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The Perons came to power and glory during the 1940's in an Argentina infested with a social-class struggle and catastrophic injustice. The Perons, who were fascists, promised a remedy to these problems and promised a government for the working class. After failing at a military coup d'etat, Gen. Peron looked to democratic means to legitamize himself and secure his position as dictator of Argentina. After winning a landslide victory, the Perons, at the direction of Sra. Peron, rapidly socialized employment and instituted programs for the poor. Even after Sra. Peron was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus, she maintained her laborous daily schedule to help the poor and equalize the class struggle within her country by instituting Foundation Eva Peron. After the death of Sra. Peron, President Peron continued the policies that were the legacy of his late wife, but was later defeated in a coup d'etat (1956) and forced into political exile in Spain. In 1973, Gen. Peron was invited back to Argentina where he was re-elected president and he served again as dictator of the Argentine people until his death in 1974. Upon his death, his third wife, Isabella, who was also vice-president, became the first woman in world history to serve as a nation's president.
Even though the Perons are no longer living, their legacy and ideology are still a very powerful agent, even today, within Argentina. The Argentine political machine is still under the dictates of the Peronist party and its members.
Eva Peron died in 1952, at age 33, being the richest woman in the world, and definitely the most powerful, having left her entire fortune to those that she loved most--her descomisados.
Today, visitors to the tomb of the late First Lady of Argentina, Sra. Peron, will find the words, made famous by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, "Don't cry for me Argentina, I never left you." |
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