Argentina 1919: Semana Trágica and the Birth of Labor Violence

In January 1919, Buenos Aires was convulsed by the worst labor violence in Argentine history. Striking workers at the Vasena metalworks were met with government-backed paramilitaries, pogroms against Jewish immigrants, and urban warfare that left hundreds dead. This episode explores the Semana Trágica—the Tragic Week—under President Hipólito Yrigoyen's first term. Lucas and Luna unravel the strike's origins in anarchist and socialist organizing, the role of the Liga Patriótica Argentina led by Manuel Carlés, and how the state's brutal response shaped Argentine labor relations for decades. They discuss the socialist FORA and anarchist FORA factions, the role of the police and army, and the subsequent crackdown on immigrant communities. The episode also touches on Yrigoyen's ambivalent stance, caught between reformist rhetoric and fear of revolution. A pivotal moment that exposed deep class divisions and set a precedent for state violence against labor movements in Argentina.

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