Presidency
Frondizi's term in office was marked by conservative and military interference over much domestic and international policy, leading to harsh 1959 austerity measures which caused civil unrest.
Better able to maneuver after the 1959 recession, his economic policies (known as desarrollismo — "developmentalism") had paid off by 1961, and he earned the support of much of the country's large middle class. He attempted to lift the electoral ban on Peronism, and met with Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in an attempt to mediate their dispute with the United States. This led the military to withdraw their grudging support.
Peronists, for their part, feared being associated with left-wing figures, and sided with the military in their opposition to the left. Military pressure on Frondizi did not relent, and he signed the Conintes Plan in 1960, which banned communism and suspended civil liberties, but which he eschewed implementing. Frondizi attempted to negotiate an entente between the U.S. and Cuba with a secret, August 1961 meeting at the Quinta de Olivos residence with Cuban envoy (and fellow Argentine) Che Guevara. The military, however, scuttled any future talks, and Frondizi adopted a neutral stance afterwards.
Elections in March 1962, ahead of which Frondizi lifted the ban on Peronists, resulted in significant victories for the latter, notably the election of Andrés Framini as Governor of Buenos Aires Province (the nation's largest). The news triggered a constitutional crisis(instigated by the Argentine military), however, and though the President annulled the results, on March 29, he was deposed by a coup d'état.
Read more about this topic: Arturo Frondizi
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