Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Age of the Peróns
During WWII the rural poor migrated into Buenos Aires in search of work. The number of
people living in the city nearly tripled and it soon held a third of the national population
(which is in fact similar to the percentage today). The growing strength of these urban
working classes swept populist Lieutenant-General Juan Domingo Perón into the presiden-
cy in 1946. Perón had been stationed for a time in Italy and developed his own brand of
watered-down Mussolini-style fascism. He quickly nationalized large industry, including
the railways, and created Argentina's first welfare state. Borrowing from Fascist Italy and
Germany, Perón carefully cultivated his iconic image and held massive popular rallies in
Plaza de Mayo.
The glamorous Eva Duarte, a onetime radio soap-opera star, became the consummate
celebrity first lady upon marrying Perón, and an icon who would eclipse Perón himself.
Known as Evita, her powerful social-assistance foundation reached out to lower-class wo-
men through giveaways of such things as baby bottles and strollers, and the construction of
schools and hospitals. The masses felt a certain empathy with Evita, who was also born in-
to the working class. Her premature death in 1952 came just before things went sour and
her husband's political power plummeted.
After Evita's death Perón financed payouts to workers by simply printing new money,
bungled the economy, censored the press and cracked down on opposition. He was strik-
ingly less popular without Evita, and was deposed by the military in 1955 after two terms
in office. Perón lived in exile in Spain while a series of military coups ailed the nation.
When he returned in 1973, there were escalating tensions from left and right parties; even if
he'd lived to serve his term of re-election, Perón would have had too much on his plate. His
successor, his hapless third wife Isabel, had even less staying power and her overthrow by a
military junta in 1976 came as no surprise.
Although the effects of Perón's personal political achievements are debatable, the Peron-
ist party, based largely on his ideals, has endured.
Hectór Olivera's 1983 film
Funny Dirty Little War
is an unsettling but excellent black comedy set
in a fictitious town just before the 1976 military coup.
