Tacuara Nationalist Movement - 1960s Splits

1960s Splits

The MNT split into along ideological lines between 1960 and 1963. Many of the new members were attracted by Peronism, while some of the old leaders were starting a slow and progressive process of ideological transformation towards Peronism and the left-wing.

The 1959 Cuban Revolution was a major change and an axis of division between political forces. Joe Baxter was fascinated by the Cuban experience and its stand against the USA — which only became complete in 1961, when Fidel Castro announced his choice in favor of socialism. At that time, Alberto Ezcurra and his followers became serious opponents of the Cuban revolution. Furthermore, many activists struggled alongside the trade unions and associated themselves with the Peronist Youth (JP), which wasn’t well viewed in all sectors of the MNT. Thus, in March 1960, the priest Meinvielle, opposed to the alliance with Peronism, accused the original core of Marxist deviations. Meinvielle then created the Guardia Restauradora Nacionalista (GRN) which imposed the membership requirements of European ancestry and a family history of at least six generations of residence in Argentina.

The next splitoff, June 9, 1961, was the Movimiento Nueva Argentina (MNA, New Argentina Movement), headed by Dardo Cabo, which strove for Perón's return from exile. The MNA was one of the first right-wing Peronist organizations. MNA was launched in commemoration of General Juan José Valle's Peronist uprising in 1956. It became the ancestor of all modern Catholic nationalist groups in Argentina.

During the visit of former United States Dwight Eisenhower to Argentina in February 1962, the MNT headed nationalist demonstrations against him, leading to the imprisonment of several of their leaders, among them Joe Baxter.

During the 1962 elections, the MNT presented candidates in Buenos Aires city and in Entre Ríos through the Unión Cívica Nacionalista (Civic Nationalist Union). However, sectors headed by Joe Baxter and José Luis Nell decided to join the Peronist movement (Justicialist party) believing in its revolutionary capacities. With Perón in exile, the movement named after him attracted people of various ideologies. from various backgrounds. This heterogeneity would be lifted only with his return, during the 1973 Ezeiza Massacre.

In 1963, after the Aramburu decree which banned even the use of Perón's name, and the subsequent prohibition of Peronism because of its success in the previous elections, Joe Baxter and José Luis Nell created the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario Tacuara (MNRT, Revolutionary Nationalist Tacuara Movement) which, without forsaking nationalism, broke away from the Church, the right-wing, and antisemitism. Baxter's MNRT became progressively more left-wing and attracted by Marxism. Many leaders of the future Montoneros and ERP's would come from the MNRT. On the other hand, Ezcurra's MNT was expecting a military coup. His group progressively became more and more instrumentalized by the secret services in the framework of a strategy of tension which was to justify the repression of the left-wing.