Who Is Eva Peron

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Argentina had a relatively strong economy built upon agricultural exports to Europe. However, after World War I in the 1910’s severely damaged European economies, international trade lagged as once powerful European countries refocused their efforts into reparations. As a result, Argentina’s once prosperous economy collapsed into political unrest and instability, although many attempts were made towards democracy. Throughout the mid twentieth century, a series of military strongmen came to power. One of these leaders, Juan Peron, was heavily guided by his wife, Eva, who made many improvements to Argentina. Eva Peron was a hero in her philanthropy which garnered the adoration of the Argentinian
people, and her advancement of women’s rights, although one could consider her a villain due to the lack of lasting political and economic stability that followed her death.
Peron’s poor background gave her an understanding of the common people, prompting generous philanthropy from the government.
Her early life was a story of rags to riches, which endeared her to the people. She was born in a small village as the youngest of five children of Juan Duarte and Juana Ibarguren. Her father died when she was young, and her mother moved to the nearby town of Junin and opened a boarding house, where the family struggled with poverty. As a teen, Eva moved to Buenos Aires, where she eventually built a name for herself as a radio star. Her marriage to Juan Peron launched her into a life of luxury and riches as the wife of the Argentinian leader. Eva grew up in conditions similar to much of the Argentinian population, so she understood the struggles that come with being poor. The success she found on the radio sent a message of hope; if Eva could work her way out of poverty, then anyone could. Her prosperity molded her into a source of inspiration and motivation, furthering her connection to the people. In Peron tried to take an active role in helping the people. In a speech, she declared, “I am Evita for all those that need me, and instead of any position of privilege I prefer to fight in the street…” Evita was a nickname for Eva, meaning “Little Eva,” so by referring to herself with this endearing term, Eva creates
the impression of a close, personal bond between herself and the people. Latin America operates on a traditionally patriarchal system, where women were usually not expected to take action. As a woman of high regard, Eva could easily take a position of noninterference in her society. However, she avoided this path, and instead played a major part in helping others, no matter the risk. Furthermore, Eva established the Eva Peron Foundation, which provided social aid to the impoverished. She outlined her aim to help less privileged classes by any means possible in order to create a better quality of life. The foundation provided monetary assistance and scholarships, and donated the necessary funds to build homes, schools, hospitals and orphanages in underprivileged areas. Eva knew the issues one faces while poor because she went through them herself, and used the influence she had in the government to create a way to help. Many people in need visited Peron each day, where she listened to their grievances and gave them the money they needed. Peron’s acts towards the people garnered massive support to the point of idolization, shaping her into a symbol of Argentinian pride. Eva Peron advanced quality of life for women in her advocacy for equality, founding the Female Peronist Party and fighting for women’s suffrage. Before the ascension of the Perons, Argentinian women had little place in politics, and were discouraged to take part in even casual political discussions, but the early twentieth century brought a burgeoning feminist movement. Eva capitalized upon these feelings, to create the Female Peronist Party. Women felt empowered and excited to finally have a political voice, and the party became massively popular. They fought for women’s rights particularly suffrage. In 1947, the party achieved their goal when a new law was passed allowing women to vote and run for office, stating that women would have the same political rights as men. This was a huge step forward for the traditionally patriarchal Argentina in the march towards gender equality. In the first election following the passing of this in 1951, the polls were packed with women running for office, with twenty four elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies and seven female senators, making Argentina the leader in female representation in governments. The Argentinian feminist movement existed before Eva Peron, but she took the reins and gave the movement the direction and endorsement it needed to make major strides. Eva Peron died of cancer in 1952, but the government suffered without her guidance, so Argentina’s tendency towards constantly changing totalitarian rule continued after her death. Juan Peron became increasingly authoritarian throughout the 1950’s, setting unrealistic goals. He once declared his admiration for past authoritarians, stating, "Mussolini was the greatest man of our century, but he committed certain disastrous errors. I, who have the advantage of his precedent before me, shall follow in his footsteps but also avoid his mistakes." Mussolini was a massive proponent of fascism, but his totalitarian tactics brought Italy to the edge of a military disaster, made bad choices in terms of who had power, and alienated the common Italian citizen, which led to his demise. His time of power in Italy ended in the early 1940’s, and Juan Peron would gain power in Argentina shortly after in 1946. Juan Peron had been alive during Mussolini’s rise and fall, witnessing the crucial mistakes made. Peron believed he could take the same actions as Mussolini without making the same mistakes, but without Eva to aid him, Juan fell into similar patterns as the failed dictator, weakening the government.
Juan took over most of Eva’s political tasks after her death, like the Eva Peron Foundation and the Female Peronist Party.
Juan did not have the background or charisma that gained such support for his wife, and was met with a lukewarm reaction. Rumors about Juan’s personal life sparked moral indignation from Catholics that Eva would have easily deflected and handled had she been alive. Building resentment eventually led to protest that removed Juan from office, leading to a long period of political instability. The role of president changed hands very quickly, with most holding the position for less than a year, although Eva did not directly cause such turbulence. Eva’s charismatic political prowess ironically ended up damaging Juan’s career, as his lack of such magnetism became painfully obvious without
her. Although Eva Peron made moves to help the underprivileged, these changes were not lasting enough to help long term, straining and damaging Argentina’s economy, which led to many economic crises throughout the twentieth century. Following Eva’s death, government instability led to corruption in the usage of funds. Many of the Peron’s political allies wanted to keep Eva’s memory alive in order to maintain their power through their association to her, forming the Association of Friends of Eva Peron. This was mainly a move to obtain the hundred million dollars that poured yearly into the Eva Peron Foundation. Although the foundation was Argentina’s largest business, there was no accounting of funds. Eva meant well with her foundation,but it provided an easy avenue for theft. The lack of keeping track of money allowed for easy embezzlement that could be passed off as charity as the Association redirected funds of the foundation for personal use. This depleted the treasury, and as a result, weakened the Argentinian economy. In addition to government corruption exhausting the economy, Juan Peron’s ineffective leadership after the death of his wife caused further damage. He made many poor business decisions, including the nationalization of property, which deterred business owners and investment. As a result, inflation soared and wages dropped, prompting massive labor strikes that drove the already slowing economy to a halt. Argentina’s economy did not truly recover, attempting to reintegrate itself into world trade the way it had before World War I. In the 1990s, reforms to alleviate economic struggles such as inflation unintentionally drove away foreign investors to buy cheaper goods in Brazil, extensive government borrowing led to massive debts, and privatization put many people out of work and drove up the price of basic utilities. These three factors created a downward spiral that led to economic crisis, reminiscent of that following Eva’s death. Although Eva did not directly cause this crisis, the lack of structural changes she made made it inevitable. The Eva Peron Foundation made mostly cosmetic change, giving out money to anyone in need, but not creating the infrastructure necessary to permanently change way of life. By not creating change on a lasting, structural level, Eva inadvertently set up Argentina to fail. Although Eva’s death indirectly caused political and economic instability in Argentina, the improvements she made in quality of life for the impoverished and her advancement of women’s rights make her a hero