Peronism, the LGBT Movement, and Authoritarian Rule in Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s

This paper explores the formation of the first LGBT movement in Argentina in the context of growing authoritarianism and social control of daily life. After Peronism was banned in 1955, the military took an increasing role, first threatening to oust any government lifting the ban on Peronism and later, since 1966, through direct political rule. The coming of military rule since 1966 implied the attempt to erase the sphere of politics by banning any kind of political activity. Social life was also curtailed as the state became increasingly repressive and used police forces to control moral issues such as dressing codes, extra-marital sex, youth culture, etc. In this context, homosexuality was deemed a risk to the social system and also persecuted. Feeling identified with a larger network of people affected by the increasingly repressive social control, homosexual men and women decided to create the first organizations to counteract official intervention in their lives. Nuestro Mundo first and the Frente de Liberación Homosexual later were two organizations that saw the fight for LGBT civil rights in close relation to larger political issues. Challenging the dictatorship became one of the fundamental goals of these organizations. However, no matter how much the LGBT right groups tried to coordinate their struggles with those of left wing Peronism and other social movements, they were increasingly isolated. Although LGBT groups perceived themselves as part of a general anti-authoritarian wave, they were rejected by the very same groups they saw as their allies.