Evita and Argentine History-Part 1

Europeans first arrived in the native-inhabited territory, which became Argentina, in the early 16th century. The Spaniards of the day, true to form, wiped out the indigenous population. After becoming a viceroyalty of Spain in the 1770s, Argentina achieved independence in 1816. Between the mid-19th century and 1946, Argentina swung from civilian to military rule and from radical to conservative policies. At this time, Argentina was the 10th richest nation, owing to its rich agricultural exports. Nevertheless, a socialist rise led to a coup, resulting in the rise of Lieutenant General Juan Peron Sosa as president in 1943. After winning the election of 1946, Peron instigated a policy of extreme nationalism and social improvement. His wife, Eva Duarte ("Evita"), being more charismatic than her husband (see photo) campaigned for the disenfranchised workers of the era ("descamisados," or the "shirtless ones."). They founded the Peronista movement, and after being overthrown in 1955, continued to direct the movement from Spanish exile. Just before that time, Evita, the paragon of the movement, died at an early age. The dream of Argentine nationalism seemed to die thereafter. The ensuing administrations failed to secure the full allegiance of either the people or the trade unions and Peron was triumphantly re-elected as president in 1973. On his death, a year later, his wife, Isabelita Peron, took over, but could not rekindle the ream of her magnetic predecessor Evita. Soon thereafter, chaos ensued and Isabelita was deposed by a military coup in 1976.

The legacy of Peron (and Evita) continues to inspire Argentinian politicians to this day. The end of the Peronista period heralded perhaps the darkest period in Argentinian history. Driven by an obsessive fear of ‘Communism’ and ‘subversion’ and supported by governments throughout the Americas (including Washington), the military regime instituted a reign of terror in which "disappearances" ("desaparecidos"), torture and extra-judicial murder were commonplace. The military’s blatant inability to run the economy did much to undermine any credibility they enjoyed. But the final straw was the invasion of the Malvinas (Falkland Islands) in 1982, which led to a humiliating defeat for the Argentinian military at the hands of a British task force and led swiftly to the collapse of the regime and the inauguration of a new era of civilian politics.