Storm over 'dictator' gag

The controversial line comes when Homer’s friend Carl calls for a dictatorship during a bar-room argument about democracy.

He praised former Argentine president Juan Peron, saying: ‘When he disappeared you, you stayed disappeared.’

However, it was not Peron’s regime but the military dictatorship following his rule that has been linked to the disappearance of 30,000 dissidents. And Peron, although an authoritarian, remains a folk hero to many working-class Argentinians.

The show, episode 10 of series 19, isn’t due to air in Argentina until June or July, but has already been caught up in a political row after it was shown in the US.

Former congressman Lorenzo Pepe, a supporter of Juan Peron, called on Argentina’s broadcasting regulator to intervene, claming the scene could ‘poison’ society. And in an online poll, 90 per cent of people wanted the episode banned.

However it is not clear what action the regulator could take, having ruled out censorship.

Here is the offending sketch:

Published: 15 Apr 2008