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| Ezeiza massacre | |
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 A person being pulled up on the platform where Perón would have talked. | |
 Interactive map of Ezeiza massacre | |
| Location | 34°43′21″S58°30′48″W / 34.722438°S 58.513419°W /-34.722438; -58.513419 Puente 12, 10 km on the access road fromEzeiza International Airport,Buenos Aires,Argentina |
| Date | June 20, 1973; 52 years ago (1973-06-20) |
| Target | Left-wing Peronist masses |
Attack type | Sniper massacre |
| Weapons | Sniper rifles |
| Deaths | 13 (at least) |
| Injured | 365 (at least) |
| Perpetrators | Orthodox Peronism |
TheEzeiza massacre (Spanish pronunciation:[eˈsejsa]) took place on June 20, 1973, at Puente 12,[1] the intersection of General Ricchieri freeway (the Ezeiza Airport access) and Camino de Cintura (provincial route 4), some 10 km fromEzeiza International Airport inBuenos Aires,Argentina.
Peronist masses, including many young people, had gathered there to acclaimJuan Perón's definitive return from an 18-year exile inSpain. The police estimated three and a half million people had gathered at the airport. In his plane, Perón was accompanied by presidentHéctor Cámpora, a representative of Peronism'sleft wing, who had come to power on May 25, 1973, amid popular euphoria and a period of political turmoil. Cámpora was opposed to the Peronistright wing, declaring during his first speech that "the spilled blood will not be negotiated".[2]
From Perón's platform, camouflaged snipers from the right-wing of Peronism opened fire on the crowd. The left-wingPeronist Youth and theMontoneros were targeted and trapped. At least 13 bodies were subsequently identified, and 365 were injured during the massacre.[3]
According toClarín newspaper, the real number is thought to be much higher.[4] No official investigation was ever performed to confirm these higher estimates.
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The Ezeiza massacre marked the end of the alliance of left and right-wing Peronists which Perón had managed to form. Héctor Cámpora represented the main figure of the left-wing andJosé López Rega, a formerfederal police officer and Perón's personal secretary who had accompanied Perón during his exile inFrancoist Spain, was the right-wing's representative. López Rega would also be the founder of theAlianza Anticomunista Argentina right-wing death squad.
A populist and a nationalist, Perón was popular from the far-left to the far-right, but this conjunction of forces ended that day. During his exile, Perón himself had supported both young left-wing Peronists, whose icons includedChe Guevara, the Montoneros,Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR),Fuerzas Armadas Peronistas (FAP), thePeronist Youth (JP) and right-wing Peronists composed "Special Formations", gathering radicals such as theIron Guard (GH) or theMovimiento Nacionalista Tacuara.
The tribune had been set up at Puente 12 by Lieutenant-ColonelJorge Manuel Osinde and other far-right figures of Peronism, such asAlberto Brito Lima andNorma Kennedy.Lorenzo Miguel,Juan Manuel Abal Medina andJosé Ignacio Rucci, general secretary of theCGT (Confederación General del Trabajo) — controlled by the Peronist right-wing — had the responsibility of organizing the Peronists' mobilization to Ezeiza. Members of theUnión Obrera Metalúrgica trade union, theJuventud sindical peronista and other right-wing sectors were also on Perón's tribune, facing the left-wing groups in the crowds (FAR, Montoneros, JP and others — the FAP had disarmed on May 25, 1973).
Italian terroristStefano Delle Chiaie, who worked inOperation Gladio but also maintained links with theChileanDINA andTurkishGrey Wolves memberAbdullah Çatlı, was also present at Ezeiza, according to investigations by Spanish judgeBaltasar Garzón.[5]Carlos "El Indio" Castillo, member of theConcentración Nacionalista Universitaria (CNU), also took part in the massacre.[6]
The massacre had been planned to effect the removal of president Héctor Cámpora, a moderate of the left-wing, from power. During Cámpora's first month of governing, approximately 600 social conflicts,strikes andfactory occupations had taken place.[7] Workers managed to obtain wage increases and better working conditions.The workers' movement had gathered the sympathy of large sectors, sometimes anti-Peronist, of the middle classes. On June 2, 1973,José Ignacio Rucci, general secretary of the CGT, had responded to aCuban delegate to the CGT congress asking for a toast in honour ofChe Guevara, that they were against left-wing imperialism.[citation needed] The Peronist right-wing gradually took control of the whole of thetrade union organization, placing people close to the leader José Ignacio Rucci.
The Ezeiza massacre marked the end of the transition period of Cámpora, who had succeeded the military dictatorship of generalAlejandro Lanusse. According to Hugo Moreno, "if October 17, 1945 may be considered as the founding act of Peronism, by thegeneral strike and the presence of the masses imposing their will of support to Perón, the June 20, 1973 massacre marks the entrance on the scene of the late right-wing Peronism."[8]
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