Known as Evita, socialist Perón's fight for welfare for women and the poor made her a saint among Argentina's people but a devil to the ruling elite.
With theatrical ambitions dancing in her head, Eva Perón (born May, 1919) left her family for the lure of Buenos Aires at the age of 16. Lacking any formal training, Evita, as she was known, was only able to come up with small-fry parts in film and radio. After bouncing around from bit part to bit part, she managed to latch on to a large radio station, where she became regularly and gainfully employed.
Her really big break, however, came in 1943 when she met widower Colonel Juan Perón, a fast-rising player in Argentina’s military government. The good colonel had presidential ambitions, which worked out well, because Eva had a way with the masses. With Eva’s assistance, Perón endeavored to attract support for his presidential bid.
This brought him to the attention of the ruling elite, who promptly arrested and imprisoned him in October, 1945. "If you can’t beat ‘em, just lock ‘em up."
The imprisonment turned out to be a blessing of sorts, as it made Perón a hero among the downtrodden in particular. Eva galvanized support among the street masses, and he was out in no time, by jiminey. In that same month, October, 1945, they were married-- that is, Eva and Juan Perón, not the street masses.
With the help of Eva, who gave campaign speeches in support of her husband -- something unheard of for a woman up until that time --Juan Perón won the presidential election in February of 1946.
Theirs was a political match made in heaven, with Eva Perón working more or less as a co-ruler, or, at the least, the unofficial secretary of labor. As a champion of women’s suffrage, Eva Perón saw to it that women were able to vote for the first time in national elections beginning in 1951. She also sponsored social-welfare programs, built hospitals, personally visited the sick and dying, diverted funds to feed the poor and pushed hard for for the raising of workers’ wages.
In June of 1951, much to the dismay of the military and establishment elite, Eva Perón’s name was put forward as the vice-presidential candidate in a re-election bid with her husband. Opposition as well as her failing health soon led to her withdrawal, however.
Eva Perón died of cancer on July 26, 1952, which provoked an outpouring of grief among most Argentineans-- with the eyes of the generals of course remaining stone dry. Juan Perón carried on alone for another three years but, without the eloquence, charm and determination of his wife, seemed to run out of steam and was eventually overthrown in a military coup in September 1955.
Eva Perón only lived to reach her thirty-second year but endures as arguably the most influential woman in Argentina and South America --and, interestingly, this reputation was gained without her ever having been elected to any political office or ever having led a coup.
