Old West versus New West. Peron's "Third Position", Latin America, and the Atlantic Community

This article is based upon a multi-archival research in the diplomatic archives of seven different countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Italy, Perù and Portugal. It analyzes the attempt of the Peròn government to form a bloc of Latin countries, gathering under its hegemony, and with the support of the Vatican, the catholic nations of Europe and America. Known as the “third position”, the idea of creating such a bloc failed once the Cold War imposed its rules, laying the ground for an odd alliance between most catholic countries, the Vatican and the United States. As a consequence, Peròn’s policy abandoned its religious matrix and drifted progressively toward third-worldist horizons. At the same time, the abortion of the Latin bloc showed the capability of the bipolar system to erode the notion of a Latin civilization, diluting it into the broadest one of the Christian West.