The Peron’s: A Political Dynasty By Nick Elders. The Trifecta of Power Three members-Juan, Eva, and Isabel Each had a lasting effect on Argentine politics.

The Peron’s: A Political Dynasty

By

Nick Elders

The Trifecta of Power

• Three members-Juan, Eva, and Isabel

• Each had a lasting effect on Argentine politics

• All three courted the masses for support

Picture taken from http://www.almargen.com.ar/sitio/seccion/politica/fraude

El Lider, Juan Domingo Peron• Born October 8, 1895 in

Lobos• Second child of Mario Tomas

Peron and Juana Sosa Toledo• Mario was not married to

Juana when Juan was born• Mario was the son of a

doctor, and Juana was a servant

• Mario and Juana married when Juan was six

Picture taken from http://www.usatoday.com

Juan’s Military Career and First Marriage

• At fifteen, entered the Colegio Militar de la Nacion, after having attended the Colegio Internacional de Olivos and the Colegio Internacional Politecnica

• Graduated in 1913 with a commission as a sublieutenant of the infantry

• In 1924, he left the Sargento Cabral officers’ school as a captain

The First Mrs. Peron• In 1925, Peron met Aurelia Tizon, whom he nicknamed

Potota• When they married, Peron was almost thirty,while Aurelia

was barely into her twenties• Aurelia so respected her husband that she called him only

Commander• They tried to have children, but Juan was most likely sterile• In 1938, after 13 years of marriage, Aurelia died of Uterine

Cancer• A year after Aurelia’s death, Peron embarked on a Military

mission to Europe, which lasted from 1939 to 1941

Peron’s rise to political power

• When he returned from Europe, Peron joined the Grupo de Oficiales Unidos, a group that sympathized with the fascists

• 1943- Peron helps oust President Ramon Castillo and is made undersecretary of war and chief of staff of the military under General Pedro Pablo Ramirez

• Also made the director of the National Department of Labor, which he changed into the Secretariat of Welfare and Labor

Peron’s rise continues• As he rose through the political ranks, Peron garnered

more clout with the working classes• He played a key role in ending the Ramirez

administration and putting General Edelmiro Farrell in power

• Under Farrell, Peron was the Secretary of Labor and Welfare, Minister of War, and Vice-President

• Peron was rumored to have the real power at this time• It was during this period that, at a benefit for

earthquake victims in Nicaragua, he met his second wife, Eva

Eva Maria Duarte de Peron

• Born May 7, 1919 in Los Toldos• Fifth child and fourth daughter of Juana Ibarguren,

a Basque cook, and Juan Duarte, a wealthy land owner

• Juan and Juana never married, so Eva was illegitimate

• Juan had a wife, Estela Grisolia and three daughters in Chivilcoy

• He left Juana and her brood in 1920 and died in a car accident on January 8, 1926

Eva’s Early Years

Eva’s Early Years

• Eva was always conscious of her status as an illegitimate child, and wanted to rise above it

• She resolved to become a great actress to do it• She ran away to Buenos Aires with a tango singer,

Augustin Magaldi, at fifteen• Magaldi was the first of Eva’s many lovers, whom

she used to get ahead in the world• She ended her habit of dating and discarding men

when she met Peron

Juan and Eva become a Team

• Eva became Juan’s mistress shortly after they met• In October of 1945, however, Juan was arrested by

the president and sent to a secret location that even Eva didn’t know

• The people came to his aid and staged a rally to free him, which worked

• Shortly after his release, Juan married Eva, which legitimized her in a way

• Together, they planned for Juan’s run at the presidency in 1946

President and First Lady

• Juan was elected to his first term as president in 1946• Eva was now the first lady, the most powerful

woman in Argentina• The rich had a hard time accepting her, as evidenced

by the Charitable Society, a women’s organization, denying Eva the honorary position of President

• Eva retaliated against this by cutting of the society’s federal funding and starting her own foundation, The Eva Peron Foundation

Eva becomes the friend of the poor

• Eva’s foundation helped the poor get jobs, food, clothing, money, and anything else they could want

• There are no financial records for the foundation, so it is not known how much money was taken in and how much was kept

• The people adored Eva for what she did for them,a and considered her a saint

The Rainbow Tour

• Eva decided to go to Europe to push Peron’s policies in other countries, in hopes of making alliances with the more powerful heads of state

• Spain was her first stop, and while there, she received the highest honor from Francisco Franco, the cross of Isabella the Catholic

• Franco declared a holiday so the workers could see Eva

Italy and the rest of the tour

• Italy was slightly colder than Spain and more disappointing

• Eva had hoped that the pope would honor her with a Marquisette for her work with the poor

• She got a twenty minute audience and a gold rosary instead

• Eva next went to Paris and made quite a splash there• The tour was to culminate with her staying in

Buckingham Palace with the royal family, but they wouldn’t officially invite her, so she decided against going to Great Britain

Will the Peron’s run together in 1951?

• In 1951, Juan decided to run again for President• Eva wanted to run with him as Vice President• When she accepted the nomination, she made it

look like she was bowing to the people’s will , but it didn’t work

• The military told Peron that they would try revolution if Eva didn’t renounce her candidacy

• Juan told Eva to step down and, though crushed, she did as she was instructed

Eva’s illness and death• Shortly after her renunciation, Eva began feeling ill• She was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer, the same

disease that had killed her predecessor, Aurelia• She had a hysterectomy, but it wasn’t enough to stop the

cancer• She voted in the election from a hospital bed and, though

seriously ill, attended the inauguration• She got through the ceremonies with a triple dose of

pain-killer before and a double dose after• Shortly after the inauguration, Eva died at the age of 33.

Peron is ousted from power

• After Eva died, Juan planned on having her embalmed, so she would last forever

• Dr. Pedro Ara was asked to do the job, and he did it beautifully

• A tomb for Eva was in the works, but Peron was ousted before it could be completed

• When Eva died, Peron lost his link to the people, and this hurt him greatly

• After his overthrow, Peron fled the country• Eventually, he ended up in Panama, where he met wife

number three

Maria Estela de Martinez enters the picture

• Maria Estela,or Isabel, was born on February 4, 1931 in La Rioja

• Her father died when she was six, and she became a dancer at twenty

• In 1956, she met Peron in Panama• In 1961, they married and moved to Madrid• Peron began planning his return to Argentina from Madrid• Isabel was Juan’s representative on trips to Argentina,

since he couldn’t return from exile• Isabel’s main goal was uniting the Peronists

Peron gains power once more

• On June 20, 1973 Juan and Isabel returned to Argentina• On July 13, President Hector Campora resigned to make

way for Peron• Peron shocked the nation when he announced that he

and Isabel would run together on August 4• Isabel accepted the nomination, and the Peron’s won

the election, thus giving Isabel the office that had been denied to Evita, the Vice-Presidency

• Isabel, however, was thrust into the spotlight when Peron died on July 1, 1974 of bronchial pneumonia

Picture taken from http:// hjem.get2net.dk

Isabel’s term and the end of the Peron dynasty

• Isabel took over the presidency when Juan died, and promised to adhear to his policies strictly

• Problems beset her presidency from the start• Inflation rose and political struggle continued

between the Peronists• What the army feared would happen if a female

became president happened with Isabel• In 1976, Isabel was ousted in a coup, thus ending

the Peron regime, and a great chapter in Argentine history