Incident
Argentina: President Juan Perón's government hands the expropriated newspaper La Prensa to the CGT labor federation, October 1951
La Prensa, one of Argentina's leading newspapers and a longtime critic of President Juan Perón's government, was expropriated by the state earlier in 1951. In October 1951, the government formally handed the paper to the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), the country's main labor federation, which began publishing it.123
What happened
La Prensa, a Buenos Aires newspaper long critical of President Juan Perón's government, was expropriated by the Argentine state earlier in 1951, according to a CIA intelligence digest from that October. The government folded the paper's transfer into the program for Loyalty Day, October 17, a Peronist political holiday marking a high point that year in Perón's re election campaign. As part of the day's program, the government made a formal presentation of the expropriated newspaper to workers, with the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), Argentina's main labor federation, beginning to publish it. The transfer drew international attention: the Inter American Press Association, a group representing more than three hundred newspapers and publications across the hemisphere, opened a five day meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, on October 8, 1951, at which the group discussed the La Prensa case as an example of Argentina's treatment of the press, according to the same CIA reporting.1243
What reason was given
Stated justificationArgentina's government has not been shown to have stated its reasons for the transfer. It folded the formal handover of La Prensa to the CGT into the program for Loyalty Day, October 17, 1951, a Peronist political holiday marking a high point of President Perón's re election campaign.1243
What changed for reporting
The Confederación General del Trabajo, Argentina's main labor federation, began publishing La Prensa after the government's formal presentation of the expropriated paper to its workers.4
Timeline
1951
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) | implemented | Argentina's main labor federation |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| La Prensa | outlet | affected |
Sources
- CIA Current Intelligence Review, 12 September 1951 (declassified)
- CIA Daily Digest, 17 October 1951 (declassified)
- CIA Daily Digest, 9 October 1951 (declassified)
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- La Prensa was expropriated by the Argentine government earlier in 1951, according to a CIA daily digest from October 9, 1951.
La Prensa, which the Argentine Government expropriated earlier this year.
CIA Daily Digest, 9 October 1951 (declassified), CIA Daily Digest, 9 October 1951 (declassified), 1951-10-09.Claim 864, checked 2026-09-26. - A CIA digest dated October 17, 1951, described Loyalty Day, a Peronist political holiday, as the high point that year of President Perón's re election campaign.
Loyalty Day, 17 October, is the most important Peronista- created holiday and this year has been planned as a high point in the election campaign.
CIA Daily Digest, 17 October 1951 (declassified), CIA Daily Digest, 17 October 1951 (declassified), 1951-10-17.Claim 865, checked 2026-09-26. - The Inter American Press Association, representing more than three hundred newspapers and publications, opened a five day meeting in Montevideo on October 8, 1951, at which the La Prensa case was expected to be discussed, according to a CIA digest.
Over 300 newspapers and publications are expected to be represented at the meeting of this non-government association.
CIA Daily Digest, 9 October 1951 (declassified), CIA Daily Digest, 9 October 1951 (declassified), 1951-10-09.Claim 867, checked 2026-09-26. - The government's Loyalty Day program included the formal presentation of the expropriated newspaper La Prensa to workers, with the Confederación General del Trabajo beginning to publish it, according to the same CIA digest.
the formal presentation to the workers of the expropriated newspaper La Prensa, which the General Confederation of Labor will begin publishing
CIA Daily Digest, 17 October 1951 (declassified), CIA Daily Digest, 17 October 1951 (declassified), 1951-10-17.Claim 866, checked 2026-09-26.