Eva Perón

On July 26, 1952, radio broadcasts across Argentina were interrupted for a few seconds that would paint the country in broad strokes of black, and plunge the nation into the bleakest mourning; “It is my sad duty to inform you that today at 20:25 Eva Perón, the Spiritual Leader of the Nation, entered immortality", read the hoarse announcer. And so it was that radio, the very medium by which this iconic figure had first become famous, spread the news of her untimely death to the world. 

Cervical cancer had reduced this lively, elegant woman to a mere 36 kilos. Neither a radical hysterectomy, nor cutting-edge chemotherapy could save the 33 year old, former actress, who had become the personification of hope for the nation’s poor or descamisados (shirtless ones). In the days following Evita’s death, eight people died and 2000 were injured in the crowds that thronged to glimpse her body. Within 24 hours, every flower shop in Buenos Aires had sold out. As a result of overwhelming public pressure, María Eva Duarte de Perón was given an official state funeral, usually only reserved for a head of state.  

Eva Duarte was born out of wedlock sometime in 1919 in the rural pampas of Central Argentina. Her father, a wealthy landowner, returned to his wife and legitimate children in 1920, leaving the family in severe financial difficulty. Eva, throughout her life, refused to extensively discuss this part of her life. Her autobiography, La Razón de mi Vida, makes no mention of her early childhood.  

In some ways this secrecy is unsurprising as illegitimate children continued to be regarded as socially inferior in Argentina, and widespread prejudice remained prevalent. However, given Eva’s relentless campaigns on behalf of the underprivileged and oppressed, this attempt to sweep details of her own childhood under the carpet (including a possibly forged birth certificate) can be regarded as insincere. Some see it as a confirmation of her critics’ worst allegations; that she was merely a shrewd celebrity, with little interest in anything but her own image and fame. 

In 1935, at the age of 15, Eva Perón left home and moved to the bright lights and wide boulevards of the continent’s then most decadent and flourishing city; Buenos Aires. Determined to make it as an actress, she worked her way through cheap modelling contracts, small-time theatre productions and B-grade movie dramas. She eventually found her niche in 1942 when she was hired by a national radio broadcaster. Within a year Eva Perón was one of the highest earning radio actresses in the country and would go on to co-own the popular radio company, Radio Belgrano.  

It was at a charity gala in January 1944 that Eva and Juan Perón first met. The event was organised by Juan Perón, then Secretary of Labour, with the aim of raising money for the victims of the San Juan earthquake. The two left the gala together, and within a year they were married.   

Juan Peron would go on to become president of the Argentina in 1946. For many Eva’s growing influence in Peronist circles during this time was deeply controversial. Not only was she half Juan Peron’s age but more importantly, politicians and actresses were considered two entirely distinct classes in Argentine society, which were not supposed to mix. With her controversial childhood and dubious career the old fashioned aristocracy and political elite regarded her as little more than a photogenic prostitute.  However, Eva’s remarkable popularity made her a powerful national figure and, even though she never occupied a governmental position, she was widely regarded as the second most influential person in the country, after her husband. 

Eva Perón is predominantly remembered as a great campaigner and philanthropist. The Eva Perón Foundation, which she founded in 1948, rapidly became the country’s largest charity. With an overall aim of eliminating poverty and inequality, the foundation dedicated itself to diverse array of social projects. It awarded scholarships, built homes, established hospitals and even developed entire communities, such as Evita City, which, today, continue to exist. Eva overlooked every aspect of this vast organisation that employed a total of 14,000 employees and assets in excess of $200 million.  

The impressive achievements of this foundation, the equivalent of which Argentina had never seen, along with her campaigns for women’s suffrage, are widely seen to be the reason for the saint-like esteem in which the country’s poor held Evita Peron. However, in many ways it was her public confidence and stature, despite being a woman from an impoverished background and lacking in any formal education, which made Eva such a powerful icon. Her very presence alongside the political elite was a dramatic rupture from the social norm. It was a rupture that provided necessary hope for Argentina’s poor. Cristina Fernandez, the first female elected President of Argentina, announced that women of her generation owed a phenomenal debt to Evita for “her example of passion and combativeness”. Her untimely death, at the peak of Peronist popularity, made her a myth. Although she died of cancer, she continues, nonetheless, to be regarded as a martyr, who died fighting for a better world.  

Want to know more? Try reading;

• The Return of Eva Peron – V.S Naipaul

• My Mission in Life – E. Perón

• Eva Perón: The Myths of a Woman – M. Taylor