ABSTRACT
Juan Domingo Peron had arrived at the position of most powerful man in the regime largely through his ability to maneuver in armed service politics. However, he was to consolidate his hold on power—and to be able to retrieve it when it was temporarily taken from him in October 1945—largely because of his ability to organize a very large and powerful constituency among the civilian population. Colonel Peron's success in acquiring a broad base of support among the civilian population consolidated the power within the military regime that he had originally acquired by adroit maneuvering among his fellow officers. The navy in particular was cool towards him, and there were also important figures in the army, politically the dominant arm of the military regime, who were hostile to Colonel Peron. The military leaders felt that economic nationalism was an inherent part of the general nationalist orientation that was shared by virtually all factions within the armed forces.
