Editing Montoneros (section)

==Ideology==
The main political currents that shaped the Montoneros was the far-left [[liberation theology]] of [[Camilo Torres Restrepo]], "Christian national socialism" of [[Juan Perón]] and Marxist-Leninist [[Guevarism]] of [[Che Guevara]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=La radicalización de los católicos en la Argentina. Peronismo, cristianismo y revolución (1966-1971) |language=es |year=1998 |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=174–200 |last=Lenci |first=María Laura |url=https://www.memoria.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/art_revistas/pr.2716/pr.2716.pdf |journal=Cuadernos del CISH |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126070156/https://memoria.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/art_revistas/pr.2716/pr.2716.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> along with the [[option for the poor]] and anti-imperialism propagated by [[:es:Juan García Elorrio|Juan García Elorrio]] in his journal ''Cristianismo y Revolución'', as well as the and Peronist [[left-wing nationalism]] promoted by [[John William Cooke]].<ref>{{cite book |title=De Perón a Montoneros: historia de la violencia política en la Argentina: marcados a fuego II (1945-1973) |language=es |first=Marcelo |last=Larraquy |year=2010 |isbn= 978-987-04-1489-6 |publisher=Aguilar |page=196}}</ref> The initial mentor of the group was also [[Carlos Mugica]] who saw Peronism as Argentinian version of Catholic socialism, but rejected armed struggle and revolution, stating: "I am prepared to be killed but I am not prepared to kill".<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |page=55}}</ref> This led radicalized youth that would then form the Montoneros to embrace more radical beliefs of Camilo Torres and García Elorrio instead, with Torres arguing that "The duty of every Catholic is to be a revolutionary" and that "The Catholic who is not a revolutionary is living in mortal sin".<ref>{{cite book |title=Revolutionary priest: the complete writings and messages of Camilo Torres |publisher=Penguin Books |page=11 |first=John |last=Gerassi |year=1973}}</ref> The movement also glorified [[Eva Perón]], naming her as one of the inspirations behind the Montoneros and used the slogan ''Si Evita viviera, sería Montonera'' ("If Evita were alive she would be a Montonero"), which became one of the best-known mottos of the group.<ref>{{cite book |title=Authoritarian Argentina: The Nationalist Movement, Its History and Its Impact |page=218 |publisher=University of California Press |first=David |last=Rock |author-link=David Rock (historian) |year=1993 |isbn=0-520-20352-6}}</ref> In January 1975, the official organ of the Montoneros even took the name ''Evita Montonera''.<ref name="Hodges 1991 112">{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=112}}</ref> Montoneros are considered the ideological staple of [[Revolutionary Peronism]], which combined "radical Catholic principles of justice, Peronist populism, and leftist nationalism."<ref name="martin_236" /> Montoneros remained committed to liberation theology throughout their entire existence, and the notion of Catholic martyrdom was a strong element in the Montonero imaginary and political practice.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Global South Atlantic |first1=Kerry |last1=Bystrom |first2=Joseph R. |last2=Slaughter |year=2018 |publisher=Fordham University Press |page=162 |isbn=9780823277902}}</ref>

Other figures that the Montoneros were influenced by included [[:es:Juan José Hernández Arregui|Juan José Hernández Arregui]] who considered Peronism "the vehicle of the nation doing battle with imperialism",<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |page=14}}</ref> historian [[José María Rosa]] who defined Peronism as revolutionary anti-imperialism,<ref>{{cite book |title=Authoritarian Argentina: The Nationalist Movement, Its History and Its Impact |page=120 |publisher=University of California Press |first=David |last=Rock |author-link=David Rock (historian) |year=1993 |isbn=0-520-20352-6}}</ref> dissident communist [[:es:Rodolfo Puiggrós|Rodolfo Puiggrós]] who promoted 'Peronist Marxism',<ref>{{cite journal |title=El Marxismo Peronista de Rodolfo Puiggrós. Una aproximación a la izquierda nacional |first=Sergio |last=Friedemann |volume=39 |year=2014 |journal=Documentos de Jóvenes Investigadores |language=es |isbn=978-987-28642-4-8 |url=https://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/Argentina/iigg-uba/20151022050903/dji39.pdf |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206155206/https://biblioteca.clacso.edu.ar/Argentina/iigg-uba/20151022050903/dji39.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Arturo Jauretche]] who founded left-wing nationalist [[:es:Fuerza de Orientación Radical de la Joven Argentina|FORJA]] in 1935 and became a Peronist in 1940s.<ref name="Rock 1993 220">{{cite book |title=Authoritarian Argentina: The Nationalist Movement, Its History and Its Impact |page=220 |publisher=University of California Press |first=David |last=Rock |author-link=David Rock (historian) |year=1993 |isbn=0-520-20352-6}}</ref> In the late 1960s, Jauretche and Arregui held regular discussions with the Montonero leadership, refining their ideology and rhetoric.<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |page=11}}</ref> Montoneros were also influenced by the polemic between their political mentors and inspirations – in 1969 Perón expressed his interest in Elorrio's ''Cristianismo y Revolución'' and wrote a letter to Elorrio that was later published in the journal, stating: "The revolution that is beginning will call into question not only capitalist society but also industrial society. The consumer society must die a violent death. The alienated society [sic] must disappear from history. We are trying a new and original world. The imagination has taken power."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Montoneros y Perón ¿un diálogo de sordos? Apostillas sobre el socialismo nacional (1967/1972) |first=Rocío |last=Otero |date=10 December 2018 |doi=10.4000/nuevomundo.73994 |journal=Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos |language=es|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/102771 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Amongst the list of the political mentors of the Montoneros, [[Richard Gillespie]] names Camilo Torres as the most important inspiration, as evidenced by the name of the ''Camilo Torres Commando'', which was created in 1967 and was a precursor of the Montoneros, defining their ideology as "Peronism, socialism, Catholic liberationism, and armed struggle",<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |page=57}}</ref> and having "Latin American and Third World liberation" for its goal.<ref name="salcedo"/> 

===Liberation theology===
Despite its far-left ideology, Montoneros originated from middle-class and upper-middle-class Catholic and nationalist backgrounds.<ref>{{cite book |title=Juan Perón: The Life of the People's Colonel |page=207 |first=Jill |last=Hedges |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-7556-0268-1 |year=2021}}</ref> The core of Montonero ideology was Argentinian nationalism and Political Catholicism, which were later extended into Peronism and socialism. This connection was made possible by the influence of post-Vatican II Catholicism, as third-worldist and liberation theology Argentinian priests, also known as the worker-priests, would radicalize Catholic students into embracing these political currents.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Mapping the Argentine New Left Social Liberation, National Liberation, and Revolutionary Violence, 1969–1977 |first=David |last=Copello |journal=Latin American Perspectives |issue=1 |volume=20 |doi=10.1177/0094582X20939101 |year=2020 |page=7 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02525133/file/LAP_Copello_D%C3%A9p%C3%B4t%20HAL.pdf |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=3 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103063654/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02525133/file/LAP_Copello_D%C3%A9p%C3%B4t%20HAL.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Priest Carlos Mugica, known for his work in shantytowns at the time, became a spiritual advisor of the Catholic students' organization at the [[National University of Central Buenos Aires]], coming in contact with students that would become leading members of the Montoneros. Mugica promoted Peronism, arguing that he was "absolutely convinced that the liberation of my people will be through the Peronist movement. I know from the Gospel, from Christ’s attitude, that I must see human history through the poor. And in Argentina the majority of the poor are Peronists."<ref>{{cite book |title=Juan Perón: The Life of the People's Colonel |page=227 |first=Jill |last=Hedges |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-7556-0268-1 |year=2021}}</ref> Catholicism was so central to Montoneros that the group started correspondence with Pope [[John Paul II]], and also had its own chaplain, Catholic priest Jorge Adur, who became the Montoneros' emissary to the Vatican.<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Of Order and Liberty: Catholic Intellectuals in Argentina and Brazil, 1930-1980 |year=2015 |first=Travis K. |last=Knoll |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin |degree=Masters of Arts |page=80 |url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/a30c83cf-baf0-45f7-ac9b-825cedfd75dd/content}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=María |last=Soledad Catoggio |title=Argentine Catholicism During the Last Military Dictatorship: Unresolved Tensions and Tragic Outcomes |year=2013 |journal=Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies |publisher=Travesia |doi=10.1080/13569325.2013.803954 |page=1}}</ref>

Around 1964 Mugica contacted former members of a 1950s Peronist resistance organization known as the Tacuaristas, and introduced them to his pupils. Mugica praised Peronism as effective realization of Catholicism, arguing that Peronism and Catholicism were united in their goals of "love for the poor, for those persecuted for defending justice and for fighting against injustice".<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |page=56}}</ref> Further radicalization came from the death of Camilo Torres, a revolutionary Catholic priest who joined the Marxist-Leninist [[National Liberation Army (Colombia)|National Liberation Army]] and was killed during one of the organization's operations. Six months after his death, first issue of Catholic socialist journal ''Cristianismo y Revolución'', directed by García Elorrio, was published. The journal promoted post-conciliar reforms in the Catholic Church as a turn towards Marxism, encouraged armed struggle as a truly Catholic way of seizing power, idealized Camilo Torres and Che Guevara as examples of anti-imperialist martyrs, and vindicated Peronism as the "revolutionary key of national construction of socialism".<ref name="salcedo">{{cite journal |title=De los Camilos a los Comandos Peronistas de Liberacíon en los orígenes de Montoneros |first=Javier |last=Salcedo |publisher=Universidad de Santiago de Chile |journal=Revista de Historia Social y de las Mentalidades |language=es |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=199–224 |year=2018 |issn=0717-5248 |url=https://rhistoria.usach.cl/sites/revistahistoria/files/3648-texto_del_articulo-26003579-1-10-20190118.pdf |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=30 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230083457/https://rhistoria.usach.cl/sites/revistahistoria/files/3648-texto_del_articulo-26003579-1-10-20190118.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Most influential in regards to Montoneros was Elorrio's article from March 1967, which connected Camilo Torres' struggle to Peronism:

{{blockquote|text= We are all in the same war; the question is on which side? There are no third ways—clerical meditations or company truces. And there should not be. This is the challenge which reaction has thrown at us. From national frustration we must now move rapidly to confrontation. The government has already announced that the escalation phase has begun. This statement hides the only reality: official violence against the rebellion of the people. We are in the thick of violence and cannot be on the sidelines...
:
As martyr and symbol of the demand ‘liberation or death’, Camilo Torres died as a guerrilla a year ago. Camilo faithfully realized his personal road to revolution. Priest and sociologist, political fighter and agitator, student and mass leader, he satisfied his thirst for justice by joining the armed struggle when he understood that the oligarchy shuts all roads and confronts the people with its ultimate weapon—violence ...
:
Camilo represents contradiction, scandal, probing, unity, sacrifice, action, violence, and commitment. We accept him and uphold him in his totality. We do not parcel him out or divide him according to where our fear takes us. We want to be with him in our Argentine reality, fighting with the Peronist movement for the victory of the working class, for the realization of socialism in our national experience.
:
Under the banner of Camilo, we hereby declare total war on exploitation, on imperialism, on under-development, and on all people who betray our country from within or without. We also hereby affirm our declaration of revolutionary faith, revolutionary necessity, and revolutionary existence. We affirm a faith full of hope in the triumph of the people, a definite and permanent necessity, and an existence dictated by our Christianity.
:
With Camilo, we believe that revolution is the only efficient and meaningful way to achieve love for all.|source=Juan García Elorrio, Cristianismo y Revolución (No. 4, March 1967, pp. 2-3.)}}

[[Richard Gillespie]] identifies ''Cristianismo y Revolución'' as the decisive factor behind the radicalization of Catholic students and the creation of Montoneros, along with the [[Movement of Priests for the Third World]]. The journal made emotional appeals for sympathy for the oppressed and made radical Catholics identify themselves with the 'national liberation' struggles of the Third World, with Perón and Guevara named as main examples. It also glorified militians, paid homages to them and portrayed their deaths as ultimate sacrifice in the name of love for the downtrodden. ''Cristianismo y Revolución'' also defused dislike towards Peronism amongst Catholic and mainstream socialist circles - Elorrio regarded Catholic and socialist opposition to Peronism as mistake, which resonated with the hitherto anti-Peronist middle class who was now disillusioned with authoritarianism and corruption of post-Perón Argentinian governments. Because of this, former anti-Peronists "now embraced Peronism with the zeal of reformed sinners". Elorrio also pushed his readers towards action and revolution, writing: "I had to fight with the slaves, the people, as they fought, not as an elitist teacher who tells them what is good and what is evil and then goes back to his study to read Saint Augustine, but as a genuine participant, with them not for them, in their misery, their failings, their violence... Either I fought or I was a phony."<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |page=59}}</ref> Catholic influence remained strong for the entirety of Montoneros existence – [[Martha Crenshaw]] remarked that its members "were regular church attenders right up to the moment of going underground", and the organization established its own Catholic “chaplaincy” after resuming its clandestine resistance in September 1974. Montoneros' liberation theology also included a Cuban-inspired cult of martyrdom of its fallen members – ''guerrillero heroico''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Terrorism in Context |first=Martha |last=Crenshaw |author-link=Martha Crenshaw |year=1995 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=0-271-01015-0 |page=228}}</ref>

The arrival of Onganía to power in Argentina through the 1966 coup d'état resulted in the group openly embracing the concepts of revolutionary struggle, not only because of the new government's neoliberal economic policies, but also because of suppression of the spheres of political and cultural participation, such as universities and political parties. [[Michael Goebel]] argues that government's actions made academics friendly to Perón, which was a side effect of the mass exodus of intellectuals caused by university purges. The academic staff was replaced by professors and priests from Catholic universities, who were now friendly towards Perón.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's Partisan Past: Nationalism and the Politics of History |first=Michael |last=Goebel |author-link=Michael Goebel |year=2011 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-1-84631-714-9 |page=156}}</ref> In 1967, Camilo Torres Commando was formed, which became the armed precursor of the Montoneros. [[Donald C. Hodges]] notes that the ideology of Camilo Torres Commando was identical to that of Montoneros, representing "a fusion of Camilist, Guevarist, and Cookist themes combined with the cult of Evita Peron".<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=109}}</ref> In 1970, the Commando officially became the Montoneros, named after "montoneras", irregular popular troops that followed the federal caudillos of the Argentine interior in the 19th century. The ideology behind armed struggle was influenced by [[Foquismo]] of Che Guevara, together with the theory of urban guerrilla warfare written by Peronist [[Abraham Guillén]] and Marxist-Leninist [[Tupamaros]].<ref name="Segovia 111–152">{{cite journal |title=Montoneros: Entre Perón y la Vanguardia. Una experiencia guerrillera peronista |language=es |first=Gonzalo |last=Segovia |journal=Fuego y Raya |volume=20 |pages=111–152}}</ref> 
===Revolutionary Peronism===
Alongside radicalized Catholic priests, John William Cooke became the second great influence on the Montoneros. Named the "personal delegate" by Perón during his exile, Cooke was tasked with leading the Peronist resistance in Argentina, and spent several years in Cuba afterwards, adopting the Castro's anti-imperialism and becoming the main thinker of Revolutionary Peronism, describing Peronism as a leftist movement that would lead an anti-imperialist revolution of "national liberation" in Argentina.<ref>{{cite book |title=Authoritarian Argentina: The Nationalist Movement, Its History and Its Impact |page=217 |publisher=University of California Press |first=David |last=Rock |author-link=David Rock (historian) |year=1993 |isbn=0-520-20352-6}}</ref> Heavily inspired by the Cuban Revolution, Cooke defined Peronism as "antibureaucratic, socialist, profoundly national, and sister to all the
world's exploited".<ref>{{cite book |title=Shaping the political arena: critical junctures, the labor movement, and regime dynamics in Latin America |page=495 |first1=Ruth Berins |last1=Collier |first2=David |last2=Collier |year=1991 |isbn=0-691-02313-1 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}</ref> Perón embraced Cooke's ideas, praising the Cuban Revolution and making comparisons between himself and Castro. Although Guevara came from an Argentine anti-Peronist family, he visited Perón in Madrid and was deeply impressed by his political thought, praising Peronism as "indigenous Latin American socialism with which the Cuban Revolution could side". Perón confirmed this political alliance, galvanizing left-wing Peronists; upon Guevara's death in 1967, Perón praised him as ‘one of ours, perhaps the best’.<ref>{{cite book |title=Juan Perón: The Life of the People's Colonel |page=201 |first=Jill |last=Hedges |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-7556-0268-1 |year=2021}}</ref>

Cooke and Perón formulated the idea of "national socialism" that would become the defining ideology of both the Montoneros and broader Peronist movement. The concept was based on combining social revolution with national liberation; Cooke wrote: "The struggle for liberation starts from the definition of the real enemy, imperialism that acts through the native oligarchy and the political, economic, and cultural mechanisms at its service . . . the national question and the social question are indissolubly joined." Cooke also referred to the Peronist concept of justicalism, arguing that the essence of it was anti-imperialism and social revolution.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=91}}</ref>  This was complemented by Perón redefining his "Third Position" in 1972, clarifying that it is not a centrist position nor a third way between capitalism and communism, but rather Peronist embrace of the Third World, arguing that Peronists must align themselves "with movements of national and social liberation", which Perón listed as Castroist Cuba and Allende's Chile, among others.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=80}}</ref> That year, the Peronist October Front described Peronism as "the national expression of the socialism, to the extent that it represents, expresses and develops in action the aspirations of the popular masses and the Argentine working class" and popularized the term of "indigenous socialism" that ''justicalismo'' was to represent.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Entre el Gran Acuerdo Nacional y Trelew: alcances y significaciones de los conceptos de socialismo nacional y peronismo |journal=Quinto Sol |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |year=2022 |publisher=Universidad Nacional de La Pampa |language=es |first=Valeria |last=Caruso |doi=10.19137/qs.v26i1.5597|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In their program published in ''Cristianismo y Revolución'' on behalf of Elorrio, Montoneros stayed loyal to the Perón's vision of “Christian national socialism”, introducing themselves as the "armed wing of Peronism", and stating: "we set ourselves the objective of constituting with other organizations the Peronist armed movement, which together with other armed groups will develop the people's war for the seizure of power and the implementation of national socialism in which they become a reality our three flags: economic independence, social justice and political sovereignty."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Montoneros y Perón ¿un diálogo de sordos? Apostillas sobre el socialismo nacional (1967/1972) |first=Rocío |last=Otero |date=10 December 2018 |doi=10.4000/nuevomundo.73994 |journal=Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos |language=es|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/102771 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> In the Cuban newspaper Granma, Montoneros further elaborated:
{{blockquote|text=We are Peronists even though we come from different origins and trainings. Peronism has a doctrine created in 1945 that was reworked and updated during the subsequent 25 years. This doctrine is synthesized in the three flags of the movement: Economic Independence, Social Justice and Political Sovereignty. These three flags in 1970 are expressed through the need to achieve independent economic development and a fair distribution of wealth, within the framework of a socialist system that respects our history and our national culture. On the other hand, the doctrine was defined by its creator, General Perón, as deeply national, humanist and Christian, respectful of the human person above all things.|source=“El llanto del enemigo” in Cristianismo y Revolución (No. 28, April 1971, p. 71.)}}

===Social conservatism===
While revolutionary and far-left in character, Montoneros were conservative in their social and cultural outlook. In 1972, an English-language daily [[Buenos Aires Herald]] published an article by [[Robert Cox (journalist)|Robert Cox]] and [[Andrew Graham-Yooll]], which presented a sexualised image of Eva Perón. The Argentine opinion was said to express "enormous revulsion" at the article, and "the most extreme form of literary criticism came from the heads of the Montonera guerrillas." Montoneros accused the newspaper of not only tarnishing the image of Eva Perón, but also breaching the Catholic norms of Argentine society. In May 1972, the Montoneros decided to assassinate Graham-Yooll, but this order was later cancelled by the intervention of Peronist politician [[:es:Diego Muñiz Barreto|Diego Muñiz Barreto]], who vouched for Graham-Yooll.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/139313-un-recuerdo-para-el-senor-naipaul |title=Un recuerdo para el señor Naipaul |date=3 September 2018 |language=es |first=Andrew |last=Gramah-Yooll |author-link=Andrew Graham-Yooll |website=pagina12.com}}</ref>

Argentine journalist Miriam Lewin noted that the Montoneros were "socially conservative and founded upon deep patriarchal structures".<ref name="famil">{{cite thesis |title=Families in Transition: a Changing Institution in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay |last=Nazarko |first=Rachael |publisher=King's College London |location=London |year=2017 |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/83046201/2017_Nazarko_Rachael_0615350_ethesis.pdf |degree=PhD |editor1=Sampson Vera Tudela, E. |editor2=Boyle, C. M. |pages=146-151}}</ref> Male homosexuality and feminism were opposed, and gender roles were enforced – feminine men were rejected, and women were considered to be caretakers, unsuitable for revolutionary acts. Montoneros denounced the concept of "[[free love]]" and instead embraced a heterosexual, monogamous model. Infidelity was a forbidden act as per their conduct code, the ''Código de Justicia Penal Revolucionario'' (Revolutionary Penal Code), along with casual sex and abortion, which were seen as 'petty bourgeois' acts. Couples within the Montoneros were required to have been together for more than six months before being allowed to move in together.<ref name="famil"/> Montoneros protested the infiltration of left-wing and Peronist causes by homosexual activists,<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Building a Community of Affects: A Cartography of HIV/AIDS Narratives in Latin America (1982-2018) |first=Gustavo Alonso |last=Vargas |year=2020 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh |degree=Doctor of Philosophy |url=https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/39086/7/Vargas%20Vargas%20Final%20ETD.pdf |pages=20-21}}</ref> and during their marches and protests, they chanted slogans such as "We are not faggots, we are not drug addicts, we are the soldiers of Perón and Montoneros!"<ref>{{cite journal |title=Dictatorial Rule and Sexual Politics in Argentina: The Case of the Frente de Liberación Homosexual, 1967–1976 |first1=Pablo |last1=Ben |first2=Santiago |last2=Joaquin Insausti |journal=Hispanic American Historical Review |volume=97 |issue=2 |doi=10.1215/00182168-3824077 |year=2017 |publisher=Duke University Press |page=318|hdl=11336/72743 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> ({{langx|es|No somos putos, no somos faloperos, somos soldados de Perón y montoneros}})<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.revistaanfibia.com/aniversario50-flh/ |title=Mapas de Sexo y Revolución |language=es |date=31 August 2021 |first=Germán |last=Garrido}}</ref> or "We’re not faggots, we’re not junkies, we’re soldiers from FAR and Montoneros!" ({{langx|es|No somos putos, no somos faloperos, somos soldados de FAR y Montoneros}}).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Semán |first=Ernesto |year=2018 |title=Patricio Simonetto, Entre la injuria y la revolución: El Frente de Liberación Homosexual, Argentina, 1967–1976 (Buenos Aires: Universidad de Quilmes, 2017), pp. 195, pb. |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=1012–1014 |doi=10.1017/s0022216x18000950 |publisher=University of Bergen Press |department=Book Reviews}}</ref> 

The moral code of the Montoneros was explicitly based on [[Catholic social teaching]]. Christian ascetism marked the everyday life of the Montoneros, and the members were to eat frugally and embrace Christian humility. Infidelity, defined as having sexual relations with someone other than one’s partner, was equated with the crime of “disloyalty”, and the Montoneros' code decreed that both parties involved in such an affair would be considered guilty, even if only one of them had a steady partner. Commenting on the rule, the guerilla's leader Mario Firmenich stated: "The New Man cannot be irresponsible in his relationship with his partner. Among us, nobody marries and separates on a whim, just because they feel the urge. And we don’t tolerate treachery [agachadas], we’re very clear on that. We deal with traitors by executing them."<ref name="infidel">{{cite journal |last=Cosse |first=Isabella |year=2014 |title=Infidelities: Morality, Revolution, and Sexuality in Left-Wing Guerrilla Organizations in 1960s and 1970s Argentina |journal=Journal of the History of Sexuality |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=415–450 |doi=10.7560/jhs23304 |publisher=University of Texas Press |hdl=11336/36459 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Susanne Meachem writes that the attitude of Montoneros was influenced by [[machismo]], and actions such as infidelity, homosexual acts or taking drugs were seen as incompatible with being a 'soldier of Perón'.<ref name="meachem">{{cite journal |title=Women’s Actions, Women’s Words. Female Political and Cultural Responses to the Argentine State |first=Susanne |last=Meachem |year=2010 |journal=University of Birmingham Research Archive |publisher=Ethos UK |location=Birmingham |pages=140-154}}</ref>

To reflect the structure of the [[Justicialist Party]], which had a separate [[Female Peronist Party]], the Montoneros had their own female branch – ''Agrupación Evita'', in order "to reach women in the factories, slums, and poor neighbourhoods of Argentina". However, ''Agrupación Evita'' was not a reflection on gender by Montoneros or encouragement of feminism. Instead, Montoneros "insisted on heterosexuality and motherhood even in situations with the looming threat of imprisonment and an overall air of an uncertain future". They proposed a romanticized concept of "a new woman" that would have "children for a new beginning", and expected women to fulfill their revolutionary role through motherhood. Meachem argues that the Montoneros' views on women "were as reactionary as those of the ultra-right – a discourse of monogamy, orthodox politics and customs".<ref name="meachem"/> This was a part of the Montoneros' vision of "compulsory heterosexuality, which was in promotion of an ideal revolutionary couple who was both monogamous and heterosexual".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stallman |first=Heidi Marie |title=Women's Wings in Rebel Groups |year=2024 |journal=Dissertations - ALL |issue=1911 |url=https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2996&context=etd |publisher=SURFACE at Syracuse University |pages=84-85}}</ref> 

The adherence to Catholic moralism went beyond forbidding adultery – Montoneros practiced sexual self-restraint, and their personal lives were regulated by rigid rules. A former Montonero Graciela Daleo, wrote that the Montoneros “observed very strict moral norms”; she recalled that relationships within the organization were chaste, as displays of affection were limited to [[cheek kissing]] and a Montonero was expected to inform and obtain an approval of his parents before entering a relationship.<ref name="infidel"/> Additionally, on par with its Catholic morality, Montoneros also enforced the tradition of getting married in religious ceremonies.<ref name="meachem"/> Homosexuality was not tolerated within the Montoneros, and was denounced as "sexual debauchery", "a threat to internal security" and a sign of "individualistic and liberal" tendencies. Firmenich also firmly enforced the family-centered morality in the organization, combining both Peronist and Catholic traditions; he believed that the Montoneros should have five children (twice the amount of the average birthrate at the time) and pointed to his own family life as an example.<ref name="infidel"/> As the movement believed in conservative family values, Montoneros also had ''Domingo Montonero'' ("Montonero Sunday"), days set aside for the revolutionaries to spend with their families.<ref name="famil"/> 

Hodges notes that Montoneros had begun as Catholic nationalists and remained committed it throughout their activity, transforming Catholic nationalism into a far-left ideology. The Montoneros prided themselves in patriotism and following 'indigenous', Argentine forms of socialism and revolution, while rejecting what was described as "imported" or "exotic" models.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=100}}</ref> While being considered a Marxist organisation, the Montoneros based their revolutionary beliefs on writings of Cooke and Perón rather than Marx.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=98}}</ref> Likewise, Montoneros' embrace of revolutionary violence came not from Marxism, but from Camilo Torres Restrepo and Juan Garcia Ellorio, who reconciled Catholic moralism with violent revolution.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=109}}</ref> The Montonero idealism was based on romantic notions of a "new man" and the pursuit of establishing God's kingdom of Earth, combined with cult of self-sacrifice and moral heroism.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |page=105}}</ref> 

In its statements, Montoneros maintained a conservative tone and combined their calls for a "socialist fatherland" (''patria socialista'') with Catholic moralism and pledges of loyalty to Perón.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Montoneros a la luz de su programa |language=es |journal=Revista Theomai |issn=1515-6443 |first=Julieta |last=Pacheco |year=2014 |volume=29 |publisher=Estudios críticos sobre Sociedad y Desarrollo |url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/124/12431432012.pdf |page=19}}</ref> Richard Gillespie also points to the conservative origins of the group, pointing out that the Montoneros "gained their political baptism in branches of the traditionally-conservative Catholic Action" and "the Falange-inspired [[Tacuara]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |page=69}}</ref> [[David Rock (historian)|David Rock]] argued that despite stating their commitment to socialism, Montoneros were first and foremost Catholics who used terms such as "godless" and "antinational", and noted that Montoneros were referred by themselves or their allies as "Catholic militants" and "Catholic nationalists".<ref name="rock_214">{{cite book |title=Authoritarian Argentina: The Nationalist Movement, Its History and Its Impact |pages=214-215 |publisher=University of California Press |first=David |last=Rock |author-link=David Rock (historian) |year=1993 |isbn=0-520-20352-6}}</ref> Rock adds that "the old Catholic nationalism, particularly in the assumption of right-wing nationalist tropes and metaphors such as the notion of the national being (ser nacional)", was still present in the Montoneros' ideology.<ref name="bradbury"/>

===Right-wing influences===
Montoneros described themselves as "Peronist, ultra-Catholic nationalists".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Daring to Love: A History of Lesbian Intimacy in Buenos Aires, 1966–1988 |first=Shoshanna |last=Lande |year=2020 |publisher=University of California Press |editor1=Heidi Tinsman |journal=UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/350586xd |page=24}}</ref> Cambridge
History of Latin America noted that Montoneros drew on "right-wing nationalist ideas that had inspired the neo-fascist movements of the previous decades", and pointed to the political past of Montoneros' leaders and key activists - two of Montoneros' founders, Fernando Abal Medina and Gustavo Ramus, were former members of [[Tacuara]], while [[Rodolfo Walsh]], a prominent Montonero journalist, was a member of the [[Nationalist Liberation Alliance]] in the past.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's Partisan Past: Nationalism and the Politics of History |first=Michael |last=Goebel |author-link=Michael Goebel |year=2011 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-1-84631-714-9 |pages=158-160}}</ref> Historians Sandra McGee Deutsch and Ronald H. Dotkart wrote that there were notable "rightist influences on the Montoneros", arguing that the "right's nationalism, historical revisionism, and other features have had a powerful influence" on the organization.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Argentine right: its history and intellectual origins, 1910 to the present |first1=Sandra McGee |last1=Deutsch |first2=Ronald |last2=H. Dotkart |isbn=0-8420-2419-0 |year=1993 |publisher=Scholarly Resources Inc. |pages=185-188}}</ref>

Montoneros were described as of "violent nationalistic tradition" and combined both right-wing and left-wing nationalism, with Marxism, Peronism, liberation theology and the [[dependency theory]] defining their ideology.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America |first1=Rudiger |last1=Dombusch |first2=Sebastian |last2=Edwards |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago and London |year=1991 |isbn=0-226-15844-6 |chapter=Description of a Populist Experience: Argentina, 1973-1976 |first3=Federico A. |last3=Sturzenegger |page=77}}</ref> According to [[David Rock (historian)|David Rock]], beyond their self-identification as Catholic nationalists and Catholic integralists, the Montoneros also retained elements that seemingly collided with their far-left orientation, such as anti-atheism and opposition to "godless, antinational and foreign communism(s)". Carlos Mugica, who shaped the political thought of future Montoneros, wrote: "Jesus was the most ambitious revolutionary throughout history, who wanted not only new structures ... but a new form of living unthinkable to mankind." Nevertheless, his rhetoric retained traces of anticommunism and clericalism, as he wrote: "Complete equality will only be achieved on the coming of the Lord. Marxism overemphasizes material man."<ref name="rock_214"/> Rock argues that while the Montoneros represented the "New Left", far-left liberation theology Catholicism and anti-imperialist nationalism, they nevertheless maintained "numerous vestiges of the Nationalist movement and the clerical Right." However, he also cautions against claims of the Montoneros being inspired fascism or being reduced to a "strange fusion or marriage between the Left and Right", arguing that the Montoneros "evoked the indigenous Nationalists more than the foreign fascists." He concludes that the organization was neo-Peronist as well as "neo-Nationalist", which meant continuing the ideological elements of historical Argentinian movements; Montoneros combined these two influences together with "renegade communism".<ref name="Rock 1993 220"/> 

Luis Miguel Donatello argues that the Montoneros' worldview was [[Integralism|Catholic integralism]] that had continuities with the Tacuaras as well as [[Falangism]]. In the 1960s, Catholic integralism had undergone an ideological shift, embracing concepts from liberation theology such as structural sin as well as endorsing Marxist-Catholic dialogue.<ref name="bradbury">{{cite journal |title=Revolutionary Christianity in Argentina: Emergence, Formation and Responses to State Terror (1930-1983) |year=2017 |first=Pablo Matias |last=Bradbury |publisher=University of Liverpool Press |journal=University of Liverpool Repository |doi=10.17638/03009472 |pages=18-22}}</ref> This included Falangist circles who reconsidered their relationship with socialism, arguing that the anti-imperialism, anti-liberalism and anti-capitalism of socialism already aligns with Falangist ideals. Similarly to Peronists, Falangists were also enthusiastic about the [[Cuban Revolution]], with many Latin American and Spanish Falangists embracing the label of "Falangist-Castroist" and praising [[Che Guevara]] and [[Fidel Castro]] as "copies of Jesus Christ and of [[José Antonio Primo de Rivera]] and the embodiment of Hispanic values".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Late Spanish Fascists in a Changing World: Latin American Communists and East European Reformism, 1956–1975 |first=Miguel Ángel |last=Ruiz Carnicer |publisher=Cambridge University Press |journal=Contemporary European History |year=2019 |volume=28 |issue=1 |doi=10.1017/S0960777319000079 |pages=360-366}}</ref> Donatello states that Montoneros mixed "white-integralism" with "red integralism", and should be placed together with Falangists and other Catholic integralists in the anti-liberal "national-Catholic matrix".<ref name="bradbury"/>

Similarly, historians Carlos Atlamirano and Beatriz Sarlo clasify Montoneros as Catholic nationalists, arguing that there were notable continuities between Catholic integralism and liberation theology of the Montoneros. Sarlo states that liberationist Catholics were "revolutionary integrists", and that the liberation Catholicism of the Montoneros "was motivated by the goal of constructing a single kingdom of God on earth, animated by a mystification of poverty and a collapse of all public-private divides."<ref name="bradbury"/> Sarlo characterized Montoneros as "reactionary components of the revolutionary forces", describing them as radicalized Catholics who became "revolutionary [[Catholic Integralism|Catholic integralists]]" and saw liberation theology and socialism as ways of constructing a 'kingdom of God on earth', promoted through mystification of poverty and abolition of private property. Montoneros spoke of political issues in religious terms and affirmed "the integrity of the Christian doctrine in all spheres of life" while opposing the secularization of modern society. As such, the Montoneros were considered to represent a far-left form of National Catholicism and Catholic integralism.<ref>{{cite book |title=Liberationist Christianity in Argentina (1930-1983) |first=Pablo |last=Bradbury |year=2023 |issn=2633-7061 |publisher=Ingram Publisher Services |isbn=978-1-80010-922-3 |page=10}}</ref> Likewise, Atlamirano noted that an "integrist" attitude resonated in the ideology of the Montoneros, namely "the affirmation of the integrity of the Christian doctrine in all spheres of life, in opposition to that which accompanies the secularisation of modern society".<ref name="bradbury"/>

The Montoneros also faced accusations of fascist or right-wing ideological elements. [[Jacobo Timerman]] alleged that the Montoneros combined Marxism and nationalism, which he described as "fascism of the left". Similar accusation was made by philosopher Pablo Giussani, who compared the Montoneros to [[Fasci Italiani di Combattimento]]. Both Timerman and Giussani, however, also argued that Guevarism was a distortion of Marxism and represented a form of "red fascism". In response to their analyses, historian [[Donald C. Hodges]] wrote: "I have already argued that it is a mistake to classify Peronism as a fascist movement. If my analysis stands up, then it is also erroneous to classify the different versions of revolutionary Peronism as fascist-inspired." He noted that the ideology of the Montoneros included elements such as cult of death and violence, but came not from fascist idealization of war and militarism, but rather Che Guavara's cult of heroism and Eva Perón's praise for revolutionary violence. When Perón was imprisoned in 1945, he was released after a general strike declared by the CGT; Eva however wanted to force the release of Perón through workers' militias, which she began organizing and arming. Eva argued that violence is a legitimate vehicle for change, writing: "With or without bloodshed, the race of oligarchs, exploiters of mankind, will inevitably perish in this century!" Her slogan "Peronism will be revolutionary, or it will be nothing!" also made her an important figure and inspiration for the Peronist left.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina's "Dirty War": An Intellectual Biography |last=Hodges |first=Donald |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-292-77689-0 |pages=110-111}}</ref> 
===Relations with Perón===
Montoneros had a complicated relationship with Juan Perón himself. In February 1971, Perón sent a letter to Montoneros, agreeing with their declaration that "the only possible road for the people to seize power and install national socialism is total, national, and prolonged revolutionary war" and praised the organization for adapting Peronist doctrine to the difficult conditions created by the military dictatorship. Interpreted as Perón endorsement of Montoneros, the organization was soon joined by several other Peronist organizations – shortly after Perón's response, the Descamisado Political-Military Organization under the leadership of Horacio Mendizabal and Norberto Habegger merged with Montoneros, in October 1973 Montoneros welcomed the [[:es:Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (Argentina)|FAR]] into its ranks, and in 1974 [[Peronist Armed Forces]] also joined Montoneros.<ref name="Hodges 1991 112"/> As Perón returned to Argentina in July 1973 and was welcomed by large groups and overjoyed demonstrations, Montoneros were reported to be ‘winning the street’, with chants such as ‘long live the Montoneros who killed Aramburu’ being popular Peronist slogans. However, Perón's return marked increasing conflict between various Peronist wings, determined to gain the upper hand.<ref>{{cite book |title=Juan Perón: The Life of the People's Colonel |page=221 |first=Jill |last=Hedges |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-7556-0268-1 |year=2021}}</ref> According to Perón biographer Jill Hedges, Perón was alarmed by the fact that his return did not reduce political violence in Argentina, but rather invited further clashes between the left and right wings of his movement. Perón also believed that some guerrilla and right-wing groups did not genuinely support him, but rather planned his assassination.<ref>{{cite book |title=Juan Perón: The Life of the People's Colonel |page=223 |first=Jill |last=Hedges |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-7556-0268-1 |year=2021}}</ref>

In September 1973, Perón attempted to maintain unity in his movement, and met with leaders of the Montoneros and FAR. However, Perón was heartbroken by the assassination of trade union leader [[José Ignacio Rucci]], for which the Montoneros claimed responsibility.<ref>{{cite book |title=Juan Perón: The Life of the People's Colonel |page=228 |first=Jill |last=Hedges |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-7556-0268-1 |year=2021}}</ref> Rucci's assassination marked the first time Perón cried in public. Perón went into state of depression, and declared at his death: "They killed my son. They cut off my legs".<ref name=Soles>[http://www.solesdigital.com.ar/libros/rucci.htm José Ignacio Rucci, El precio de la lealtad], review of  Luís Fernando Beraza's biography of Rucci (Vergara, 2007) by ''Soles Digital'', 10 December 2007 {{in lang|es}}  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621003227/http://www.solesdigital.com.ar/libros/rucci.htm |date=21 June 2008 }}</ref> The death of Rucci made Perón cold towards Montoneros, culminating in Perón demanding their expulsion from the Justicalist Movement on May Day 1974, which insulted the Peronist Left. Despite this, Montoneros never abandoned Perón and glorified him after his death. His last major speech from 12 June 1974, in which Perón denounced an "imperialist plot", was interpreted as proof that Perón was "to a great extent taking up the orientations and many of the criticisms which we were formulating" by the Montoneros. [[Ronaldo Munck]] argues that Perón did not desire to abandon Montoneros and his June speech was intended to restore their trust after the May Day confrontation.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina: from anarchism to Peronism : workers, unions, and politics, 1855-1985 |first=Ronaldo |last=Munck |author-link=Ronaldo Munck |year=1987 |publisher=Zed Books Ltd. |isbn= 0-86232-571-4 |page=195}}</ref> Montoneros praised Perón for realizing his "May Day mistake" shortly before his death, and continued to identify him as their mentor. However, after Perón's death the Montoneros went underground on 6 September 1974 and organized resistance against the regime of [[Isabel Perón]], as Isabel's government was dominated by right-wing figures who sought to centralize their control of the movement and initiated crackdowns on other Peronist factions.<ref name="Gillespie 1982 151–152">{{cite book |title=Soldiers of Peron: Argentina's Montoneros |first=Richard |last=Gillespie |year=1982 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-821131-7 |pages=151–152}}</ref>

Following the death of Perón, Montoneros declared war on the government of Isabel Perón, denouncing it as ‘neither popular nor Peronist’ and comparing it to the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina prior to March 1973.<ref name="Gillespie 1982 151–152"/> Montoneros presented themselves as the successors of the Perón's original program, considering it an essential part of their far-left outlook and arguing that its reconstruction is necessary for national liberation of Argentina.<ref>{{cite book |title=Argentina 1943-1976: The National Revolution and Resistance |isbn=0-8263-0422-2 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |year=1976 |first=Donald C. |last=Hodges |author-link=Donald C. Hodges |page=72}}</ref> They continued to proclaim national liberation and construction of socialism as their main goals, which they defined as liberation from imperialist domination and suppression of private ownership of the means of production, and a planned economy "in accordance with the particularities of the national productive structure". Montoneros praised Peronism as "the main, richest and most generalised experience of the Argentine working class and national sectors to achieve the objective of national and social liberation", and called their ideology "Authentic Peronism" from September 1974. The organization also stressed that it is not abandoning the justicalist movement, but proposes its reconstruction, as it finds it necessary to depose "reactionary elements" that have infiltrated Peronism. The new government of Isabel Perón was decried as not only not Peronist, but also "anti-Peronist, anti-popular, repressive and pro-monopoly". Montoneros doubled down on their glorification of Eva Perón, adding the organization of "the Peronist militias that Evita imagined, so that all the people can actively participate in all the forms of confrontation" to its goals.<ref name="Segovia 111–152"/>