General Confederation of Labour (Argentina) - The CGT Following The "Revolution of '43"

The CGT Following The "Revolution of '43"

After the coup d'état of 1943, its leaders embraced the pro-working class policies of the Labour Minister, Col. Juan Domingo Perón. Again the CGT was unified, due to the incorporation of many unionists who were members of the CGT n°2, dissolved in 1943 by the military government.

When Perón was separated from the government and confined on Martín García Island, the CGT called for a major popular demonstration at the Plaza de Mayo, on 17 October 1945, succeeding in releasing Perón from prison and in the call for elections. Founding on the same day the Labour Party (Partido Laborista), the CGT was one of the main support of Perón during the February 1946 elections. In 1947, the Labour Party merged into the Peronist Party. Afterwards, the CGT became one of the strongest arms of the Peronist Movement, and the only trade union centre recognised by Perón's government. Two CGT delegates, the Socialist Ángel Borlenghi and Juan Atilio Bramuglia were nominated Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs, respectively. Colonel Domingo Mercante, who was perhaps the military officer with the closest ties to labor, was elected Governor of Buenos Aires (a key constituency).

The number of unionized workers grew markedly during the Perón years, from 1 million to 6 million (all belonging to the one of the CGT's 2,500 affiliated unions). His administration also enacted or significantly extended numerous landmark social reforms supported by the CGT, including: minimum wages; labor courts; collective bargaining rights; improvements in housing, health and education; social insurance; pensions; economic policies which encouraged import substitution industrialization; growth in real wages of up to 50%; and an increased share of employees in national income from 45% to a record 58%.