The Simpsons are causing controversy in Argentina with a new episode that has touched on some raw nerves.

The trouble has been caused by a scene in which Homer and his friends are grumbling about their choices of political candidates.

The conversation seemed innocent enough, until Homer's buddy Carl Carlson opened his mouth, reports the Washington Post.

"I'd really go for some kind of military dictator, like Juan Perón," Carl said. "When he 'disappeared' you, you stayed disappeared."

Carl's friend Lenny then delivered the coup de grace: "Plus, his wife was Madonna."

Most Argentines don't consider Peron a dictator, and the disappearance of 30,000 dissidents is blamed on the military dictatorship that ruled from 1976 to 1983, after Peron's death.

"This type of programme causes great harm, because the disappearances are still an open wound here," said former congressman Lorenzo Pepe, who now heads the Juan Domingo Perón Institute. "This is highly offensive to Argentines."

The reference to Madonna also riled Peronistas. Peron's second wife, Eva, is so beloved here that her supporters launched protests after the pop star was cast to portray her in the 1996 movie Evita.

"The part about Madonna - that was too much," Pepe said.

The show hasn't even aired yet in Argentina but The Simpsons are hugely popular in South America and thousands watch it on YouTube.

The latest row comes after Venezuela decided the show was unsuitable for children - and replaced it on air with Hawaii Babewatch.

> Ananova