Juan Emiliano Carulla (20 July 1888 - 20 November 1968) was an
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
physician and
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
politician. He was most prominent under the military regime in power during the early 1930s.
In France
A native of the
Entre RÃos Province
Entre RÃos (, "Between Rivers") is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east.
Its capital is Paraná ( ...
, Carulla trained as a medical doctor.
Philip Rees
Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right.
Works
*''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...
, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890
The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890.
It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...
'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 55 In his early years Carulla was a supporter of anarchism but this changed after a trip to Europe during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Carulla enlisted in the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
as a field doctor and became convinced that the
left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
had done nothing to help the war effort. Whilst in France he became a strong supporter of ''
Action Française
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
''.
[Roger Griffin & Matthew Feldman, ''Fascism: The "Fascist Epoch"'', 2004, p. 353] Like many of his contemporaries in France, Carulla had been exposed to the
syndicalism
Syndicalism is a Revolutionary politics, revolutionary current within the Left-wing politics, left-wing of the Labour movement, labor movement that seeks to unionize workers Industrial unionism, according to industry and advance their demands t ...
of
Georges Sorel
Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and ...
which, despite its avowedly leftist bent, was influential on the
integrism
In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (french: intégrisme) is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues for an authoritarian and anti- pluralist Catholic state, wherever the preponderance of Catholics within t ...
of
Charles Maurras
Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-par ...
with a number of French leftists of the time switching to this
far right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
creed.
Argentine far-right
Following his return to Argentina, Carulla established his own journal, ''La Voz Nacional'', in 1925. He showed strong support for Germany and a preference for tradition and heredity as the bases of government.
He became associated with the followers of
Leopoldo Lugones
Leopoldo Antonio Lugones Argüello (13 June 1874 – 18 February 1938) was an Argentine poet, essayist, novelist, playwright, historian, professor, translator, biographer, philologist, theologian, diplomat, politician and journalist. His poetic ...
and, along with
Rodolfo Irazusta
Rodolfo Irazusta (5 June 1897 – 1967) was an Argentine writer and politician who was one of the leading lights of the nationalist movement of the 1920s and 1930s. He collaborated closely with his younger brother Julio Irazusta throughout his car ...
, helped to found and edit the journal ''La Nueva República'' (LNR) in 1927.
He also produced his own journal ''Bandera Argentina'' which campaigned strongly against
female suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
, dismissing it as "insanity". This journal contained the writings in which Carulla came closest to endorsing the fascism that was growing in Europe at the time.
In his memoirs he admitted that this journal had received assistance from the German embassy. His work with ''LNR'' was pivotal to the development of Argentina's anti-establishment
far right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
as it represented a break from the old traditionalism and a new endorsement of corporatism and a fascist-inspired nationalism. In his work for the magazine Carulla emphasised
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and wrote of perceived Jewish conspiracies to take over Argentina.
Along with
Julio Irazusta
Julio Alberto Gustavo Irazusta (23 July 1899 - 5 May 1982) was an Argentine writer and politician who was one of the leading lights of the nationalist movement of the 1920s and 1930s. He collaborated closely with his older brother Rodolfo Irazus ...
, Carulla asked right-wing General
José Félix Uriburu
Lieutenant General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu (20 July 186829 April 1932) was the President of the Provisional Government of Argentina, ousting the successor to President Hipólito Yrigoyen by means of a military coup and declaring ...
to lead a coup against the liberal government of
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (; 12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union and two-time President of Argentina, who served his first term from 1916 to 1922 and his second ...
in 1927. The general declined at that stage but did so in 1930, forming a new right-wing dictatorship in which Carulla enjoyed influence. He was to form part of the Maurras-inspired elite, alongside the Irazusta brothers,
Ernesto Palacio
Ernesto Palacio (born October 19, 1946, Lima) is a Peruvian tenor, particularly associated with Rossini and Mozart roles.
Palacio first studied theology before turning to music. He began his vocal studies in Milan, and after winning first prize i ...
, Bruno Jacovella and others, who took up their pens in defence of the new regime and effectively supplied it with an ideology. Cerulla in particular enjoyed strong influence and it was he who was behind the idea of merging all Uriburu's supporters into one militia group, the
Argentine Civic Legion
The Nationalist Liberation Alliance (Spanish: ''Alianza Libertadora Nacionalista'', ALN), originally known as the Argentine Civic Legion (''Legión CÃvica Argentina'', LCA) from 1931 to 1937,Rodney P. Carlisle (general editor). ''The Encyclopedia ...
, under the general's government, a move that was seen as pivotal in the fascistisation of the Uriburu regime.
[Robert A. Potash, ''The Army & Politics in Argentina: 1928-1945'', 1969, p. 67] He was also involved in a number of rightist groups, all of which were pro-Uriburu, including the
Republican League
The Republican League (''Liga Republicana'') was a fascist movement in Argentina founded by Roberto Laferrere and Rodolfo Irazusta in 1929. The party borrowed heavily from the ideology and structure of the French integrist movement '' Action Franà ...
, a group patterned after
Action Française
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
, the
National Party established by Alberto Viñas and Carlos Silveyra in 1930, and the ''Agrupación Teniente General Uriburu'' set up in 1932.
Later writing
He was strongly interested in the cultural implications of the Spanish language, and in his book ''Genio de la Argentina'' (1943) he wrote that the common language formed a strong basis for close links with Spain, thus endorsing the
Hispanidad
''Hispanidad'' (, en, Hispanicity,) is a Spanish term alluding to the group of people, countries, and communities that share the Spanish language and Hispanic culture. The term can have various, different implications and meanings depending on ...
ideas championed by
Manuel Gálvez
Manuel Gálvez (18 July 1882 – 14 November 1962) was an Argentine novelist, poet, essayist, historian and biographer.
Early years
Gálvez, a member of one of the leading patrician families of Entre RÃos Province, was educated by the Jesuits bef ...
.
[C.L. Callahan]
The Impact of the Spanish Civil War on Argentine Nationalist Intellectual Thought
He was also a harsh critic of democracy, arguing that it was a product of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
that was alien and irrelevant to Hispanic countries, which, he contended, required authoritarian governments.
He further believed in the importance of the family and looked to
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
in his desire to establish a "juvenile
Falange
The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...
" in which young men would be organised at the disposal of the government.
Carulla abandoned his fascist sympathies in the late 1940s and played little role in public life thereafter.
His autobiography, ''Al Filo del Medio Siglo'', was published in 1951.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carulla, Juan
1888 births
1968 deaths
Argentine fascists
Argentine military doctors
Argentine political writers
Argentine male writers
French military personnel of World War I
People of the Infamous Decade
Argentina in World War I
Republican League (Argentina) politicians
20th-century Argentine physicians