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In-Depth Information
security and pension reforms that made him
the hero of Argentina's working class. On Octo-
ber 9, 1945 Perón was arrested by the army,
who feared his growing popularity. This move
backfired largely due to the efforts of Eva
Duarte, Perón's consort and soon-to-be wife.
Eva and Perón's followers organized large-scale
demonstrations and protest marches by the
working classes. The largest filled the Plaza de
Mayo, where the army bombed its own people.
Perón was released on October 17 and was
elected president in 1946. He was bitterly
opposed by the United States, who labeled him
a fascist.
In 1944 Juan Perón married his second wife,
Eva Duarte
, a relatively unknown singer/
actress, 25 years his junior. Evita was an astute
politician and her influence on her husband's
political rise was enormous. With her urging,
Perón made the working class and labor union-
ists his power base. The legislation he proposed
to benefit them was greeted by their political
loyalty and this support carried him to the pres-
idency. During her husband's first term, Evita
became the champion of the
descamisados
(shirtless ones, i.e., the workers) and a near-
cult figure. The social organization she founded
built schools and hospitals and, as a feminist,
she even started a women's political party. She
was greeted as a celebrity during a tour of Euro-
pean capitals. When she died in 1952 at the age
of 33, she left her followers in grief and her hus-
