still a key reference for shantytown residents to resist eradication. At the same time, although banned, Peronism still represented the demands of the popular classes, and became increasingly engaged with housing issues. Peronist residents had cooperated with the FVBE since its inception, even though it did not sustain a Peronist claim, and were ready to expand this struggle. In 1973 the Movimiento Villero Peronista (MVP; Peronist Shantytowns' Movement) was created, with ties to the Juventud Peronista (Peronist Youth), but mainly as an independent association.

While in terms of representation of the shantytowns population it could be said that the MVP took up the role of the FVBE, in political terms the MVP was tied to a much larger movement, which gave it a distinct profile. This paper will explore the limits of the continuity between the FVBE and the MVP and will study the way in which radical struggles in the early 1970s converged in left-wing Peronism. The paper will expand ideas discussed in the Radical Americas Symposium (January 2013) related to the early years of the FVBE.