The jubilation that followed the May 1973 return to democracy (following over six and a half years of military rule) was soon clouded by political friction and unforeseen events. President
Héctor Cámpora, who took his Oath of Office in the presence of
Cuban President
Osvaldo Dorticós and
Chilean leader
Salvador Allende—both consular figures in Latin American Marxism—promptly declared a near-blanket amnesty for the several hundred political prisoners held by
Alejandro Lanusse's regime (many in inhospitable camps such as the one in
Trelew, scene of a
1972 mass execution). Cámpora also made controversial appointments, such as Rodolfo Puiggrós as President of the
University of Buenos Aires,
Esteban Righi as Minister of the Interior (overseeing law enforcement) and Julio Troxler as Assistant Police Chief of
Buenos Aires—all former defense attorneys linked to the violently left-wing
Montoneros. A number of left-wing lawyers were also elected to prominent elected posts across the nation, notably
Oscar Bidegain (Governor of
Buenos Aires Province),
Ricardo Obregon Cano (Governor of
Córdoba Province) and Alberto Martínez Baca (Governor of
Mendoza Province), among others. This new-found prominence among the Argentine left encouraged an increasingly violent reaction among the far right. Among Cámpora's appointees was one insisted on by his patron,
Juan Perón:
José López Rega, a former policeman with an interest in the occult close to the Perón household since 1965. 's "Social Pact." López Rega, formally Minister of Social Policy, quickly parlayed his portfolio control over nearly 30 percent of the national budget into a well-funded paramilitary force, the
Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (Triple A). Threatened by the
Montoneros' inroads into student and neighborhood organizations, local governments and the
Peronist Youth, they began targeting many of Cámpora's policy makers, some of which began resigning under pressure from Perón, himself. President Cámpora agreed to have Peronist militants in charge of most security arrangements for Perón's much-anticipated June 20, 1973, return from exile; as the
Alitalia flight carrying the leader's retinue descended over
Ministro Pistarini International Airport at
Ezeiza, however, a scuffle erupted between left and right-wing minders over control of the stage from which Perón would address the nation, leading to a rash of
pitched battles resulting in perhaps over a hundred deaths and Perón's public, July 13 suggestion that Cámpora resign. Increasing violence led many in Argentina, including much of the
armed forces to conclude that only Perón commanded enough respect to persuade extremists away from hostilities. Gathering in Buenos Aires' renowned
Teatro Colón, the
Justicialist Party struggled to nominate Perón's running mate. The choice of the leader's own wife,
Isabel, intrigued the convention—she was, after all, the only prominent Peronist (aside from Perón himself) not publicly associated with any one faction within the fractious movement. Opposed to López Rega's suggestion at first, the aging Perón (who would, in theory, serve until May 1977) set aside strong personal doubts as to his wife's readiness for office and agreed. The two sailed into office in a record landslide on the same FREJULI umbrella ticket on which Cámpora had been elected only six months earlier. ==Candidates==