Who were Perón and Evita, and how did Peronism begin?
Perón, Evita and the birth of Peronism
El 17 de octubre: Perón y Evita
17 October 1945–September 1955. Colonel Juan Domingo Perón, labour secretary in Argentina's military government, had won the unions with wages, holidays and pensions.
Draft: not yet checked against its sources.
Where: Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
What happened
Colonel Juan Domingo Perón, labour secretary in Argentina's military government, had won the unions with wages, holidays and pensions. When army rivals arrested him in October 1945, workers poured into the Plaza de Mayo on 17 October to demand his release, and he spoke from the balcony of the Casa Rosada that night. He won the election of February 1946 and took office on 4 June. His government nationalised the railways, gas and telephones, created Aerolíneas Argentinas, passed the aguinaldo (a thirteenth month's pay) and social laws, and in 1947, driven by his wife Eva Duarte, gave women the vote. Evita, a radio actress from a poor family, ran a foundation that built hospitals and schools and founded the women's Peronist party; she died of cancer on 26 July 1952 at 33, mourned by millions.
Say it
El 17 de octubre de 1945 los trabajadores llenaron la Plaza de Mayo para pedir por Perón.
On 17 October 1945 the workers filled the Plaza de Mayo to call for Perón.
Why it matters
Peronism has been the central fact of Argentine politics for eighty years, loved and hated in equal measure, and Evita is the most famous Argentine woman in the world. 17 October is the Day of Loyalty; 'peronista', 'gorila' and 'descamisado' are everyday political words.
Read about it
Connected
- The May Revolution in Buenos Aires (25 May 1810)
- Mass migration from Europe to the Río de la Plata (1880–1930)
- The dictatorship and the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (30 April 1977–10 December 1983)
- The dictatorship and the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (30 April 1977–10 December 1983)
- Argentina's December 2001 (19 December 2001–6 January 2002)
- Argentina's December 2001 (19 December 2001–6 January 2002)
Sources
- Juan Domingo Perón I (1946-1952) — Casa Rosada
- Perón: su obra de gobierno (exposición, Archivo General de la Nación) — argentina.gob.ar
- A 70 años del fallecimiento de Eva Duarte de Perón — argentina.gob.ar