Montoneros - Ideology

Ideology

As other similar left-wing guerrillas that operated in Latin America during the 1970s, Montoneros despised democracy. They maintained that democracies were actually a complex masquerade that concealed fascist governments and delayed class struggle. Their attacks sought to force the governments to give up such masquerades and openly operate as fascist governments; expecting that in such scenario the people would support the guerrillas. This doctrine did not work as intended: the people despised the military dictatorships, but did not see the guerrillas as the enemies of the dictatorships, but rather as their cause. Thus, the projected class struggle never took place.

Montoneros did not think about their armed violence as a response to a threat to society, but as the key of their identity. Thus, they declined the chance to achieve their goals by peaceful means once democracy was restored. Instead, they killed the unionist José Ignacio Rucci in 1973 and declared war on Isabel Perón in 1974. The military lifestyle influenced all the actions, structure and hierarchy of the Montoneros, including salutes, uniforms and a constant usage of military slang, even in circumstances where such things were uncalled for (such as the state funeral of Juan Perón). The internal structure of the Montoneros was completely top-down, with the strategies outlined by the heads of it and ordered to the others.

Although Juan Perón encouraged the actions of José López Rega, supported the right-wing unionists and denied preferential promotions to the Montoneros, they thought that his actions were simply a strategic masquerade, and that he actually supported the Montoneros' projects. Perón expelled them from Plaza de Mayo and outlined the counter-insurgency that decimated the guerrillas. Still, the surviving Montoneros still acknowledge Perón as their leader.