Editing Montoneros (section)

===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"/>