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percent to 40 percent in just five years and was eroding workers' earn-
ings. In 1952, average real wages for unskilled workers in Buenos Aires
stood 21 percent below the 1949 average.
The Perón regime responded to the crisis with an austerity pro-
gram: It froze workers' wages. In the long run, the austerity program
proved effective, because inflation in 1954 returned to the single dig-
its. Yet the economic crisis dealt a harsh blow to labor. An estimated
40,000 textile workers and 25,000 meat workers were laid off in 1952.
The state also abandoned its commitment to mediating strikes to the
benefit of labor. Perón declared that workers should raise their own
standards of living through increased productivity. “Today, as always,”
he said, “our slogan is Produce! Produce! Produce!”
Eva Perón's death in 1952 had also cast a shadow over the Peronist
movement. Evita symbolized the Perón regime's commitment to
championing the rights of laborers and the poor. Although myth has
obscured her historical role, individual workers perceived Evita as the
official most sympathetic toward the working class. Her passing coin-
cided with the government's harsh response to popular protest.
Striking railway workers in 1953. A faltering economy brought hardship to many working-class
Argentineans, who often responded with strikes and demonstrations.
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