Eva Duarte Peron (Evita) Essay -- Argentina History Latin America Evit

Eva Duarte Peron (Evita) Thesis: Her experience as a member of the lower class who overcame poverty and her belief in bringing justice to the poor made everything that she did for the people of Argentina possible. Eva Peron 'Mi vida por Peron!' ('My life for Peron!') [Evita] cried a thousand times before the roaring crowds, and then she died. There are parallels that could be drawn between her life and the lives of other obsessively ambitious women who have forced their way through poverty and fame.but instead popular memory finds parallels between Evita's life and the lives of the saints, because she did it all for someone else. (Guillermoprieto 100) From Colonel Juan Peron's election in 1946 until her death from cancer in 1952, Eva Duarte de Peron greatly altered the lives of the Argentine people. Knowing from her childhood what it was like to belong to the lower class population of Argentina, she felt she had the inside connection to making conditions better for her "descamisados," or "shirtless ones." Her experience as a member of the lower class who overcame poverty and her belief in bringing justice to the poor made everything she did for the people of Argentina possible. Social injustice was everywhere in Argentina. It was too much for Eva to bear, so she decided to take action (Peron 12). Eva Duarte met her opportunity to work for the government when an earthquake destroyed most of the city of San Juan on January 15, 1944. She helped take collections for the needy (To Be I). Later, she chose to work in the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare. In this department she was able to meet many people and hear all of their stories and problems (Peron 71). She was especially interested in the lower class, the working class of Argentines. Coming from a family among the working class, she knew what they were going through. She had a special understanding of the working class and felt comfortable working with them to improve their situation (79). Eva considered each worker that came into her office a friend, and she was a loyal friend to each of them (81). In all of this, her main purpose was to give justice to the poor. In 1945 she married Colonel Juan Peron, who became Argentina's president in 1946 (Taylor 39). Eva helped him a great d... ...ood education. She gave Argentine women the right to vote and a place to go while beginning their career. She gave the orphans a home and the elderly a place to retire. All of these things she did without expecting anything in return. The only thing she desired was the love of her people and of Peron. Works Cited Guillermoprieto, Alma. "Little Eva." The New Yorker 2 December 1996:98+ Larson, Dolane. "Evita's Legacy." Evita Peron Historical Research Foundation. 10 January 1997. http://www.evitaperon.org/legacy/ (2 April 1999). Mc Henry, Robert, ed. "Eva Peron." The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 1993 ed. [Peron, Eva.] evita by evita: Eva Duarte Peron Tells Her Own Story. Redwood City, CA: Proteus Publishing Co., Inc., 1978. Taylor, J.M. Eva Peron: The Myths of a Woman. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979. To Be Evita. Part I. Trans. Dolane Larson. Evita Peron Historical Research Foundation. April, 1997. http://evitaperon.org/biography/part1.html (9 April 1999). To Be Evita. Part II. Trans. Dolane Larson. Evita Peron Historical Research Foundation. April, 1997. http://evitaperon.org/biography/part2.html (9 April 1999).