Juan Domingo Peròn
BIOGRAPHY
General information
Juan Domingo Perón was born on October 8, 1895 in Lobos, Argentina. At the age of sixteen he entered the military school; after which, having obtained his diploma, he made a career. In 1929 he married Aurelia Tizón, who died nine years later. At the end of the thirties he served as an official student in Chieti in Italy, where he was also a military observer.
The meeting with Evita
Juan Domingo Perón was later promoted to under secretary at the Departamento Nacional del Trabajo. With the aim of collecting money destined to support the reconstruction of Argentina, he organizes a festival entrusted to artists, including Eva Duarte: it is on this occasion that the two meet. In a short time, the couple decided to move in together.
The two get married on October 2, 1945: in a very short time the couple becomes famous all over the world, also for the support guaranteed by Eva - called Evita - to her husband also in the political and propaganda field.
The arrest of Juan Domingo Perón and the subsequent release
On October 9, 1945, Perón is forced to resign from his opponents, who oppose his action in the armed forces: arrested, he is interned at the military hospital in Buenos Aires. Shortly afterwards the descamisados demand his release by gathering in the Plaza de Mayo: at that point the generals who had imposed his arrest are forced to call him back to govern.
Perón president of Argentina
Later he devoted himself to the election campaign for the presidential elections, supported by Evita. In 1947 he created the Single Revolution Party, which at first took the name of the Peronist Party. Once elected (he is the 28th President of Argentina), he delegated many tasks to his wife, for example relating to workers' rights.
Social policy and the revitalization of the country
Perón's social policy is aimed at increasing the power of the working class, while Argentine industrialization is also enhanced thanks to a five-year plan to support nationalized industries.
The 1950's: the decline
On November 11, 1951, Perón still wins the presidential election, Argentina also faces a sharp decline. Evita's death in 1952 accentuates the loss of popular consensus. Despite having been awarded the title of Libertador de la Repùblica, Juan Domingo Perón has to deal with a coup attempt made by a sector of the armed forces in June 1955, born with the aim of killing him.
Exile
Army troops, loyal to the president, oppose the coup leaders. With a country on the brink of civil war, Perón chooses to go into exile in Paraguay: shortly after the Peronist movement in Argentina is declared illegal, while the former president moves from Latin America to Europe, finding political asylum in Spain.
Here she marries a night club dancer, Isabel Martìnez Cartas, while on the political front she supports - always from her exile - the leftist Peronists who reappear on the scene in the following years.
The 70's: the return to Argentina
On November 17, 1972, he returned home, staying in Argentina for a month and spreading a message of peace among political forces. However, he was prevented from competing in the general elections of March 1973: his party, in any case, emerged victorious with almost 50% of the preferences.
Now elderly and of poor health, he increasingly delegates his political duties to his wife: almost all decision-making powers end up in the hands of Isabel Martínez de Perón. On 1 July 1974 Juan Domingo Perón, aged 78, dies of a heart attack. An immense crowd takes part in his funeral, celebrated in Buenos Aires.