"What does religion have to do with this?" Rethinking catholic influence on unions during peronism

Reconsideraciones sobre la influencia católica en los sindicatos durante el peronismo

Abstract

Recent studies report a golden age of Catholic influence in the unions and of the church in the organized labor movement during the period 1943-1946, made possible in large part by the repression and prohibition of leftist groups by a military government of Catholic nationalist inclination. Later, the 1945 decree on professional associations seemed to put an end to the adventure of re-Christianization of the working class, since it denied guild status to associations formed on religious grounds.

Nevertheless, between 1953 and 1955 Perón gave a series of speeches about Catholic infiltration. These speeches were historically interpreted as an overreaction by the president in the context of the conflicting relations with the Catholic Church.

In this regard, the aim of this work is to investigate the Catholic trade union puzzle that survived after 1945, that is, through workers' associations with Catholic influence that influenced intra-union life, as well as through militant Catholics and worker priests who made their ideals concrete in the workplace and in trade unions. On this basis, it is maintained that "Catholic trade union infiltration" had a more real grip than has been studied so far.