Peronism came to put an end to the effects of an infamous decade – the era that started in 1930 with the oligarchic military dictatorship that overthrew Irigoyen; the years of national corruption, soup kitchens, ignominious frauds and assassins paid by the committee. A time when Argentinian politics were managed between the British embassy and the army. A shameless handover of the national wealth. ibid.
Peronism displaced oligarchy and imperialism from positions of power. ibid.
He was the embodiment of a popular force. ibid.
The central bank is nationalized as are railways, gas, telephones. ibid.
Oligarchic economic power remained the same. The old regime’s institutions were not substantially modified. ibid.
In 1955 the National Front finally divided itself completely. The church, some sections of the army, and the whole of the bourgeoisie surrendered to the oligarchy and became an enemy of the revolution. ibid.
Peron resigned the presidency. The people took to the streets again. ibid.
Peron was isolated by a servile bureaucracy. ibid.
The army removed Peron from power … Peronism went down without a fight. ibid.
The Congress will be dissolved. Peronism will be persecuted and there will be a ban. ibid.
150,000 trade union leaders will be suspended. Tens of thousands will be arrested. ibid.
At the time of Peron’s fall there was no national debt. 10 years later the national debt reached 6 billion dollars. The IMF will start to influence national economic policy. The economy will start a de-nationalization process … the violent decade was about the start. ibid.
September 1955: We moved towards the bridge and started to shout, ‘Mayo Square! Mayo Square!’ As if we wanted to revive 17th October 1945. And we arrived at the bridge but the army was already there. On seeing the soldiers the people stopped. And the army began to shoot. ibid. textiles trade unionist
Often we even organised the resistance while in prison. ibid. trade unionist
After the 1955 coup d’etat the country seems to have been occupied by an invading army. ibid.
In the underground the proletariat organise the first few strikes … many national militants were shot. ibid.
The promotion of private free enterprise, and an open door for foreign capital, privatization of national enterprises, liquidation and removal of small industry, subjection to the International Monetary Fund, and a repression of the people. ibid.
In 1959 the fight for popular power became extremely violent. ibid.
The most important of these demonstrations – the occupation of the factories. ibid.
I’m travelling the length of the Americas starting at the top and heading to the toe … through North and Central America. It’s a journey of 5,000 miles through some of the biggest landscapes on Earth: it’ll take me to places of myth and wonder. The Americas with Simon Reeve, BBC 2019
I’m in a remote corner of Venezuela. I’m travelling the length of the Americas. The two continents put together form more than a quarter of the Earth’s land surface. Simon Reeve’s South America I, BBC 2022
Venezuela: Perhaps the most troubled country in South America. It’s said to have experienced the single largest economic collapse outside war in decades. ibid.
Venezuela has the biggest oil reserves of any country on Earth. ibid.
Almost a fifth of the world’s tropical rain forest is in the Guiana Shield. Along with a staggering 20% of the world’s fresh water. ibid.
Suriname: This used to be a Dutch colony. They still speak Dutch here. ibid.
Suriname is still 90% forest. That’s the highest rate in the world. ibid.
The Amazon: The greatest rainforest on planet Earth … The first new cases of what we now call Covid has just been reported in Brazil … 300 indigenous tribe still live in Brazil’s forest. Simon Reeve’s South America II
Now the Amazon is being destroyed at the fastest rate for fifteen years. ibid.
The Andes Mountains: In this part of my journey, I’ll be up at altitude with the people of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. Simon Reeve’s South America III
Peru is really a continent in a country. It has some of the highest, driest, wettest, and most inhospitable terrain on the planet. ibid.
It’s like the largest most perfect ice-skating rink you can possibly imagine … Four thousand square miles of salt flats. It was in southern Bolivia. Simon Reeve’s South America IV
Brazil: Where huge areas of wilderness have been turned over to farming … When it comes to farming, Brazil is a global superpower. ibid.
From the time the first Europeans came to the Americas, the indigenous people have suffered: slavery, disease, exploitation. In many areas they have not been fully integrated. ibid.
The driest desert on planet Earth: the Atacama … 40,000 square miles of sand, red rock and arid mountain. Simon Reeve’s South America V
Atacama desert: A mountain of used discarded clothes … Each year … sixty thousand tons of clothes have been dumped illegally … Millions of pieces are dumped here. ibid.
At the southern tip of South America the Andes mountains rise almost vertically. Their very height affects life throughout the continent. The barren slopes look inhospitable. But like all parts of South America they are actually rich with wildlife. A family of Puma. They live further south than any kind of cat on Earth. David Attenborough, Seven Worlds, One Planet III: South America, BBC 2019
Here on the coast of Peru there are so many seabirds fishing in the offshore waters that the cliffs are covered in droppings over a metre thick. ibid.
The Andean bear: only a few thousand remain. They eat mostly leaves and fruit. ibid.
A few patches of forest still remain. One in Colombia is the home of one of the world’s rarest monkeys: cotton-topped tamarins. They are critically endangered. They live largely on fruit and are particularly fond of tree sap: this is packed with sugars, so it also attracts insects. ibid.
Once fledged, these young [parrots] will follow their parents for up to a year learning where to find the salts. ibid.
Anacondas are the largest of all snakes. They grow to over 200 kilos. And they usually stalk their prey from the water. ibid.
I’ve been exploring the possibility of a lost civilisation in prehistory for more than 30 years. Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas s2e1: Chapter I, Netflix 2024
One of the most striking places in North America: White Sands, New Mexico … Forcing a rewrite of the history of the pre-Americas. ibid.
These fossilised human footprints must have been made in the time of the mammoths and the giants sloths. At least 11,500 years ago. And there are thousands of them. ibid.
‘At least from 21 to 23,000 years ago.’ ibid. scientist
The timeline of history keeps receding with every new discovery. ibid.
Where astounding secrets of the human past are now beginning to be revealed: this is the Amazon. ibid.
Giant geometrical shapes as much as 1,000 feet across … spread across an area the size of West Virginia. ibid.
Ancient raised roads connecting the geoglyphs. ibid.
These enormous in the Amazon point to a monumental human endeavour. But how many of them are there? Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas s2e2: Chapter II
Rock Art are in the Americas: known as pictographs … When were these images painted? … Art work created during the last Ice Age. ibid.
Most compelling to me are the hand-prints … a message to the future. ibid.
Brazil: These paintings push the date back future - to more than 25,000 years ago. ibid.
The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis … Evidence may be present etched into these walls. ibid.
2015: They found that members of certain Amazonian tribes share a specific DNA marker with people from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. ibid.
This DNA signal is not found anywhere in North America. What’s more, the DNA signal is very old: at least 10,000 years. ibid.
Easter Island: ‘In this study of the different food we have, the result came with the banana. They found the banana on the island three thousands years ago.’ Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas s2e3: Chapter III, expert
The plants are helping us push the timeline back. ibid.
More evidence of Veracocha’s legacy … More than 11,000 feet above sea level: this is Sascayhuaman. This is one of the world’s most extraordinary ancient sites and one of the most mysterious. The vast hilltop site is filled with archaeological wonders crafted from stone. ibid.
Incas: A civilisation that flourished across the high Andes. ibid.
The Inca warriors made their last redoubt from behind these walls. ibid.
We did see something like this back in Rapa Nui. ibid.
Temple of the Moon, Machu Picchu: Are we looking at the work of someone else, an older culture? Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas s2e4: Chapter IV
Q’Enqo: Translates to labyrinth … A complex network of sculpted tunnels, subterranean galleries, and what appear to be altars carved out of the bedrock, all seemingly leading to an amphitheatre. ibid.
A civilisation that pre-dates the Inca. When I look at Sascayhuaman, I think I’m looking at the fingerprints of a lost technology. ibid.
Hidden beneath the jungle canopy there are more cities. Many more. ibid.
This super-powered soil has been found all across the Amazon. ibid.
‘Many of trees were have here – Brazil nut, many palms, are semi-cultivated and even cultivated and even domesticated.’ ibid.