Bodiesof water 10: Eva Perón (2022) Painting by Els Devrieze

"volveré y seré millones" (I will return and then be with millions. A promise she made shortly before her. The passion and determination with which she fought for the good of her people is welcome in a millionfold
Eva Maria Duarte de Perón was often affectionately called Evita. The "First Lady" of Argentina may not have been politically elected, yet she had great power and influence over government policy.
Evita was part of political life for only six years, but in that short time became an actual legend. The image people had of Evita was either too rosy or just as downright negative. But what she lived up to in her short life cannot be disputed.
Eva was an illegitimate child. After her father's death, she ended up in poverty at a very young age. At the age of 15, she moved on her own to Buenos Aires where she started working as a radio and film actress. She met her future husband Juan Perón (then colonel) at a fundraiser after an earthquake. In the run-up to his presidential election, Eva became the first woman in Argentine history to be part of the campaign. Together with Juan, she travelled to all the corners of the country and used her radio programme to convince the poor and workers to vote for him. Once Perón was president, Evita slowly but surely gained a more prominent political role, something that was not appreciated by Argentina's military top brass. She would eventually have more power than the vice president.
She founded a women's association that built houses and schools and ensured that everyone was entitled to the same medical care. She also founded the women's wing of the Peronist movement, the first political women's movement in Argentina that had a lot of power. In1951, under popular pressure, she ran for vice-president. There was a mass rally to support her in which two million people participated. It was the largest demonstration ever held for a woman politician. However, after threats of a military coup, she withdrew her candidature.
She died in 1952 at the age of 33. Eva was seen as the nation's spiritual leader and therefore also received a state funeral. It is estimated that 1 million people came to pay their last respects to her; a union even petitioned the Vatican to have her canonised. The massiveness of mourning after her death is only matched to date with the death of Princess Diana.

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