Perón, in 1949, secured a Constitutional amendment that allowed him to run for a second term . Though he won by a landslide in the elections of 1951, his position was severely weakened by the death of his wife, who had been one of his principal political assets. By this time, the cult of personality that had swept him to power and fed his reputation could no longer disguise the fact that his administration was losing political impetus. He faced dissent within the army, resentful at what they saw as the subordination of their role during Evita's lifetime. He had also incited the wrath of the powerful Catholic Church, whose privileges he had attacked. In addition, his successful wealth redistribution policies had alienated wealthy sectors of society whilst raising the expectations of the less well-off - expectations that he found increasingly difficult to fulfil, especially with declining agricultural revenues. Agriculture had been allowed to stagnate in preference to industrial development, and this helped cause a severe imbalance of payments, which caused inflation and precipitated economic recession.