What could I, a humble woman of the people, do where other women, more prepared than I, had categorically failed? Be ridiculous? Join the nucleus of women with a grudge against women and men, as has happened to innumerable feminist leaders? I was not an old maid, nor even ugly enough for such a post which, from the time of the English suffragettes down to today, generally belongs, almost exclusively, to women of this type. “I confess I was a little afraid the day I found myself facing the possibility of starting on the feminist path. In her view, the feminist movement of that time was aspiring to become exactly like the men and renounce their womanhood by imitating them. In her autobiography, she states the reasons why she was not a feminist. However, although her ideas about women’s rights to vote inspired the feminist movement, Eva did not consider herself a feminist. After that, Eva managed to gain the support of the government, drastically adding more and more money for her charity work, approaching a level of comparison to a modern female saint.Īs the First Lady of Argentina, Eva Perón took advantage of her political position to promote her ideas. According to writers Fraser & Navarro, she did not expect at first that her initiative would be a success: “She could not have foreseen her sudden transformation, from Latin American politician and religious national cult figure to late-twentieth-century popular culture folk heroine” (Fraser & Navarro, 1996, p.193). Thus she created the Eva Perón Foundation. It was that moment that Eva enriched her image as a strong woman that did not allow her past social class to affect setting an example for thousands of women in Argentina. Unfortunately for Eva, she found out that her poor background and acting career was looked down on by the members of the group. Traditionally, the First Lady of Argentina is elected to be president of the charity group. Before her foundation, there was the Society of Beneficence, a charity group that was responsible for most charity activities in Buenos Aires. She was the founder and chairwoman of the Eva Perón Foundation, an organization that aimed to help the poor and the homeless of Argentina. Her radio program was her instrument of influence towards the Argentinian voters, who were exposed weekly to her powerful speeches, promoting her husband’s populist rhetoric that became the base for the so-called Peronist movement.Īpart from being recognized as the First Lady of Argentina, Eva Perón was widely recognized as a saint by the poor people of Argentina because of her charitable actions. She had a strong influence on the lower economic classes of Argentina and many people have described her as a powerful, yet unofficial political leader of Argentina. In the 1946 presidential elections in Argentina, Eva played a critical role in her husband’s win. From there, she had a daily program where she praised her husband’s policies and accomplishments, often broadcasting speeches of Juan Perón to increase his popularity to the voters. She became the president of the broadcast performers union. Her political contributions appeared shortly after. It was that year that Eva Perón met her future husband, Juan Perón, in a gala that was held in Buenos Aires to raise money for the victims of the earthquake. In 1944, a deadly earthquake occurred in the city of San Juan, in Argentina. By the age of 15, she had moved to Buenos Aires to pursue her career in acting, appearing in numerous radio and film acts. Her father died when she was six years old, leaving her only with a document that declared his decision to recognize his children, allowing them to use the surname Duarte. When she was a year old, her father abandoned her mother to return to his legitimate family. She grew up in the city of Junin in the province of Buenos Aires under poor conditions. She was the wife of the Argentinian President Juan Perón and the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until 1952. María Eva Duarte de Perón was born on May 7, 1911. Her legacy lies deep inside the civil society of Argentina, and her actions have become an inspiration for the feminist movement around the world. She was an important figure in the political life of Argentina and an active advocate for women’s rights to vote which she managed to achieve. Her social policies and her help towards the poor made her even more famous than her husband, the President of Argentina, Juan Perón. “I demanded more rights for women because I know what women had to put up with”-Eva Perónĭespite over sixty years having passed since her death, Eva Perón remains an icon in Argentina.
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