Aviation for the People: Class and State Aviation in Perón's "New Argentina," 1946-55

Abstract

This article investigates the culture and politics of aviation in mid-twentieth-century Argentina under Juan D. Perón's populist government. For enthusiasts around the world, aviation seemed poised for the long-prophesized "Air Age" transformations. Most emphasized the middle-class or elite nature of this quintessentially modern industry and its customers. Recent aviation scholarship in Europe and the United States has thus focused on affluent passengers or aircraft owners as the consumers of aviation technology. But this article reveals that Peronist Argentina implemented a massive political aviation program aimed at elevating socioeconomic conditions for the working classes. State media show that the authorities harnessed aviation as a technopolitical tool to both represent and enact their vision for a "New Argentina" by providing "dignified" work for the lower classes.