Rodolfo Irazusta
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Rodolfo Irazusta (5 June 1897 – 1967) 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 ...
writer and politician who was one of the leading lights of the
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: The ...
movement of the 1920s and 1930s. He collaborated closely with his younger brother
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 ...
throughout his career.


Right-wing politics

Irazusta was born close to the Rincón del Cura area of
Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos Gualeguaychú is a city in the , on the left bank of the Gualeguaychú River (a tributary of the Uruguay River). It is located on the south-east of the province, approximately 230 km north-west of Buenos Aires. It has a population of 109,266 ...
into a family noted for its support of
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
politics.
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 Pr ...
, ''
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 ...
'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 195
Irazusta first came to prominence through his association with the journal ''La Nueva Republica'' (LNR), of which he became editor soon after its establishment. It was founded in 1927 by the followers of the ideas 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 was edited by the likes of
Juan Carulla Juan Emiliano Carulla (20 July 1888 - 20 November 1968) was an Argentine physician and nationalist politician. He was most prominent under the military regime in power during the early 1930s. In France A native of the Entre Ríos Province, Carul ...
as well as the Irazusta brothers. The aim of LNR was to take the ruling classes away from the prevailing
liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
of the time to more
counterrevolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...
, Maurrasian ideals.Sandra McGee Deutsch, ''Las Derechas'', 1999, p. 197 ''LNR'' endorsed
corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
and represented a move away from the
tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
alism that had tended to be the hallmark of
right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...
critics of the system in Argentina to a new, hard-line nationalism. Irazusta was particularly noted as a harsh critic of
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
and he wrote that as a concept it was not in the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
and that it led to disorder. He further argued that democracy encouraged the growth of parasitic administrators and well as too much influence from foreign-owned businesses. Further he denounced it as being
anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestantism, Protestant states, ...
and thus incompatible with the central role that he felt the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
should hold in Argentina. As representatives of the semi-
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
right Irazusta and Carulla approached 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 ...
in 1927 to ask him to lead a coup against the presidency 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 ...
but he declined. Despite the setback, Irazusta joined with Roberto de Laferrère to create the ''
Liga Republicana Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...
'' (Republican League), a fascistic anti-government youth militia. Ultimately Uriburu did lead a coup in 1930 after his retirement from the army and the Irazustas enjoyed high profiles during his government. Indeed they were part of an intellectual movement along with the likes of Carulla,
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 ...
and Bruno Jacovella who wrote in favour of a corporatist, Maurrasian system and so became the ideologues of the Uriburu regime.


Irazusta brothers

The Irazustas continued to write prolifically, contributing widely to LNR as well as to the journal ''Voz del Pueblo'' which was pro-
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
in outlook. From 1931 they worked together closely on the journal ''Acción Republicana'' and in this developed a strong nativist line in which they argued against foreign economic involvement in Argentina and the
liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
that they believed this engendered. The brothers endorsed
etatism In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production. While in use sinc ...
and a strong governmental role in economic, political and cultural life, advocating some
nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
, economic modernisation and in increasing emphasis on militarism in the education system. In 1940 they established a further journal, ''Nuevo Orden'', to disseminate their political views. The brothers' best-known work was their 1934 book ''Argentina y el imperialismo británico: Los eslabones de una cadena, 1806-1833'' which accused the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, which had supported Argentina in its attempts to gain independence from
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, of doing so for ulterior motives i.e. opening up new trade markets and ensuring that the newly independent state would have to rely on them for loans. The book was central to their nationalist, corporatist vision, although it has subsequently become a standard for both left and right. It also played a pivotal role in the development of Argentine claims to the
sovereignty of the Falkland Islands Sovereignty over the Falkland Islands ( es, Islas Malvinas) is disputed by Argentina and the United Kingdom. The British claim to sovereignty dates from 1690, when they made the first recorded landing on the islands, and the United Kingdom has exe ...
by suggesting that taking the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
was one of the ways in which the UK had exploited Argentina.


Later years

Following the emergence of
Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...
as President the brothers became involved in the ''Partido Libertador''. The group was initially cautiously pro-Perón but shifted their opinion to one of opposition, accusing
Peronism Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...
of embracing
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
at the expense of
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary'', pp. 195-196 Irazusta's 1956 work, ''Perón y la crisis argentina'', was a diatribe against Perón, accusing him of breaking with Argentine political traditions by following a pro-British policy.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary'', p. 196 With Julio he established another political party, the Republican Union, in 1955 but this made little headway, with Julio retiring from politics soon after its formation. The party was wound up in 1957 and Irazusta largely disappeared from public life. He died in 1967.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irazusta, Rodolfo 1897 births 1967 deaths Argentine political writers Argentine male writers People of the Infamous Decade People from Entre Ríos Province Republican League (Argentina) politicians Catholicism and far-right politics Christian fascists