Peronism In Argentina Peron Essay

Peronism was an Argentine political movement which was conceived by the former President of Argentina- Juan Domingo Peron and his wife Eva Peron. The pillars of the Peronist movement were social justice, economic independence and political sovereignty. Peron’s model of the mixed economy plus the central role of the worker unions was similar to that of the Scandinavian welfare state. (1) In a speech that Peron made in the Congress in 1948, he stated that Peronism was humanism in action. He called it the new political doctrine which rejects politics and all the ill-will it causes. Peronism itself was an idea which stated that all wealth of the nation should be shared out equally amongst those who contributed to bringing it to its current state. Before 1947, women were not given their due rights. They were not considered equal to men and were not considered fit to hold any social designation or carry out any task. It was after Juan Peron came to power, that women started to enjoy basic human rights and
flourished. In this paper, women condition before Peron era is discussed along with his contribution to change that scenario.
The presidency of Peron marked a changed in Argentina’s social and economic structure.
Peron’s wife, Evita Peron also played a prominent role in her husband’s presidency. Along with her husband, she worked for the women’s rights in Argentine society. She granted women the right to vote in 1947 and advocated equality between men and women. Traditionally, the legal position of the Argentine women was based on the Spanish and the Roman laws, which considered women to be the property of the man of the family. Single women were considered the property of their fathers while the married women were considered to be the property of their husbands. Women couldn’t inherit lands, couldn’t get land grants nor could become the head of the family when their husbands or fathers died. The widows were under constant pressure to remarry in order to avoid property confiscation. In Argentina, the girls were married off at the age of fifteen to men who were twice or thrice their
ages.
When Argentina gained its independence from Spain; the inheritance laws changed and became more equitable but still the families stuck with the old traditions and gave a huge part of their estates to the male heirs of the family. They did this to keep the family’s wealth within the family itself. (2) The Argentine women were struggling economically, intellectually and socially as the prevailing attitudes and beliefs about the women within their country restrained them. Women in Argentina were viewed only as one’s mother or wife.
Eva Peron introduced ‘Rama Feminista’ which was a women’s branch in Peron’s political party. Peron wanted women to vote in order to increase his political strength. Peron’s former nationalist military government didn’t allow women to study or work, but Peron understood that for him to stay in power, the support of the working class women is imperative. So, he passed the women’s suffrage which bought the Argentine women to his side. Women became Peron’s domestic missionaries, who used their influence as wives and mothers to convince the males in their family to vote for President Peron.
Peron changed the whole education system as well. Through textbooks, he tried to instill in the children a feeling of loyalty towards himself and Eva. He presented himself as the father and Eva as the mother of the children. For instance, wherever a children textbook in Peron’s presidency mentioned Papa, there was a picture of Peron along with the text. Books taught the children that ‘Papa is strong, he works all day and when he comes home he talks to mama and plays with us. Sometimes he helps with our homework…I love him so much’. (3) While on the opposite page, there was a drawing of Peron himself and underneath it was written that Papa is to his children, Peron is to all the people. Peron through the textbooks indicated that children owed him their loyalty. In the same way, children saw Eva as their celestial mother who watched over them.
Undoubtedly, the contribution of Peronism in the political, social and economic development of Argentina is inevitable. Without Peron’s efforts, women could not have attained their rights, social and political independence that they enjoy now. The era of Peronism marked economic stability, in which provision of basic rights to weaker sections of the society played a major role.