Pope Francis, year Juan

In its review of Pope Francis's first year, The Economist includes this it its analysis of his political views.

" '[Francis] only knows one style of politics,' says a diplomat accredited to the Holy See. 'And that is Peronism.'

"The creed bequeathed by Argentina’s former dictator, General Juan Peron, with its 'three flags' of social justice, economic independence and political sovereignty, has been endlessly reinterpreted since. Conservatives and revolutionaries alike have been proud to call themselves Peronist. But at its heart it is corporatist, assigning to the state the job of resolving conflicts between interest groups, including workers and employers. In that respect it resembles fascism and Nazism—and also Catholic social doctrine.

The pope’s Peronist side shows in his use of a classic populist technique: going over the heads of the elite to the people with headline-grabbing gestures and comments. And it is visible in his view of political economy, which also has much in common with post-Marxist protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street, the Spanish indignados and Italy’s Five Star Movement."