I heard the name “Eva Perón” before I came to Davidson, but I am ashamed to say I never took the time to read a biography. In class, I learned that “Evita” was the influential wife of Juan Perón, Argentina’s longtime populist leader. Now, having learned a more about Eva Perón and her dual legacy in class, I am inspired to do a bit more research.
As she was the more charismatic and popular of the two, but also a woman who saw her role as a wife above all, her legacy is intriguing. From reading her speech for class, we saw that “Evita” was essentially the head of PR for her husband’s government. She rallied support and shepherded the country through a corruption crisis. The “Mother of Argentina” also spearheaded many reforms, while framing everything as though it was Juan’s doing. She was an avid supporter of women’s rights, such as enfranchisement, but only within the limits of the patriarchy. For instance, she was quoted as saying every woman’s aspiration should be marriage. This dual legacy is hard to reconcile.
Conducting additional research, I found that her legacy is even more complex. While some have attempted to canonize Evita for her support of the destitute and downtrodden (Britannica), others have called her legacy ‘horrid’ and claimed she was a Nazi sympathizer (Washington Post). Her husband unquestionably idolized both Hitler and Mussolini (Washington Post). She may have been ignorant of the wealth flowing into her country from escaped Nazis granted safe harbor in Argentina, but there is nothing to prove she did not know (Washington Post).
In the end, I cannot reconcile Evita’s conflicted legacies. I suppose that is the danger of idolizing any human. I am reminded of what my friend’s mother once said: “All your favorites are problematic.” Like Argentina, I remember Evita’s successes, but I learn just as much from critiquing her flaws. All I can do is recognize that she was quite progressive for her time and simultaneously imperfect.
Encontré el nombre <<Eva Perón>> antes de que llegué a Davidson, pero lamento que nunca tuviera el tiempo para leer su biografía. En la clase, aprendí que Eva Perón fue la esposa de Juan Perón, el líder populista de Argentina. Ahora, sabiendo más sobre su legado complicado, quiero buscar información adicional.
<<Evita>> era más popular que Juan, pero también a ella le importaba su papel como una esposa sobre todo. En leer su discurso, vi que ella era básicamente la jefa de relaciones públicas para su esposo (pero sin el título). Inspiraba apoyo para el gobierno mientras que el país estaba en una crisis de corrupción. La <<Madre de Argentina>> hizo miles de reformas, dando el crédito a Juan. Ella luchaba para los derechos de las mujeres, como el derecho de la votación, pero solamente bajo el patriarcado. Su legado es difícil ordenar.
En mis búsquedas fuera de clase, encontré que muchos intentaban canonizar Evita como santa (Britannica). A la vez, muchos dicen que su legado es horrible y conectado a los Nazis (Washington Post). Es verdad que a Juan le encantaban ambos Hitler y Mussolini (Washington Post). Es posible que ella no sabía el orígen del oro y refugiados llegando a su país después de la segunda guerra mundial, pero no hay pruebas (Washington Post).
En fin, no puedo reconciliar los legados complicados de Evita. Supongo que eso es el peligro en idolatrar a cualquier humano. Como la mamá de una amiga me dijo una vez <<todos tus favoritos tienen problemas.>> Como Argentina, pudiera recordar solamente los reformas de Evita, pero aprendo más en criticar sus fallas. Lo único que sé es que era muy progresiva para su época, pero imperfecta a la vez.
I had no knowledge of either of the Perons before taking LAS101 yet I find them both fascinating. I find it most interesting that Eva is responsible for a lot of Juan’s success yet deflected the glory to him. I know this is a different time period but I wonder if something like this could happen in America today. Would Americans living in 2020 praise Eva or Juan? I agree with your idea of not being able to reconcile her legacy. A lot of large figures have done both good and bad and when you praise a certain figure, you have to take both.
I think it could happen pretty easily. The last couple of elections have shown that populism works in the United States too – on both sides. There’s definitely a cult-of-personality element to the following of some of our leaders, and their supporters often believe they can do no wrong, even though there is good and bad to anyone. I’m sure there would be a public outcry if we funded Nazis in 2020, but there are probably other controversial things that history will condemn later on.
I too did not research Eva Perón, but had heard of her from the Hollywood interpretation of her life, “Evita”. I’m currently studying for the final and came across another figure, Brazilian singer/dancer/actress Carmen Miranda. In a strange way, she reminds me of Eva Perón because they both became warped from Hollywood’s vision. Carmen Miranda morphed into a stereotypical version of a Brazilian woman, wearing headdresses full of fruit, while Eva Perón was depicted by Madonna in the film. Hollywood has a very interesting way of getting involved in foreign affairs. I’ve found that it often idolizes people from history when they probably should not be. Like your mom was saying, everyone we idolize is imperfect in some regard.
That’s such a cool comparison and you bring up a great point about Hollywood. Thanks!