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Tall and erect in a severe black vest and tail coat, Arturo Frondizi laid his hand on the Bible and swore to discharge his duties with "loyalty and patriotism." Cannon in the square outside boomed a 21-gun salute, and the 3,000 people jammed into the 1,000-seat Hall of Congress cheered the return of constitutional government after a decade of dictatorship and 31 months of military rule.

Pale from fatigue and the lingering effects of flu, President Frondizi began ticking off his answers to the nation's pressing problems. The address, his first clear statement of position since the Feb. 23 election, added up to a moderate, vigorous program--a heartening swing away from the nationalist, leftist line that he used to gain key votes from the supporters of ousted Dictator Juan Peron.

Austerity in Government. "The national treasury is empty," warned Frondizi, adding that the trade deficit is so huge that even vital imported supplies (e.g., petroleum) might be cut off by year's end. He promised administrative austerity, but said the broader solution for the nation was "encouraging productive private enterprise." He pledged that there would be no new expropriation of foreign investments, though industries already nationalized would be kept. He announced that he was taking over as president of the floundering state oil monopoly and would accept aid from private capital, "without abolishing state control."

Frondizi said he would ask Congress for an "ample and generous" political amnesty, under which "all political parties can freely function." He thus made payment on his political debt to the Peronistas, but was also living up to his deep personal belief that no one should be persecuted for political ideas. He praised the military for their "historic service to democracy," but warned them to stay out of politics from now on.

Friends in the Cabinet. The new President rode through cheering crowds to the presidential palace, where he received the sash of office from General Pedro Aramburu, the retiring provisional President who brought the nation firmly back to democracy. Seated in the ancient red-and-gold presidential chair, Frondizi then swore in his eight-man Cabinet, most of them moderates and close personal friends.

Frondizi soon got clear evidence that diehard Peronistas may confuse amnesty with a license for riot. At a military parade, a segment of the crowd shouted "President by Peron's orders!" and sent up a barrage of balloons bearing colored pictures of Peron and his late wife, Eva. One balloon floated by Frondizi's face and was snared by an aide. All through the afternoon, Peronista demonstrations flared up in central streets, but Frondizi's new police chief sent in cops with tear gas to disperse the mobs. It was an encouraging reminder that, whatever Frondizi said on the campaign trail, he was one of Peron's bitterest critics while the strongman ruled. Getting right down to his huge job at week's end, the new President sent his amnesty bill along to Congress and announced a total ban on imports until a list of priorities could be drawn up.

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