Juan Carlos Portantiero (9 August 1934 â 9 March 2007) was an Argentine sociologist.
He specialized in the study of the works of Antonio Gramsci. With José Aricó and other intellectuals, he was in charge of the magazine Pasado y Presente, which holds a critical view of Marxism.
Studies on the Origins of Peronism (Estudios sobre los Origenes del Peronismo in Spanish), published together with Miguel Murmis in 1970, is regarded as a classic work of Argentine sociology that has influenced several generations of scholars.
He graduated in Sociology in University of Buenos Aires, and went into exile during the last illegal military government (1976âÂÂ1983) because of threats received. He moved into Mexico, where he founded the Controversia journal.
After the return of democracy (1983), he became one of the most respected Argentine scholars and had a direct influence on politics as an advisor to Unión CÃÂvica Radical president Raúl AlfonsÃÂn and member of the advising team dubbed Grupo Esmeralda.
He served as dean of the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Social Sciences from 1990 to 1998.