october 27, 1943
Colonel Péron, head of the Department of Labor
Buenos-Aires - Perón's Department of Labor continues its work to improve the daily lives of Argentine workers, a task much appreciated by those concerned. Ah, if only the whole government were so understanding! Unfortunately. The latest rail strikes are above all the result of Ramírez's repressive policies and the arrest of the main union leaders concerned.
But isn't there any way of getting along? Couldn't the unions and the military cooperate? After all, Argentina's working-class milieu is a very special one: while it is of course deeply attached to defending its own battered interests, it is also extremely chauvinistic and hostile to foreign influences.
Ángel Borlenghi made the speech to Colonel Perón. The General Secretary of the powerful Syndicat des Travailleurs du Commerce (of the late second CGT) is accompanied by his counterparts Francisco Pablo Capozzi ("Fraternidad" movement) and Juan Atilio Bramuglia (Union des Chemins de Fer), who obviously approve. As usual, the colonel appears interested, listens attentively, nods, takes notes... An attitude that visitors are not really used to from military men.Behind Perón was (as usual) Colonel Domingo Mercante.Initially, the trade unionists were to be received only by Mercante - they didn't expect to meet the famous head of the Department of Labor so soon.But Perón was quick to respond to the kind offer of his colleague Mercante, who over the months had become a veritable lobbyist at the head of a vast network of influence.After the complaints came the suggestions.Always courteous, the workers' representatives put forward a number of proposals: create a labor secretariat to centralize workers' representation, strengthen the CGT (the first if not the second) while encouraging the renewal of its most ideologically marked cadres, accede to the proletariat's historic and repeated demands through a series of laws on working hours and the minimum wage... Finally, the colonel put away his pen and stood up, not without proAlways courteous, the workers' representatives put forward a number of proposals: create a labor secretariat to centralize workers' representation, strengthen the CGT (the first if not the second) while encouraging the renewal of its most ideologically marked cadres, meet the proletariat's historic and repeated demands through a series of laws on working hours and the minimum wage...
Finally, the colonel puts away his pen and stands up, but not without promising to get back to his interlocutors very soon with a series of measures designed to "dignify work".
The meeting ended in an atmosphere of frank cordiality, and the five allies - for we can now speak of an alliance - went their separate ways. Shortly afterwards, Colonel Perón went to see Ramírez to give him a selective account of the meeting.Uninterested in what appeared to be empty chatter, the General-President decided to get rid of the subject by officially appointing Perón head of the Labor Department, with full powers over social dialogue.The position seemed worthless, yet it was precisely the one the man had come to seek.
The new department head's first move was to remove the government representatives introduced into the Railway Union and the Fraternidad movement, then appoint Mercante in their place. Meanwhile, Ángel Borlenghi proposed to the first CGT that it set up a commission for trade union unity, obviously under his aegis and with Perón's blessing - sorry, the head of the Labor Department, i.e. the government.
November 4, 1943
Spy interception
Trinidad (British West Indies) - The SS Cabo de Hornos, en route from Buenos Aires, makes a routine stopover en route to Barcelona - an understandable pause before crossing the Atlantic.
However, the ship is no stranger to such crossings, and has little to fear from its neutral flag and destination.What's more, she has had many opportunities to test her transatlantic credentials by convoying... a number of Jewish refugees from Europe to Argentina.However, an unusual incident occurred while the ship was docked. Local policemen, flanked by two men with British accents, appear on the bridge with police letters. The crew show them the cabin of one Osmar Alberto Hellmuth - an officer in the Argentine Navy. The men enter without knocking, seize the individual and disembark him. Hellmuth struggled violently, shouting "No tienen el derecho, es un barco argentino!", but it was no use - he was thrown into a car, which immediately took off.
Allied intelligence services have just pulled off a major coup. Through investigations and radio intercepts, they have identified one of the few remaining "Sargo" networks, of which Hellmuth is one of the contacts. This network was headed by Hans Harnisch ("Boss"), an individual who claimed to represent Himmler in person, and who had numerous contacts both in the Argentine Army and at the highest level of government.
The Argentinian officer's trip was no coincidence - he had just been appointed consul in Barcelona, following a direct meeting between "Boss" and General Ramírez! Once in Europe, his mission was to contact Germany in order to obtain weapons, which would have transited through Sweden before being transported by the oil tanker Buenos Aires. What's more, he was also to inform the Reich that an eventual break in diplomatic relations between Argentina and Germany would in no way mean the end of their relations (at all).
In short, his arrest was a bad deal for the Junta, which nevertheless sent an official protest to the British government. Indeed, it seems that Colonel Alberto Gilbert, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Argentina, had not been informed of the true nature of Hellmuth's mission! And after all, hadn't England just violated the Vienna Convention?
November 27, 1943
Christmas in November
Buenos-Aires - Colonel Perón, ever active in his defense of the peon, has just obtained from President Ramírez the transformation of his department into a full-fledged Secretariat of Labor and Projections.
The man is now independent, reporting only to the President - not that the latter attaches much importance to the matter; it took Farrell's mediation to get him to deign to look into the matter.
With this unobtrusive framework in place, the colonel was finally able to give full rein to his art and win approval for the demands of his new friends: increased severance pay, higher pensions, the creation of technical schools for workers, a ban on "employment agencies" (private bodies whose main business is to provide temporary work in deplorable conditions), the creation of labour tribunals, Christmas bonuses... The regime is bringing forward the festive season! All this while finally giving real powers of control - and therefore sanction - to labor inspectors, and interfering in social dialogues, which for the first time take the form of collective bargaining. Last but not least, the decree dissolving and controlling trade unions was repealed.
Perón, Mercante and their associates are also beginning to organize a new union which would assume a nationalist workers' identity and occupy the vacant niches in certain industries which are poorly defended (chemicals, electricity, tobacco) or overly (or even poorly) defended by the Communists (meat, construction, textiles, metallurgy).
Washington - Meanwhile, indifferent to Argentina's social progress, Cordell Hull used the Hellmuth affair to step up the pressure on Ramírez: blacklisting Argentine companies "sympathetic to the Axis", restricting the circulation of Argentine newspapers, boycotting certain Argentine exports, embargoing electronics, chemicals and oil... The list is long, and what's more, Hull wasn't content with hitting the economy - he also attacked the Junta's wallet! The U.S. assets of 44 Argentine companies have been seized, and their loans frozen.
The State Department has come to terms with Buenos Aires' sincere cooperation, and now wants to force Ramírez to choose: fall in line or leave! The only thing it will avoid is hitting too hard, so as not to interrupt food shipments to France and England - and even then, this tolerance will not fail to remind the infamous European colonialists when necessary.
All these measures were presented to Allied opinion as the logical consequence of the duplicity of an Argentina that was almost a party to the Axis, soaking up Gualberto Villarroel's conspiracies in Bolivia (1) and receiving arms from Germany. Which is obviously ridiculous - whatever Ramírez's sympathies, Bolivia doesn't need Argentinians to be unstable, and Germany is a long way off.
Buenos-Aires - The Argentine government cannot stand idly by in the face of such a storm.
So... the United Officers Group is convened. With a heavy heart, the General-President could only admit that the situation was untenable, and announced that he would break off relations with Germany on January 26. This drew strong disapproval from the most conservative wing of the GOU, led by Perdinger and West.
(1)On December 20, 1943, these shenanigans finally degenerated into a coup d'état, ousting President Peñaranda from power. Villarroel then became (too !) de facto president of Bolivia.
Colonel Péron, head of the Department of Labor
Buenos-Aires - Perón's Department of Labor continues its work to improve the daily lives of Argentine workers, a task much appreciated by those concerned. Ah, if only the whole government were so understanding! Unfortunately. The latest rail strikes are above all the result of Ramírez's repressive policies and the arrest of the main union leaders concerned.
But isn't there any way of getting along? Couldn't the unions and the military cooperate? After all, Argentina's working-class milieu is a very special one: while it is of course deeply attached to defending its own battered interests, it is also extremely chauvinistic and hostile to foreign influences.
Ángel Borlenghi made the speech to Colonel Perón. The General Secretary of the powerful Syndicat des Travailleurs du Commerce (of the late second CGT) is accompanied by his counterparts Francisco Pablo Capozzi ("Fraternidad" movement) and Juan Atilio Bramuglia (Union des Chemins de Fer), who obviously approve. As usual, the colonel appears interested, listens attentively, nods, takes notes... An attitude that visitors are not really used to from military men.Behind Perón was (as usual) Colonel Domingo Mercante.Initially, the trade unionists were to be received only by Mercante - they didn't expect to meet the famous head of the Department of Labor so soon.But Perón was quick to respond to the kind offer of his colleague Mercante, who over the months had become a veritable lobbyist at the head of a vast network of influence.After the complaints came the suggestions.Always courteous, the workers' representatives put forward a number of proposals: create a labor secretariat to centralize workers' representation, strengthen the CGT (the first if not the second) while encouraging the renewal of its most ideologically marked cadres, accede to the proletariat's historic and repeated demands through a series of laws on working hours and the minimum wage... Finally, the colonel put away his pen and stood up, not without proAlways courteous, the workers' representatives put forward a number of proposals: create a labor secretariat to centralize workers' representation, strengthen the CGT (the first if not the second) while encouraging the renewal of its most ideologically marked cadres, meet the proletariat's historic and repeated demands through a series of laws on working hours and the minimum wage...
Finally, the colonel puts away his pen and stands up, but not without promising to get back to his interlocutors very soon with a series of measures designed to "dignify work".
The meeting ended in an atmosphere of frank cordiality, and the five allies - for we can now speak of an alliance - went their separate ways. Shortly afterwards, Colonel Perón went to see Ramírez to give him a selective account of the meeting.Uninterested in what appeared to be empty chatter, the General-President decided to get rid of the subject by officially appointing Perón head of the Labor Department, with full powers over social dialogue.The position seemed worthless, yet it was precisely the one the man had come to seek.
The new department head's first move was to remove the government representatives introduced into the Railway Union and the Fraternidad movement, then appoint Mercante in their place. Meanwhile, Ángel Borlenghi proposed to the first CGT that it set up a commission for trade union unity, obviously under his aegis and with Perón's blessing - sorry, the head of the Labor Department, i.e. the government.
November 4, 1943
Spy interception
Trinidad (British West Indies) - The SS Cabo de Hornos, en route from Buenos Aires, makes a routine stopover en route to Barcelona - an understandable pause before crossing the Atlantic.
However, the ship is no stranger to such crossings, and has little to fear from its neutral flag and destination.What's more, she has had many opportunities to test her transatlantic credentials by convoying... a number of Jewish refugees from Europe to Argentina.However, an unusual incident occurred while the ship was docked. Local policemen, flanked by two men with British accents, appear on the bridge with police letters. The crew show them the cabin of one Osmar Alberto Hellmuth - an officer in the Argentine Navy. The men enter without knocking, seize the individual and disembark him. Hellmuth struggled violently, shouting "No tienen el derecho, es un barco argentino!", but it was no use - he was thrown into a car, which immediately took off.
Allied intelligence services have just pulled off a major coup. Through investigations and radio intercepts, they have identified one of the few remaining "Sargo" networks, of which Hellmuth is one of the contacts. This network was headed by Hans Harnisch ("Boss"), an individual who claimed to represent Himmler in person, and who had numerous contacts both in the Argentine Army and at the highest level of government.
The Argentinian officer's trip was no coincidence - he had just been appointed consul in Barcelona, following a direct meeting between "Boss" and General Ramírez! Once in Europe, his mission was to contact Germany in order to obtain weapons, which would have transited through Sweden before being transported by the oil tanker Buenos Aires. What's more, he was also to inform the Reich that an eventual break in diplomatic relations between Argentina and Germany would in no way mean the end of their relations (at all).
In short, his arrest was a bad deal for the Junta, which nevertheless sent an official protest to the British government. Indeed, it seems that Colonel Alberto Gilbert, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Argentina, had not been informed of the true nature of Hellmuth's mission! And after all, hadn't England just violated the Vienna Convention?
November 27, 1943
Christmas in November
Buenos-Aires - Colonel Perón, ever active in his defense of the peon, has just obtained from President Ramírez the transformation of his department into a full-fledged Secretariat of Labor and Projections.
The man is now independent, reporting only to the President - not that the latter attaches much importance to the matter; it took Farrell's mediation to get him to deign to look into the matter.
With this unobtrusive framework in place, the colonel was finally able to give full rein to his art and win approval for the demands of his new friends: increased severance pay, higher pensions, the creation of technical schools for workers, a ban on "employment agencies" (private bodies whose main business is to provide temporary work in deplorable conditions), the creation of labour tribunals, Christmas bonuses... The regime is bringing forward the festive season! All this while finally giving real powers of control - and therefore sanction - to labor inspectors, and interfering in social dialogues, which for the first time take the form of collective bargaining. Last but not least, the decree dissolving and controlling trade unions was repealed.
Perón, Mercante and their associates are also beginning to organize a new union which would assume a nationalist workers' identity and occupy the vacant niches in certain industries which are poorly defended (chemicals, electricity, tobacco) or overly (or even poorly) defended by the Communists (meat, construction, textiles, metallurgy).
Washington - Meanwhile, indifferent to Argentina's social progress, Cordell Hull used the Hellmuth affair to step up the pressure on Ramírez: blacklisting Argentine companies "sympathetic to the Axis", restricting the circulation of Argentine newspapers, boycotting certain Argentine exports, embargoing electronics, chemicals and oil... The list is long, and what's more, Hull wasn't content with hitting the economy - he also attacked the Junta's wallet! The U.S. assets of 44 Argentine companies have been seized, and their loans frozen.
The State Department has come to terms with Buenos Aires' sincere cooperation, and now wants to force Ramírez to choose: fall in line or leave! The only thing it will avoid is hitting too hard, so as not to interrupt food shipments to France and England - and even then, this tolerance will not fail to remind the infamous European colonialists when necessary.
All these measures were presented to Allied opinion as the logical consequence of the duplicity of an Argentina that was almost a party to the Axis, soaking up Gualberto Villarroel's conspiracies in Bolivia (1) and receiving arms from Germany. Which is obviously ridiculous - whatever Ramírez's sympathies, Bolivia doesn't need Argentinians to be unstable, and Germany is a long way off.
Buenos-Aires - The Argentine government cannot stand idly by in the face of such a storm.
So... the United Officers Group is convened. With a heavy heart, the General-President could only admit that the situation was untenable, and announced that he would break off relations with Germany on January 26. This drew strong disapproval from the most conservative wing of the GOU, led by Perdinger and West.
(1)On December 20, 1943, these shenanigans finally degenerated into a coup d'état, ousting President Peñaranda from power. Villarroel then became (too !) de facto president of Bolivia.
