Industrialists and Politics in Argentina: An Opinion Survey of Trade Association Leaders

In: Journal of Interamerican studies and world affairs, Volume 12, Issue 3, p. 439-454

Abstract

The role of the Latin American industrialist as a potential modernizing agent promoting social and economic evolution has received increasing attention in recent years. Yet discussions of the industrialist's role have been largely impressionistic; few opinion surveys of the industrialist's goals and values are available. This study was based on such an opinion survey of industrial trade association leaders in Argentina, a nation in which the debate over the role of the industrialist in social evolution has received wide attention.The industrial trade association movement itself is split into two factions: the porteño-dominaied Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), created before the turn of the century, and the interior-based Confederation of Industry (CI), founded during the second presidency of Juan Domingo Perón. The ability of the sector to strengthen its political position hinges largely on the need to develop greater rapport between these two groups of industrialists.