WesWorld

Noticias Argentinas

April 1
In a large series of ceremonies and events attended by 26,000 members of the public and several high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Defence and officers from the Navy the AFNE shipyard at Bahia Blanca laid down three new vessels for the Navy. These were the destroyers Cervantes and Juan de Garray, both '1939 Class' destroyers, and the repair ship Cabo San Gonzalo which was added to the Naval Expenditure Bill at short notice at the insistence of the Senate who demanded the Navy should spend more on support vessels to keep the fleet active in wartime. Work has also begun at AFNE on the 400 ton coastal tanker Dona Elora.

The destroyer Catamarca, another '1939 Class' destroyer was laid down at the Astillero Nav. Yard with the fourth vessel, San Juan, being built by Tandanor at Comodoro Rividavia. On completion the four destroyers will be assigned to rebuild the 4th Destroyer Squadron which currently has three rebuilt 1916 Class destroyers operating as ASW escorts. Another P-Class submarine is also under construction at the Tandanor yard.

April 10
Almirante (ret.) Peron (leader of the National Democratic Party) is sworn in as the new Vice-President today. President Garcia still refuses to comment on elections but obviously the coalition government is in a minority position and unable to pass any laws.

April 16
Vice-President Almirante (ret.) Peron lets slip at a press conference this morning that an election may be called shortly.

April 24
President Garcia denies to the press in a newspaper interview that the Marxist Party were ever offered a deal to enter the government which calms the United Workers Party and today the Chamber of Deputies votes for the 1939-1940 Annual Budget which to most commentators surprise actually passes the vote without interference from the majority of Conservative Party and Democratic Union deputies. Ironically all the Marxist Deputies voted against the Budget.

April 25
The Marxist Party in their political newspaper ‘Argentine Worker’s News’ published what they say in a full transcript of the talks between the United Workers Party and the Marxist Party in a hotel room in Comodoro Rividavia. Although denied by the government at least 200,000 copies are sold and questions are raised in the Chamber of Deputies about the deal and the deceit of the President.

April 29
A Vote of No Confidence is held in the Chamber of Deputies. The President’s right to rule is at stake and if he falls the government would also fall unless a new President could be found to replace him. Also a motion is put to the Chamber by the Democratic Union to make the Presidential post purely a Head of State position with no powers in the Chamber of Deputies. The post of Vice President would become in effect a Prime Minister as the working head of the government. Much public support was gained for the Democratic Union with these proposals and pressure will be put on the government by all sections of the Chamber and the voters to accept the proposal.

April 30
As news came in during the First Editions of the newspapers it is clear the President Garcia has lost the Vote of No Confidence with 67% of Deputies voting to replace the President. In a speech at the Presidential Palace at 11am the President announces his intention to resign from his political post and as head of the United Workers Party. Vice-President Almirante (ret.) Peron was seen later at the Palace in Cordoba and during the afternoon he called an emergency cabinet session.

Chile is a bit confused who's in charge at the moment and what this means...

Regardless, we all know who this benefits.


The Man with The Plan

No one's alowed to ask why there's a scottish castle
being moved to the top of a Toronto skyscraper.
No one

Germany is a bit puzzled by the question of who's in charge as well, but it's not something that's immediately of concern from such a distance. The motion of April 29 is interesting, but until it a change is made to the Argentine constitution, it seems no more than that. It appears that the Argentine government is now out of power and new elections will need to be held unless a new government can be cobbled together.

And the US?

The US is in a similar position to Germany: it looks like Argentina will be having snap elections soon, and possibly a constitutional convention or modification. The US is even less concerned than Germany, having commercial ties to Argentina but no military contracts like Germany does.

Time Warp back to last qaurter's news;

"March 19
In a press announcement today the Vice-President Alfredo Castagone announced that the General Democratic Union would no longer remain in the coalition government from midnight tonight and that he would resign as Vice-President today. This means that the National Government now only consists of the National Democratic Party and the United Workers Party and will only hold 48% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and only 21% of the seats in the Senate meaning that attempts to pass future legislation will face huge hurdles and the government now holds a minority position."


So that is how things stand at the moment.

May 1
The brand-new escort destroyers Granville, Guerrico, Ferre and Gomez Roca have been commissioned today into the Navy and shortly will form the 5th Destroyer Division. All four ships have completed basic builder’s trials and now will begin naval trials and training. They are the first ships optimised for ASW warfare to be built in Argentina and the Granville and Guerrico are armed for anti-surface work to protect the eventual four ASW destroyers in the class.

May 2
The Coalition Government accepts the Proposal to reform the Presidential position and powers and an election was announced for the Chamber of Deputies to be held on June 1st 1939. There will be no Senate Elections this year. Candidates from all parties are likely to stand for election as President but under new rules could not be the Party leaders and must be current Senators of good standing. Such a reform still has to be ratified in the Chamber and the Senate. Presidential elections will be held on August 1st 1939.

May 7
The United Workers Party has voted for a new leader to replace Eduardo Garcia. Lorenzo Dominique won the vote comfortably and was the deputy leader of the Party from 1935. He is a former shipyard worker from Bahia Blanca and formerly a high-ranking trade union leader. He commands a loyal political base in Bahia Blanca and in some of the more important industrial seats along the coast. He has often been campaigning for social reform and government support for the industrial cities along the coast.

May 14
The Chamber of Deputies votes on the Presidential reforms while the election campaigns get into full swing. The result was;
Aye: 59%
Nay: 38%
Abstain: 3% (all Marxist Deputies)
The Bill now will go before the Senate for ratification.

May 15
Today FMA undertook the first flight of its latest aircraft design. The I.Ae.20 El Boyero was designed in late 1938 by three student designers studying at the Cordoba Technical School after studying the latest American cabin monoplanes as a two-seat light cabin aircraft for aero club use and with a secondary role as an air force liaison aircraft. On the basis of three successful flights today the Ministry of Transport confirmed an order for 150 aircraft to equip Argentine aero clubs. The clubs will be allocated 100 aircraft and the balance of the order will go to the air force to serve as spotter and patrol aircraft in remote regions of the country. The type is available for private sales as well. The I.Ae.20 El Boyero seats two, is powered by an American 65hp Continental A65-8 piston engine and capable of 100mph and a range of 400 miles.

Specification
Dimensions: span 11.5m; length 7.1m; height 1.81m; wing area 17.7 sq m; wing loading 31.07kg/ sq m; power loading 8.46kg/hp
Structure: steel-tube fuselage truss with forward fuselage light alloy fuselage covering with fabric aft of the firewall, light alloy used for tail and tailplane construction with fabric covering. High-position wing with light alloy spars and stringers with piano wire internal bracing with wooden ailerons with fabric covering. Rudder and elevators aluminium framed with fabric covering. Simple fixed main undercarriage with mechanical brakes and a non-retractable tail wheel.
Weights: empty 325kg; gross weight 550kg and payload 225kg
Powerplant: one 65hp Continental A65-8 with a Fenolizada wooden two-blade propeller
Performance: max speed 100mph; range 400 miles and service ceiling 13,100ft
Capacity: pilot and passenger seated side-by-side in a cabin with dual-controls
Equipment: full controls and navigation equipment including a radio receiver/transmitter

May 17
Today is Navy Day and across the nation the Navy has many ships in harbours along the coast open for inspection. The public was allowed onto the decks of the battleship Libertad and the carrier Independencia and the destroyer Jorge was conducting tours around Bahia Blanca around the naval base and the lines of warships lined up in full “dress” with flags and fresh paint. Around 640,000 Pesos was raised for the Veteran & Retired Sailor’s Charity.

May 20
The Senate today voted on the Presidential Reform Bill, the result was;
Aye: 74%
Nay: 25%
Abstain: 1%
The Presidential Reform Bill will now become law and will be enacted by three special sessions of the Chamber of Deputies over the next four days.

May 28
After a few last-minute legal stumbling blocks the Presidential Reform Act was voted into law by the Chamber of Deputies and this will be the final Law enacted by the present government.
As the election campaigns continue a mixed picture is emerging of the voter’s decisions so far.
The Conservative Party led by Jose Marcos de Ballista is generally losing voters to Democratic Union led by Enrique Pastelle, gaining not only dissatisfied middle class voters but also working class votes as well, marking a turning point in the party’s fortunes. The Conservative Party is still seen to be too reactionary for most voters other than the wealthier classes and loyal Conservative supporters. The United Workers Party led Lorenzo Dominique still retains a solid base of working-class voters but more affluent workers are tending to give their votes to the Democratic Union after the failures and unrealistic policies of the last government. This fall-out has also affected the National Democratic Party’s chances. The National Democratic Party is led by current Vice-President Almirante Peron has a useful blend of social and economic policies and overall voters who distrust the Conservative Party and the Democratic Union are supporting the NDP. Many voters feel that the NDP was tainted by the coalition government but many middle-class voters tend to blame the UWP for most of the problems of the government and tending to see the NDP as victims of poor UWP decisions. The General Democratic Union as a splinter-group from the Democratic Union is receiving little support and below them is the Marxist Party.

June 1
Election Day. All goes off peacefully and many feel that it is time to vote in a more stable government to deal with today’s problems like the stable governments of the 1920s and early 1930s. Even so polls suggest another coalition government is likely.

June 3
Election results; overall turnout was 86%.

The parties received the following share of the votes in the Chamber of Deputies;
The Conservative Party 28%
The United Workers Party 26%
National Democratic Party 18%
The Democratic Union 25%
General Democratic Union 2%
Marxist Party 1%

There is no overall winner and the three largest parties have around a quarter of the seats each.
Here are the possible combinations as drawn up by Political News Weekly;
UWP- Democratic Union-NDP 69%
Conservative-Democratic Union 53%
UWP-Democratic Union-GDU 53%
Conservative-NDP 46%
UWP-NDP-GDU 45% (repeat of current coalition)
Democratic Union-GDU-NDP 45%

June 4
Talks between the parties have been held all day in Cordoba with negotiation teams from all parties trailing across the city and meeting in various locations cutting several deals. Hopefully by tonight or early tomorrow the situation will be clearer as both the main power blocs each have a 53% share of the seats. The Conservatives are trying to get the General Democratic Union to work with their former parent party and it seems National Democratic Party talks with the Conservative Party have broken down. As yet no party has approached the Marxists.

June 5
In a shock joint press conference at the Caracaras Hotel in Cordoba the National Democratic Party and the Democratic Union have joined together as the United Democratic Front and together have reached an agreement to form a new “People’s Government” with the United Workers Party. The “People’s Government” is offering continued social reform but with free-market economics to appeal to “all classes and all sections of the community and the population from North to South.” The coalition holds 69% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies leaving the Conservatives and the General Democratic Union and the Marxists out of power. The two main Democratic Parties rejected the Conservative proposals as unworkable and they had little choice but to ally with the UWP to secure a majority.

The cabinet is now composed as follows;
Vice President (Essentially a Prime Minister and Head of Government) Enrique Pastelle (DU)
Finance Minister Carlos Santinez (DU)
Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Smith (UWP)
Defence Minister Vice Adm (ret). Juan Perez Benedicto Hood (NDP)
State Minister Lorenzo Dominique (UWP)
Security Minister Enrique Velasco Rojas (UWP)
Transport Minister Alfredo D’Assi (DU)
Social Affairs Minister Alfredo Sicillia (UWP)
Labour and Industry Minister Carlos Saavedra Lamas (NDP)
Education and Culture Minister Fernando Lozario (NDP)

June 11
Over the last five weeks interest rates in Paraguay, supposedly pegged at Argentine levels, have risen sharply and several Paraguayan companies have defaulted on their Argentine loans. This uncertainty has unsettled the markets in Argentina and inflation and interest rates have risen slightly as a result. Investors scared that Paraguay can not repay their loans have pulled out of many projects and overnight two Argentine investment banks nearly collapsed. This has had major impacts across Argentina and although interest rates seem stable at the moment this has had huge impacts in Paraguay as several other Argentine banks have recalled their loans. The Ministry of Finance and the Argentine National Bank are trying to calm the situation and attempting to provide credit for Paraguayan businesses.

June 16
The candidates for the Presidential Elections are announced today;

Juan Ramon Mugnolo is standing for the Conservative Party, a Conservative Senator and indeed has held a Senate seat since 1927 and is often involved in economic conferences and is a shareholder in two mining companies.

Ricardo de la Rua is standing for the Democratic Union, he is a former banker and he is a founding member of the PHP Foundation and has been an active Democratic Union member since the age of 18 and a Senator since 1931.

Ramon Stellos is standing for the United Workers Party, former leader of the General Shipbuilders and Ironworkers Union and a long-standing political ally of Lorenzo Dominique, leader of the United Workers Party. He entered the Party in 1927 and became a Deputy until he stood for the Senate in the 1937 election and won his seat.

General (ret) Jorge Roca is standing for the National Democratic Party, former Army General, retired 1930 and he joined the newly former NDP in 1936 as a Senator and he has been busy since then on the National Defence Committee, the Defence Spending Committee and the Industrial Relations Board.

Oscar Lujan is standing for the General Democratic Union, a doctor of psychology he joined the Democratic Union when a student and rose to the position of Party Treasurer in 1920 and became Deputy Leader in 1926, he was granted a seat in the Senate by President Garcia in 1932 but left the Party during the South American War and joined Castagone’s splinter General Democratic Union. He currently is Treasurer of the GDU and on the Party Policy Committee and has a private medical practice in Cordoba.

Paulo Augusto Cardoso is standing for the Marxist Party, a former political student he joined several Anarchist groups in the early 1920s and studied abroad in France and Iberia and returned to Argentina in 1929. He joined the Marxist Party and by 1934 headed its newspaper staff and was the political organiser for the Department of San Luis. He was elected as the only Marxist Senator in 1937. Since then he has written five books on Marxism and has voted against every Government Bill since his election.

Having recently outlawed the National Socialists, Chile is uneasy watching Argentina's government turmoil, considering that Marxists and National Socialists tend to be folks who do not play well with others...

Heh, Germany's lucky there in that the German National Socialists mostly wiped themselves out as a political party in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Marxists are still about, of course, but are not CURRENTLY a threat to be a king-maker in German politics.

The US is luckier still in that neither group has a major presence in it's politics: the Union Party is much more Progressive than Marxist or National Socialist, and neither the Democrats or the Republicans fit the molds either.

Not sure whether this'll change Italy's relationship with Argentina. Probably not looking at the long term view, but it depends what action might be taken against Italian companies, interests and peoples in the country.

Eh?
What National Socialists?

The United Workers Party is a socialist party along the lines of the British Labour Party etc. The National Democratic Party and the Democratic Union ae both centre-left parties and really the new coalition is essentially a repeat of the previous government. It should now have a even more stable base and some improved popular support.

The Marxists languish in well earned obscurity.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
Eh?
What National Socialists?

I was talking about the ones Chile's currently hanging. The 1938 turmoils got Chile a bit jumpy.