Argentine cultural development, 1956–70

In 1955, Sur was still the most influential literary magazine in Argentina. It had, by its own lights, defended the liberal tradition bravely during the Peronist years and could still command the respect of most intellectual groups. No dominant cultural alternative to liberalism had emerged in the decade 1945 to 1955, although young critics were beginning to question the traditional structures of literary production and consumption. Yet a significant transformation of society had taken place under Peronism, the results of which would become apparent in every aspect of culture. The post-Peronist years can be seen as heralding a process of modernisation, but Sur was not to be in the vanguard of the movement. To explain why this modernising élite was displaced by other forces will require a closer look at Argentine development from the downfall of Perón until 1970, when Argentina was experiencing the shock of the Cordobazo, the growth of youth protest and guerrilla violence. It was a cultural climate that Sur could no longer influence or even understand: its dreams of national reconstruction would evaporate before Perón himself returned as the much vaunted saviour of the nation. What went wrong?

The success of Sur had been due to the quality of its foreign and national contributors, and the relative stability of what a strategic minority accepted as taste and value.