July 26, 1952: The people of Argentina are glued to their radios and fall silent as an official broadcast comes from the Subsecretary of Information: â??It is our sad duty to inform the people of the Republic that Eva Peron, the Spiritual Leader of the Nation, died at 8:25 PM.â?
The silence is broken as the sound of sobbing and corks popping ensue. The working-class people of Argentina are heartbroken, and a weeping cacophony echoes throughout the streets. Meanwhile, the wealthy elite sip their champagne privately, toasting to a future free of â??the whore.â? The sounds of mourning and celebrating reflect both the love and hate that Eva Peron, the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron, inspired in her 33 years. Fast-forward several years to September 19, 1955: After a decade in power, Juan Peron is overthrown in a coup.
Having garnered hatred from the Church, pious Argentines, and students, Juan Peron fled to Spain, forced into exile by the military. Juan Peron had lost his greatest political weapon, his charismatic wife Eva. Her death symbolizes the collapse of the national coalition that has backed Peron for years. How could one woman (and a dead one at that) have such a profound affect on her husbandâ??s political career, on the future of Argentina? Ernest Siracusa served as a political officer at Embassy Buenos Aires from 1952-56 and later served as Ambassador to Bolivia and Uruguay. John Doherty served as Labor Attache from 1969-73 and was interviewed by James Shea. Here they discuss Evitaâ??s charisma, the failed coup attempt marked by the horrific Plaza de Mayo bombing, and Peronâ??s fall from grace. He was interviewed by Hank Zivetz beginning in 1989.
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