Brickbats: December 2026

After President Juan Perón came to power in 1946, famed essayist Jorge Luis Borges learned he had been "promoted" from his job as a cataloger at the Miguel Cané Municipal Public Library to a position inspecting poultry and rabbits in the markets. When Borges asked a clerk at City Hall why he had been chosen for the position over other, more qualified candidates, he said he was told, "You were on the side of the Allies—what do you expect?"

In 1951, President Juan Perón called a special session for the Argentine Congress to vote on the takeover of La Prensa, one of only two Buenos Aires newspapers not already owned by the government. The paper originally ceased publication when the news vendors union, possibly at the Perón government's behest, boycotted unless it received 20 percent of classified ad revenue. When the paper's employees tried to return to work, armed individuals shot at them, killing one and wounding others. The government also charged La Prensa's publisher with "violating national security," forcing him to flee to Uruguay. … [Subscribe to continue reading]