A Funny Dirty Little War

"A Funny Dirty Little War" is a novella that packs a lot of irony and black humor into a bitter commentary about Argentine politics in the 1970's. In the small, fictional town of Colonia Vela, somewhere near Tandil, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, a minor conspiracy escalates into a small scale civil war as everyone in tiny Colonia Vela chooses sides in the struggle. Don Ignacio Fuentes, Deputy Mayor, is shocked when the Mayor approaches him with a request to fire his long time employee, Mateo. The charge against Mateo is that he is a Marxist Communist who has "infiltrated" the government. Don Ignacio, knowing that Mateo like himself was a supporter of General Juan Peron during his exile, claims the charges are untrue and refuses the request. Ignacio is then accused of being a Communist as well and asked to resign. From there, things only get worse...and worse...and worse. The speed and ferocity of the reprisals are as ridiculously and hilariously overblown as they are bleak and tragic. Both sides claiming to be true Peronists fighting for "Peron or death!". Briefly, the story's historical background is based in the struggle between the left and right wing supporters of Juan Peron. The left wing Montenero guerilla movement was formed around 1970 and vowed to bring Peron home from his 18-year exile in Spain. Their hope was that Peron could turn Argentina into a "Socialist Fatherland." To further their goals they used terror tactics such as bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations. When Peron did return to Argentina in 1973, over three million people were waiting near Ezeiza airport to greet him. Snipers, believed to be from the Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, right-wing Peron supporters, opened fire on the crowd killing at least 13 people and injuring over 300 more. Although Peron had previously enjoyed support from both left and right, after the Ezeiza Massacre the split was irrevocable. Peron banned the Monteneros from his Justicialista party, aligning himself with the right wing (dominated by the labor unions). After Peron died in 1974, the Monteneros returned claiming to be the true supporters of Peron's "social vision" and continued to employ terrorist tactics to undermine the right wing. The clashes eventually led to the military government takeover and the subsequent Dirty War.

"A Funny Dirty Little War" is a novella that packs a lot of irony and black humor into a bitter commentary about Argentine politics in the 1970's. In the small, fictional town of Colonia Vela, somewhere near Tandil, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, a minor conspiracy escalates into a small scale civil war as everyone in tiny Colonia Vela chooses sides in the struggle. Don Ignacio Fuentes, Deputy Mayor, is shocked when the Mayor approaches him with a request to fire his long time employee, Mateo. The charge against Mateo is that he is a Marxist Communist who has "infiltrated" the government. Don Ignacio, knowing that Mateo like himself was a supporter of General Juan Peron during his exile, claims the charges are untrue and refuses the request. Ignacio is then also accused of being a Communist and asked to resign. From there, things only get worse...and worse...and worse. The speed and ferocity of the reprisals are as ridiculously and hilariously overblown as they are bleak and tragic. Both sides claiming to be true Peronists fighting for "Peron or death!". Briefly, the story's historical background is based in the struggle between the left and right wing supporters of Juan Peron. The left wing Montenero guerilla movement was formed around 1970 and vowed to bring Peron home from his 18-year exile in Spain. Their hope was that Peron could turn Argentina into a "Socialist Fatherland." To further their goals they used terror tactics such as bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations. When Peron did return to Argentina in 1973, over three million people were waiting near Ezeiza airport to greet him. Snipers, believed to be from the Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, right-wing Peron supporters, opened fire on the crowd killing at least 13 people and injuring over 300 more. Although Peron had previously enjoyed support from both left and right, after the Ezeiza Massacre the split was irrevocable. Peron banned the Monteneros from his Justicialista party, aligning himself with the right wing (dominated by the labor unions). After Peron died in 1974, the Monteneros returned claiming to be the true supporters of Peron's "social vision" and continued to employ terrorist tactics to undermine the right wing. The clashes eventually led to the military government takeover and the subsequent Dirty War.

Back in 1913, my Uncle Sid worked on a ship that went down to Buenos Aires from Boston, Mass. The way he told it, he almost decided to stay there forever, it was such a grand, rich city with opportunities for anyone. Every man ate steak every day. Argentina then was one of the most prosperous countries in the world, perhaps number six on the "rich country index". By the time Soriano published this book (first in Spain because the Argentine generals would never have let it appear), Argentina had slipped a long way---down to around number eighty. How could this happen ? How could a country so mess up its chances ? Who or what was responsible for the inflation, the civil wars, the rising poverty, the decline in services, education, health; the corrupt, inefficient government ? Of course there is not just one, simple answer. You could write an academic treatise about it, and many people have. Or, you could try to say it all in another way, which is what Soriano has done in this amazing book.A FUNNY DIRTY LITTLE WAR reminds me incredibly of Nathaniel West, though the subject is different. No magical realism for Soriano. This is all action, everything is expressed through a tightly-controlled, gripping series of events. I doubt you can put this 108 page book down until you finish it. The Peronist police (supporters of the longtime dictator, Juan Peron) in a small country town need to find and arrest some "infiltrators" to show the capital that they are on the job. They nominate a couple individuals, but these so-called traitors refuse to go quietly. What's more, they consider themselves Peronists too. A battle starts between the two sides. One group resembles fascists, the other, perhaps communists. Executions, torture, shootings, explosions, fires, and deaths continue right up to the end. The village is largely destroyed on a single night and, most symbolically, is covered in pig manure dropped by a `leftist' hero in a cropduster. Argentina in a nutshell. Nobody seems to realize that their killings and destruction achieve nothing. Peron is still in power, laughing behind his sunglasses, while all those who could rid the country of him fight each other. As day dawns, the surviving "heroes" dedicate the beautiful new day to.......Peron ! A most powerful political satire which explains Argentina's predicament better than any serious work I've ever seen. Wall-to-wall action brings you inevitably to a feeling of sadness at the human condition. [Abe said "Where you want this killin' done ?" and God said, "Out on Highway 61".] Brilliant, simply brilliant.