Roberto de Laferrère
[1] He was of partial French descent although on his mother's side his ancestors included Encarnación Ezcurra, the wife of Juan Manuel de Rosas.[3] He was one of the main developers of the belief within Argentine nationalist thought that liberalism was merely a prelude to communism, arguing that "democracy hands us over unarmed to these forces of extreme socialism and anarchy".[5] The group was united by the members hatred of Hipólito Yrigoyen although significant elements within the Liga were inspired by the fascism of Benito Mussolini as well as the ideas of Miguel Primo de Rivera, 2nd Marquis of Estella.He argued in 1941 that Argentina should adopt a neutral position and should instead concentrate on strengthening its own army in order to ensure it could defend itself rather than spending on supporting the American war effort.[10] His anti-British sentiment was a common feature of nationalist rhetoric in Argentina, deriving in part from the issue's surrounding the Falkland or Malvinas Islands sovereignty dispute as well what the nationalists portrayed as a history of mistreatment at the hands of Britain through a series of loans with very high interest rates after independence, British involvement in the independence of Uruguay and the settling of her borders at the expense of Argentina and a form of commercial imperialism that de Laferrère felt had caused the Argentine Civil Wars.