Juan Domingo Perón won Argentina’s presidential election in February 1946, running with strong support from organized labor. His victory set the stage for a governing program that emphasized state direction of the economy and rapid industrial growth aimed at raising workers’ living standards.
The government created the Argentine Institute for the Promotion of Trade (IAPI) to centralize foreign trade. By buying key exports and managing sales abroad, IAPI aimed to capture export income and redirect resources toward industrialization and other state priorities.
Perón took office in June 1946 and began expanding the state’s role in economic planning, trade, and social policy. This period is often described as “state-led industrialization,” where government agencies, regulation, and public investment were used to shift the economy toward domestic manufacturing.
In 1947, Argentina ratified major banking-organization decrees through Law 12,962. These reforms helped expand the state’s influence over credit and finance, which mattered because industrialization required directing loans and investment into favored sectors.
Perón’s government announced a national Five-Year Plan for 1947–1951, laying out goals for industrial expansion, infrastructure, and state intervention. The plan reflected a belief that coordinated government action—rather than markets alone—could accelerate development and reduce dependence on imported manufactured goods.
On March 1, 1948, the state purchased the principal British- and French-owned railway companies operating in Argentina. This move expanded public ownership of infrastructure that was critical for transporting goods and people, and it fit Perón’s broader strategy of putting key economic sectors under national control.
In July 1948, Eva Perón established a major charitable foundation that funded housing, health care, and other assistance for low-income Argentines. While presented as social aid, the foundation also strengthened political ties between the Peronist state, unions, and working-class supporters.
In March 1949, a constitutional convention adopted a reformed constitution that included expanded social and labor rights. It helped legitimize a larger state role in welfare and economic regulation, aligning legal frameworks with Perón’s state-led development model.
Perón won reelection in 1951, extending Peronist control of the executive branch. Over time, however, economic conditions became more difficult, and the state faced rising pressure as earlier gains from postwar trade conditions weakened.
Eva Perón died in July 1952 after a serious illness. Her death mattered politically because she had been a central figure connecting the government to unions and poorer Argentines, and her absence intensified conflicts and uncertainty during a period of economic strain.
In late 1952, Perón’s government passed a second Five-Year Plan (often described as covering 1953–1957). It aimed to push further into heavy industry and gave the government wide authority to regulate economic activity, reflecting a continued commitment to state management during tighter economic conditions.
In September 1955, a military uprising (the “Revolución Libertadora”) overthrew Perón’s government, ending his 1946–1955 experiment in state-led industrialization. The coup marked a major turning point: Perón went into exile, and the new authorities moved to dismantle Peronist institutions and reverse parts of the prior economic and political order.
Juan Perón's Argentina: State-Led Industrialization (1946–1955)