Eva Perón was the most powerful woman in Argentina for several years. She was born a poor girl and was never legally recognized by her father. She married Colonel Juan Domingo Perón. Even though she did not hold a political position, she was able to do a lot for the poor in her country and she introduced suffrage for women. After her death, her body made bizarre wanderings, but she is finally buried in Buenos Aires.
- Argentina in the early 1900s
- Eva Peron’s childhood
- The success of Eva Perón and the fight for suffrage
- Eva Duarte with Juan Perón
- The 1946 presidential election
- As the wife of the president
- Eva Perón Foundation
- End of Eva’s career
- What happened to Eva Perón’s body?
- The regime of Jorge Videla
Argentina in the early 1900s
Argentina experienced great prosperity in the early 1900s. The country became a grain and meat supplier for Europe. At least 100,000 people emigrated to Argentina every year because there were good opportunities for the future. Buenos Aires became a city of splendor that can still be admired today. At that time, the first struggle arose between the rich landowners in the countryside and the poor who worked in both the countryside and the city. It was a struggle for the yields of the land. In 1943, Argentina had a military government with Colonel Juan Domingo Perón serving as minister of labor. He gained control of the trade union CGT and was the leader of a group of nationalist and anti-democratic army officers. Without saying this out loud, there was an affinity with Hitler and Franco.
Eva Peron’s childhood
Eva Perón was born with the names Eva Maria Ibarguren on May 7, 1919. Her full names are Eva Maria Duarte de Perón . Her birthplace was Los Toldos which is located in the province of Buenos Aires. She was the fifth child in the family. Her mother was called Juana Ibarguren and her father was Juan Duarte. Eva’s parents were not married. Four children were recognized by the father, but Eva was never recognized or legitimated. However, she later adopted her father’s name. Eva’s mother worked as a cook and she was very poor. When Eva was seven years old, her father died in a car accident. Mother was left behind with her five children and the family lived in poverty. They moved to Junín, a small village located a hundred kilometers from Buenos Aires. It is clear that Eva had a difficult childhood in which poverty and humiliation determined her view of society. The fact that she was an illegitimate child played a role in this. When Eva was fifteen years old she moved to Buenos Aires. There are several stories going around about the ,why, of this move. She had no degrees and no relationships in town.
The success of Eva Perón and the fight for suffrage
Eva managed to perform as a radio and film actress. She was so successful that she even received shares in the radio company. Eva has also played the role of Queen Elizabeth I of England. After her marriage in 1945, all films in which Eva played a role were withdrawn from the cinemas. Eva Perón had a charisma with which she was able to draw people’s attention. Eva Péron fought for women’s right to vote.
Eva Duarte with Juan Perón
Eva Duarte participated in a fundraising campaign for earthquake victims. On this occasion she met Colonel Juan Perón for the first time. However, Perón was arrested in October 1945 and was soon released because Eva had called on Perón’s supporters to stage street protests on the radio. Immediately afterwards, on October 21, 1945, Eva Duarte and Juan Perón were married. He then had many followers among the poor and workers of all Argentina. Eva was not at all important in politics at that time. Major demonstrations are held every year on October 17. This is called the dia de la Lealtad or the day of loyalty. The CGT trade union became the stronghold of the Peroni sme. Perón’s party was called justicialism, or the movement for justice. People were anti-America and anti-British, anti-Semitic, anti-Communist, but above all for the people. Agricultural exports generated funds that were used to set up national industry, but also increased government services and increased prosperity.
The 1946 presidential election
Although Eva had no real political role, it is known that she campaigned for her husband. She used a radio program that was well known in Argentina. Eva wanted to remain a woman of the people and tried to show solidarity with the working class. Nowadays it is normal for the wife of a minister to play a major role in an election campaign, but that was certainly not the case in the forties. Together with Juan, Eva visited many places in Argentina where they campaigned. The people admired her, but the elite, the army and other politicians viewed her success with dismay. The name Evita also appeared for the first time then.
As the wife of the president
As the wife of the president, Eva enjoyed great respect at home and abroad. She had one exception and that was the military regime. She was absolutely not involved in that. Her veneration for Juan Perón knew no bounds. Only the Peronists were the real Argentinians, Eva believed. In 1947 she made a tour through Europe, visiting Spain, Italy and France. In Spain she met General Franco, who was in power from 1892 to 1975. At that time, Spain received food aid from Argentina. In 1951, under popular pressure, Eva made herself available for the position of vice president. A mass meeting was organized in her favor in which two million people participated. Yet Eva realized that her place was only next to her husband and not as a politician. In 1952, Perón was again elected president and women were allowed to vote for the first time. We can see this as a milestone in the history of this country.
Eva Perón Foundation
Eva has set up a foundation to provide hospitals and orphanages with financial help. In those years, Argentina was a country where a lot of money was made in the food chain. A lot of grain and meat was shipped to Europe because Europe was under construction after the Second World War. Eva started to dress differently and wore her hair up, wearing many sober suits. It can be said that Eva was the most powerful woman in Argentina in 1949. She was extremely popular in the country and cities were even named after her. The middle class and the social elite wanted nothing to do with Eva Perón’s vision. This was not surprising because she was passionate about the poorest and the working class. At that time there were many large landowners who had a lot to lose and the fear for Eva was therefore very present.
End of Eva’s career
Eva became seriously ill in 1951. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer and underwent an operation that lasted four hours. To no avail because the cancer had spread. However, Eva still tried to participate in a rally held after Perón was re-elected president. But on July 26, 1952, Eva died. She was only 33 years old. Argentina was in deep mourning. More than one million people have walked past her funeral. Her coffin was carried through the streets of Buenos Aires and on this occasion several people were killed and injured as they pressed each other to see and touch the funeral coffin. A request was even submitted to the Vatican to have Eva canonized.
What happened to Eva Perón’s body?
Eva’s body was embalmed and they wanted to erect a monument to commemorate her. But before this could be achieved, Perón’s regime was wiped out by a military coup. Perón had to leave the country in haste. Because the military regime feared that Eva’s body would become a symbol of Perón’s time, it was kidnapped. The body was moved from one secret place to another for two years and in 1957 it was taken to Milan by ship. Here she was buried under an assumed name Maria Maggi . The body was then returned to Perón in 1971, who was in exile in Spain at the time. In 1973, Perón became president of Argentina again. He had now remarried to Isabel, who had the body returned after Perón’s death in 1974. Together with Juan Perón, Eva was still laid out in Argentina in the president’s palace. Then they were buried separately.
The regime of Jorge Videla
In the 1950s Argentina was bankrupt. Perón was deposed in 1955 and he fled to Spain. In 1973, Perón was again elected president of Argentina, but bloody scenes followed. After Perón’s death in 1975, Isabel succeeded him. The coup d’état by Jorge Videla followed in 1976. We all know that this dirty war has caused many casualties. From November 1977 onwards, the foolish mothers made their rounds around the Plaza de Mayo every Thursday. They carried a photo of their disappeared son or partner. During this time, Eva could not rest in her grave and they still wanted to move the body. The body was therefore confiscated but returned to the family after 6 months. A foundation has been established that would like to bury the bodies of Juan Perón and Eva together in one grave monument. However, Eva’s relatives are against this. Eva Perón is now buried in the La Recoleta district. The grave monument is easy to find in the cemetery. In Southern countries and also in South America it is customary to place a coffin containing the body of the deceased in a family grave. One or more niches are available for this purpose. In the case of Eva Perón, the decision was made to bury the body six meters deep so that it cannot be quickly exhumed.
Both a film and a musical were produced about Evita’s life. The musical in particular was performed in many countries and was seen again on Broadway in a new version in 2012. Tom Rice is the playwright and the direction was by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical premiered for the first time in the Netherlands in 2007. In 2018, a new version was released with Evita de Musical, which attracted sold-out audiences.