Azules y Colorados

Both the Azules and Colorados shared Argentina's alignment with the United States in the Cold War and the need to combat communism, but they disagreed on the attitude to take with Peronism and the professional profile that the Armed Forces should have. The Azules proposed a limited integration of Peronism into Argentine political life and an Armed Forces with a high degree of autonomy and unified through a strict chain of command. The Colorados equated Peronism with Communism, advocating the complete eradication of both, and were characterized by a greater politicization of the military and deliberative inner workings. By 1962, each side was fighting to gain control over the entire Armed Forces and thus be in a position to exercise guardianship over the government and set the course that national policy should follow. Politically, the radicals of the people (balbinistas) were closer to the Colorados, while the intransigent radicals (frondisistas) were closer to the Azules. The combats included the participation of civilian commandos, mainly on the Colorado side.

The names “Azules” and “Colorados” appeared during the fighting in September 1962 and have their origin in the terminology used historically in the study of military science, to designate the two hypothetical sides facing each other in a simulated war. The confrontation between the two groups was expressed in several episodes and two armed clashes, the first that took place between 16 September and 18 September 1962, and the second between 2 April and 5 April 1963. The combat on 1 April established victory for the Azules, dominated by the chiefs of the Cavalry and the leadership of General Juan Carlos Onganía, over the whole of the Armed Forces and the civil and ecclesiastical sectors that supported the so-called “Military Party”. Three years later, Onganía would impose the first permanent civic-military dictatorship in Argentine history.