The Administration of the Minister Ivanissevich and the Peronist Right Wing: The 100 Days of Ottalagano

Abstract

After Perón’s death, in August 1974, the replacement of the Secretary of Education, Jorge Alberto Taiana by Oscar Ivanissevich (who remained in office until August, 1975) took place. Such replacement occurred in a context of continuous repression exerted by the state and parastatal organizations. A few days after assuming, the new Secretary of Education appointed Alberto Ottalagano as Rector Interventor, at the University of Buenos Aires. In this article, I focus on the measures taken by the new rector during his brief management, and the main actions carried out by right wing Peronist organizations at the University of Buenos Aires. Among such organizations we can mention the Nationalist Liberation Alliance, the National University Concentration, the Peronist Revolutionary Legion, and the National University Movement. Several of them came from nationalist sectors which had approached Peronism within the framework of the political radicalization process of the 1960s. Others came from the Peronism, however, had incorporated many elements of right-wing nationalism. All of them shared a political culture which sought to combat communism both outside and within the Peronist Movement, as a result of the idea of the defense of Peron’s government. The management of Ivanissevich and Ottalagano resulted in the consolidation of the offensive against the university left.