I arrived in Plaza de Mayo on the morning of May 25, looking forward to a day of celebration for the national holiday commemorating the May Revolution of 1810. This date marks the anniversary of the removal of the Spanish viceroy from the Rio de la Plata colony (present-day Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia) and the establishment of a self-governing administration in Buenos Aires—the beginning of a revolution that ultimately led to the country’s independence from Spain.
Each year, thousands of people gather in Plaza de Mayo to show their patriotic spirit, proudly waving the national flag and chanting in harmony “iViva la Patria, Viva la Patria!” Government officials, including President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, give speeches from the presidential mansion Casa Rosada while street vendors arrive from all over the city to sell homemade empanadas and churros to the hungry and excited crowd. The celebrations, filled with live music and drumming, continue until late evening when fireworks are finally put on to conclude the festivities of the day.
Little did I know, that is only half the story.
The reality is that gathering in Plaza de Mayo on May 25 has a deeper political significance in today’s Argentina. Instead of spending a Fourth-of-July-like day of friendly family picnics and fireworks, I was met with a crowd of fervent Kirchneristas and Peronistas rallying and waving flags of not Argentina, but rather of their political parties. Buildings around Avenida de Mayo were decorated with banners of red, green, and purple that displayed images of Che Guevara, the hammer and sickle, Evita, and the Kirchners. It was an absolute kilombo, meaning “chaos.”
To make things even more political, May 25 also marks the beginning of Néstor Kirchner’s presidency in 2003, a Peronist leadership that has been continued by his wife, Cristina. Therefore, supporters of the Justicialist Party (the political party founded by Juan Domingo Perón and Eva Perón in 1947) have more the reason to celebrate this day. President Cristina de Kirchner, while unpopular among the middle and upper class Argentines living in Buenos Aires, derives her main political support from provinces like Mendoza and San Luis, where her popularity continues to stay strong among the poor working class. As I could see from the enthusiasm demonstrated by her followers this past Sunday, a significant part of Argentina still idolizes and compares Cristina to the late national heroine, Evita.
In order to fully understand today’s highly polarized political atmosphere of Argentina, you must review the nation’s history of Peronism, military dictatorship, and the presidencies of Menem, Alfonsín, and the Kirchners. This ideological rift between Peronistas and Anti-Peronistas has been at the core of Argentine politics since the 1940s, greatly destabilizing the country at various points of history. It will be fascinating to see how the country will come to resolve its deep political cleavage during the upcoming presidential election in 2015. During my three months in Buenos Aires so far, I have met many university students who hope for a reconciliatory change and an end to the fight for and against Peronism. As my host mother personally wishes, Argentina will hopefully be more united in future May Revolution celebrations, as a country celebrating its national independence should rightly be.