Sound Effects

Argentina's military Government was having its face lifted last week, hoping to look more democratic when (& if) a Pan American Conference assembles to judge its case. Three moves came in rapid succession. Cabildo, nationalist and often pro-fascist daily, was suspended for eight days for denouncing as pro-U.S. the new, tough supervisor of German firms. Argentina Libre (Free Argentina), a strongly democratic weekly closed for more than a year, was allowed to appear again. It started off with a bang, featuring on its front page a cartoon of Adolf Hitler about to be sealed in his coffin. Inside were articles by three ex-deputies, including Socialist Juan Antonio Solari, outspoken critic of the militarists. An editorial announced that the weekly had reappeared as a test of the Government's announced policy of permitting a free press.

Another new departure was the appointment of a four-man commission to draw up a statute permitting the organization of political parties, dissolved a year ago. Members were three Federal judges and a prominent lawyer, all considered supporters of a democratic form of government. No date was set for elections, but after appointing the commission, the Government could claim that it was preparing for them.

Some Argentines believed that the Presidential campaign, however phony, was already under way. Vice President Juan Domingo Peron (who wants to be President, even if he has to be elected) was stumping the country, shouting his love for the common man. With an Allied victory in sight, democratic sound effects in Argentina were growing louder & louder.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.