When Perón assumed the Presidency, Evita, unlike other Presidents' wives, asked herself what role she would assume from then on. Once again she questioned herself about herself, she redefined herself. This time her role would be defined by her relationship to Perón as President and Leader.

"This is a foundational circumstance and is related directly to my decision to be a President's wife who does not follow the old model. I could have followed those models. I want to make this clear because sometimes people have tried to explain my "incomprehensible sacrifice" by arguing that the salons of the oligarchy would have been closed to me in any case. Nothing is further from the truth nor from common sense. I could have been a President's wife in the same way that others were. It is a simple and agreeable role: appear on holidays, receive honors, "dress up" and follow protocol which is almost what I did before, and I believe more or less well, in the theater and the cinema. As far as the hostility of the oligarchs goes, I can't help but smile. And I ask: why would the oligarchs reject me? Because of my humble origins? Because of my career as an actress? But has that class of persons ever taken those reasons into account, here or in any part of the world, when it is the case of the wife of the President? The oligarchy was never hostile to anyone who could be useful. Power and money are never bad advantages for a genuine oligarch... . But I was not just the spouse of the President of the Republic, I was also the wife of the leader of the Argentine people.

"Peron had a double personality and I would need to have one also: I am Eva Peron, the wife of the President, whose work is simple and agreeable ... and I am also Evita, the wife of the leader of a people who have deposited in him all their faith, hope and love.

"A few days of the year I represent Eva Perón ... "

"Most of the time, however, I am Evita ... "

We do not need to speak of Eva Perón. What she does appears profusely in newspapers and magazines everywhere.

"On the other hand, I would like very much to talk about Evita... ." (Perón, Eva: op cit. pgs. 69-71).

Strangely enough, when the historical figure of Evita is discussed, people seem to be most interested in delving into other instances of her life: her childhood, her family, the life of her parents, the circumstances surrounding her decision to leave home, her personal life in Buenos Aires, her success as an actress, the beginning years of her relationship with Perón, the reasons for her actions. However, if she had not made the decision to "be Evita," we Argentines would not even be aware of her name, as we are unaware of the names of so many other first ladies.

Therefore, it is very interesting to talk about Evita, interesting to talk about her work with the disadvantaged, the working class, with women, all woven together into the fabric of her unceasing activity.

After Perón became President, Evita went to work on the fourth floor of the Central Post and Telecommunications office where she began to attend to delegations of workers who asked her to intervene in solving labor disputes or helping them obtain better wages. This relationship with the unions continued to intensify until 1952. It provided her with a solid political power base and created a foundation for her social work. She also began to receive the needy and to take care of their emergencies. She supported the government's policies, and she paid special attention to a sector which had not been taken into consideration before. On July 25th she spoke to the women of Argentina, and announced new measures designed to curb speculation. Beginning in October, her visits to factories increased and her trips to poor neighborhoods put her in contact with the people and their needs.

She found much to do. "And we began," she said in The Reason for My Life. "Little by little. I couldn't tell you on what exact day. I can tell you that at first I took care of everything myself. Then I had to ask for help. Finally I had to organize the work which in just a few weeks had become extraordinary." (Perón, Eva: op. cit. pg. 134).

On September 24th Evita began working from Perón's office in the Secretariat of Labor and Welfare. "I went to the Secretaría de Trabajo and Previsión because there I could meet my people easily and without problems; because the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare is a worker and he and Evita understand each other without any bureaucratic runarounds; and because the Secretaría offered me the tools I needed to begin my work... The functionaries of the Ministry collaborate with me in finding a solution to the problems brought by the unions, gathering background information, examining the solution on its own merits as well as studying the possible social and economic repercussions." (ibid, pgs. 83-84)

The Secretaría was a symbolic place. On July 30, in one of the meat packing plants at Parque de los Patricios, Evita said, "My mission is to transmit to the Colonel the concerns of the Argentine people." Evita saw herself as "the bridge" which brought Perón nearer to his people. She would become more than that; as the years went by, her activity became more intense and her working days interminable.

She began her mornings by receiving the people with the most urgent needs at the Residence, then going to the Secretaría to meet with the unions and the poor. If she had to interrupt her interviews because of an official reception, homage, visit or any other activity involving protocol, the people left waiting at the Secretaría would stay until she returned. And she always would return and would not leave until everyone had been taken care of. Her days were divided into two parts-- mornings and afternoons one could say, with a light lunch at 2:00, 3:00 or even 6:00 P.M.

On Wednesdays the unions visited Perón, and Evita would usher the members in to see him. However, she rarely participated in these meetings. She continued to work at her own affairs in a nearby office.

Evita had the habit of dropping by unexpectedly to visit the Foundation's works under construction and on Thursdays she would visit its establishments around greater Buenos Aires.

In 1947 she was leaving the Secretaría around 10:00 P.M. and as the years went by her working day grew longer. The daily paper Democracia described one day, Friday, May 19, 1950:

"She starts her morning very early in her office at Trabajo y Previsión and the first part of her day lasts until 4:00 P.M. At 5:00 P.M. she's back and continues to work until dawn with only a few short breaks. One break is around 8:30 when she and General Perón attend the signing of a contract which benefits the alimentation (food) workers. Another is around 11:00 P.M. when she attends the homage the railroad workers pay to one of their leaders who has been named a board member of the National Railways. From there she goes to a banquet at Retiro Park where she is fervently cheered by the workers of the bottled water industry. Once back at Trabajo y Previsión, she presides over an act organized by the workers of the cooking oil industry."

Even during her last illness, when she was advised to decrease her workload, she would inevitably respond, "I don't have time; I have too much to do."

The same rhythm and the same demands were placed on her collaborators. Implacably.

During the early months of 1947, Evita was busy creating her first weapons in defense of the poor: she set in motion a children's tourism plan and the first contingent of workers' children left for the hills of Córdoba on January 6, 1947; she negotiated and gave out subsidies to assist in the construction of polyclinics designed for workers in the textile and glass industries; she distributed subsidies granted by the state through her mediation to more than 500 destitute families; she distributed clothes, food and household goods to needy families. On January 20, 1947, she received a delegation from Villa Soldati (a slum) which informed her of their unhealthy living conditions. On the same day she visited their neighborhood, situated close to the Flores marshlands. She personally took charge of implementing a plan to provide residents with health care and social services as well as suitable housing. On January 25, some families began to move into newly-constructed modern chalets in Avellaneda while the rest of the families waited their turn in emergency housing. On February 12th these families also moved into housing provided for them by the municipal government on the 400 block of Belgrano Avenue. (Democracia, January 18, 1947).

From the beginning, Evita had aimed for "direct social help": a job, medicine, housing. She would continue throughout her few remaining years of life to create immediate solutions.

Simultaneously, Evita began to travel to the interior. On October 26, 1946, she left for Córdoba where two policlínicos were inaugurated. These hospitals for railway workers had been constructed under the auspices of the Ministry of Labor. On November 30 she traveled to Tucumán, a province in the north of Argentina. Her reception was so enthusiastic that it exceeded the ability of the authorities to control the crowds and some people were injured.

On August 21, the Senate approved the project which would give women the vote. Evita went to the Chamber of Deputies to meet with the leaders of the Peronista bloc. Their objective: women's right to vote. She would return to the Chamber in the following days to talk to the legislators of the Peronista Party. The campaign had begun.

In June of 1947, officially invited by the government of Spain, Evita began a tour which would take her to Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Monaco, Brazil and Uruguay.

Acclaimed in Spain, she received the country's highest decoration: the Great Cross of Isabel the Catholic.

In Italy she was received by Pope Pius XII. The gold rosary he gave her would be placed in her hands at the hour of her death. In Italy she did not always receive a warm welcome: the Communist Party demonstrated its repudiation of her visit by shouting, "Down with Fascism!" There were other protests along the way as the tour continued, but the Communists' were the strongest.

In France she met the future Pope John XXIII and gave a large donation to the victims injured in the violent explosion which destroyed the Port of Brest. She also took time from her schedule to relax.

Wherever she went, the official itinerary of visits and receptions was interspersed with trips to workers' neighborhoods and to their institutions. At the same time that she left donations she sought to learn the lesson: what could Europe teach her about social action?

Three years after her trip was over she wrote, "With a few exceptions, on those apprenticeship visits, I learned everything that institutions of social welfare should not be in our country. The peoples and governments I visited will forgive me my frankness which is direct and yet so honorable. On the other hand, they-peoples and governments-are not to blame. The century which preceded Perón in Argentina is the same century which preceded them." (Perón, Eva. op.cit.179).

After she returned from Europe, Evita plunged back into her activities. Before she left she had begun to fight for women's suffrage. The battle for women's right to vote started many years ago and was fought within the framework of the worldwide battle for women's emancipation. Argentina was not a pioneer. New Zealand had given women the right to vote in 1893 and many nations had already followed in her footsteps before Argentina's law 13010, passed in 1947, gave Argentine women the right to equal suffrage.

Before leaving Madrid, on June 15, 1947, Evita addressed the women of Spain: "This century will not go down in history as the "Century of World Wars" nor even as the "Century of Atomic Disintegration" but rather as the "Century of Victorious Feminism." The prediction has not come true; much remains to be done but obtaining for women the right to vote remains a significant milestone.

In Argentina the struggle for women's rights began with the turn of the century. The names Cecilia Grierson, Alicia Moreau de Justo, Elvira Dellepiane, Julieta Lantiri, Carmela Horne and Victoria Ocampo will be forever linked to this cause.

The feminist organizations of the time were mostly made up of women from the middle and higher classes, university graduates who had already begun in their own homes the struggle to not to be limited by thetraditional roles assigned them by society: to become wives and mothers.

The suffragettes presented bills in Congress. Some were wide, some more restrictive and some had the support of political figures like Alfredo Palacios: all were systematically buried. The last one, dated 1938, was signed by Victoria Ocampo and Susana Larguía.

The methodology used by the feminists was limited to the presentation of the bill, the pretense of a vote, the distribution of consciousness-raising brochures. Compared to the English suffragettes, for example, Argentine feminists' activity was extremely moderate.

What was lacking was a projection of their organizations beyond their own limits, a broad appeal addressed to all Argentine women whose profile was very different from that of the women who were petitioning in their name.

From the Secretaría, the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare, Colonel Perón took up the political cause of Argentine women and created a Women's Work and Assistance Division. The right of women to vote was again brought to light. On July 26,1945, in a session of Congress, Perón specifically underlined his support for the initiative. The Commission Pro Women's Suffrage was formed and the government was petitioned to show its support for the Acts of Chapultepec (in which those countries which had signed the Acts but had not yet given women the vote agreed to do so).

The subject of women's right to vote had been taken up by the government itself. A sea change was underway. With the exception of the Argentine Suffragette Association, presided over by Carmela Horne, the women's suffrage organizations opposed the government's support of their projects. On September 3, 1945, the National Assembly of Women, presided over by Victoria Ocampo, decided to reject the vote given to them by a de facto government and to demand that the Supreme Court assume the job of governing the country. The theme of the Assembly was "Women's Vote Only If Sanctioned by a Congress Chosen in an Honest Election."

Women's suffrage was once again put on the back burner during the momentous events of October, 1945.

The electoral campaign of 1946 made it clear that, whether they supported the Labor Party or the Democratic Union Party and even without any political rights, women had become part of Argentine politics. All they needed was to become a legitimate part.

As President, Perón returned to the topic of women's suffrage in his First Message to Congress, on July 26, 1946, and in the Five Year Plan. Within this framework, Evita began her campaign. She worked from different vantage points: with legislators, with the delegations who visited her, with the women congregated in the civic centers, by means of radio and the press. For example, on September 17, 1946, she and women from different Peronista feminist organizations drew up a common action plan. On January 17, 1947, she spoke to a delegation of women educators from Rosario: "I'm fighting for women's right to vote and I won't cease in my struggle until that right becomes a reality."

Beginning on January 27, every Wednesday at 9:00 P.M. she broadcast a message from the Residence to all women, urging them to join her the struggle for their rights.
When she returned from Europe-where she had alluded to the struggle on several occasions-she found that the bill was still on the back burner.

Democracia published a "Letter from Eva Perón to Argentine Women" in which she exhorted them to fight twice as hard to quickly obtain the passage of the women's suffrage law.

There were two turning points in the history of this process: the entrance of women into politics and the gaining of official support. A third can be added: Evita addressed her message to a wide spectrum of women who made the cause their own and began to assume an active role: they organized meetings and published pamphlets. Working women took to the streets to put up posters demanding the passage of the law. Feminist centers and institutions declared their support. On September 3, when the law should have been debated in the Chamber of Deputies, a great concentration of women was convoked. The debate was postponed. A concentration assembled again on the ninth. Evita, who could not be present on the third, was inside the Chamber on the ninth. Outside, a multitude acclaimed her. Another turning point: women began to see Eva Perón as their spokeswoman.

On September 23, amidst a gigantic civic convocation in Plaza de Mayo, the law was passed.

The pioneers among the women feminists rose up against the passage of the law, seeing it as a political maneuver and not as a defense of the cause of all women.
Their slogan became "Now we don't want to vote."

But in 1951 they all voted, the Peronista women and the "antis."

The sanction of Law 13010 set in motion a series of events which would make it more effective. On May 23 the voter registration process began as outlined in article four of Law 13010. In 1951, with Presidential elections on the horizon, Evita, as President of the Peronista Women's Party, sent a message to the Chamber of Deputies, asking for amnesty "for that new sector of voters who have not yet registered."

The road which led to women's suffrage was arduous. The road towards civic capacitation and the preparation of women so they could take part in the political struggle would be even more arduous.

On September 14, 1947, the Peronista Party reorganized so as to permit the formation of another Peronista Party, exclusively for women (Partido Peronista Feminino-PPF).

The PPF would become a reality on July 26, 1949. The first National Assembly of the Peronista Feminist Movement met in the Cervantes Theater. There the Peronista Women's Party was born. Its underlying principle would be its adhesion to the doctrine and person of Perón. Evita was elected President with full organizational powers. The internal structure of the PPF was monolithic: the President of the party made the decisions and determined the direction of the work to be undertaken.

"The organization of the Partido Peronista Feminino has been for me," Evita wrote in The Reason for My Life, "one of the most difficult enterprises which I have undertaken. With no precedent in the country-something which I believe has been to my good fortune-and without any other resource but a heart placed at the service of a great cause, I called together one day a small group of women. There were only about thirty. All were very young. I had known them as infatigable collaborators in my work of social help, as fervent Peronistas, fanatics in the cause of Perón. I had to ask great sacrifices of them: to leave their homes and their jobs, to set aside one lifestyle and take up a more difficult and intense one. I needed women like them: untiring, fervent, fanatical. It was necessary to conduct a census of the women of the whole country to find those who believed in our cause. This undertaking would require intrepid women who were willing to work day and night." (Perón, Eva: op.cit., pg. 228)

They were the census delegates who also had the job of opening the "unidades básicas" (neighborhood meeting centers). In January of 1950 the first unidad básica was inaugurated in Buenos Aires, in the President Perón Neighborhood in Saavedra.

The unidades básicas of the Peronista Women's Party, besides being centers of political activity (they were campaign headquarters during the 1951 Presidential elections), were centers of social work. "The descamisados," she would say in her autobiography, "do not distinguish between the political organization over which I preside, and my Foundation. The unidades básicas are something which belongs to Evita. And they go to them looking for what they hope Evita can give them. They themselves, my descamisados, have created a new function for the unidades básicas: inform the Foundation about the needs of the humble people of the entire country. The Foundation attends to these requests by sending help directly to those in need.I have been severely criticized for this.My eternal super critics consider that in this way I use my Foundation for political purposes. And maybe they are right! The end result of my work does have political repercussions; people see in my work the hand of Perón which reaches to the most remote corner of my country... and his enemies cannot be happy with that consequence of my work." (Perón, Eva:op. cit., 230-231).

The political action taken in favor of women harvested its fruits in the elections held on November 11, 1951. For the first time ever 3,816,654 women voted, 63.9% for the Peronista Party,and 30.8% for the Radical Civic Union Party.The Peronista Party was the only one to include women as candidates for election. In 1952, 23 women deputies and 6 senators took their seats in Congress.

If being a candidate on the ballot is a right which has been acquired, being elected involves a continuing struggle. Law 24012, passed in 1991, which establishes a 30% quota for women in representative political positions, and provides clear evidence of the discrimination which still pervades our society.

"Everything, absolutely everything in our contemporary world," wrote Eva Perón in the middle of the 20th century, "has been tailored to the measure of men."

"We are absent from governments."

"We are absent from Parliaments."

"From international organizations."

"We are neither in the Vatican nor the Kremlin."

"We are not part of the upper echelons of the imperialist countries."

"We are not in the atomic energy commissions."

"Nor in the great multinational corporations."

"Nor in freemasonry nor in any secret societies."

"We are not in any of the great power centers of the world." (Perón, Eva:op.cit., 223-224)

Since then the world has undergone profound and vertiginous changes but it is still made to the same measure.

Evita, whose concept of feminism saw women as protagonists while continuing to be feminine, thought that the feminist movement should, for love, be united to the cause and doctrine of a man worthy of trust. She understood that among the many differences between a man and a woman, one difference involved the concept of "action": "A man of action is one who triumphs over the rest. A woman of action is one who triumphs for the rest."

The "action for the rest" had a name: Eva Perón Foundation.To this Foundation,
Evita dedicated her best efforts.

The social work which Evita began in 1946 began to acquire far-reaching influence and importance. The Social Help Crusade worked specifically to create neighborhoods of affordable housing, Temporary Homes (Hogares de Tránsito), school food programs, and to provide jobs to unemployed workers, instruments for hospitals, mediation for the provision of water and sanitary facilities for low income neighborhoods, donation of household items to needy families, and distribution of toys to poor children, especially during Christmas and Epiphany.

The funds and the articles were donated, especially by the workers' unions.

Also, the Social Work Crusade received funds from the Ministry of Social Welfare which were destined for the purchase of clothes, shoes, food, and medicine.

Evita's special position in the power structure (power from the outside) permitted access to the place where the decisions were made involving projects or increasing workers' rights. Her position permitted her to take action outside the bureaucratic structure.

By the end of 1947 it was clear that her social action required an organic structure.

The María Eva Duarte de Perón Foundation came into being on June 19, 1948, and obtained non-profit status on July 8. From September 25, 1950, until it was dismantled by the military coup in 1955, it was known as the Eva Perón Foundation.

In her speech of December 5, 1949, given to the First American Congress of Medicine in the Workplace, Evita was very clear about why the Foundation was created: to bridge the gaps in the national safety net (because in any country which is undergoing a national reorganization there are always gaps to be covered and the government must be ready with a quick, rapid and efficient response). She conveyed the idea of transforming the traditional concept of beneficence and redefining it within the Peronista program of social justice.

The greatest gaps in the safety net were found in the assistance provided to the elderly, children and women.

On August 28, 1948, in the Ministry of Labor, Evita read the Declaration of the Rights of Senior Citizens. She then placed it in the hands of the President, asking that it be incorporated into the legislation and the institutional fabric of the nation. It was included in the National Constitution of 1949.

The Foundation was not content with words. It constructed Homes for Senior Citizens; the first residence was inaugurated on October 17, 1948, in Burzaco. Others were constructed in the interior of the country. At the same time, Evita obtained the passing of a law which granted pensions to people over 60 who were without resources.

Evita was especially worried about the education, entertainment and health of the children and youth of the country. The Foundation set up a plan for the construction of one thousand schools throughout Argentina, as well as agricultural schools, workshops, nursery schools and daycare centers. The Amanda Allen Children's City and the Students' City formed part of the educational action plan. The Children's City was created to shelter children from two to seven years of age who were orphans or whose parents' were unable to care for them. The Students' City was a residence for students from the interior who came to Buenos Aires to study and had no place to stay.

The Children's Tourism Plan began in 1950 and enabled children to vacation in the mountains,at the seashore and in other tourist spots throughout the country. The vacation colonies were the jewels of this plan.

The Children's Competitions began in 1948 with soccer and were expanded to include many other sports; they enabled the Foundation to provide medical checkups to over 300,000 children.

The Children's Hospital and Epidemiology Center, and the Children's Recuperation Clinic in Terma de Reyes were among the Foundation's contributions to improving children's health care. The National Pediatric Hospital was almost finished at the time of the military coup in 1955. It was never completed.

Evita's work to help children was inspired in her belief that "the country which forgets its children renounces its future."

The problem of finding work and temporary shelter for women was alleviated by constructing and maintaining three Temporary Homes in Buenos Aires. Other homes were built in the interior.

The General San Martin Home for Women Employees sought to resolve the problem of single women who needed permanent lodging.This Home had a dining room where Evita would often go for supper after her day's work.Here Juan Castiñeira de Dios organized the Peña Eva Perón. The Peña, or Poetry Reading,where poets often dedicated their works to Evita, provided her with much joy and needed relaxation.

To meet health care needs, the Foundation constructed four polyclinics in Buenos Aires, in Ezeiza, Avellaneda, Lanus and San Martín, and others in the interior of the country. The Foundation also donated modern medical equipment to other hospitals.

The Eva Perón Hospital Train, equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology, crisscrossed the country providing checkups and services to the people in the most remote areas.

In September, 1951, the School of Nurses was inaugurated. The School was one of Evita's most cherished successes; graduates worked all over Argentina and abroad.

To meet housing needs, the Foundation constructed workers' homes, such as the President Peron Neighborhood and Evita City which provided housing for over 25,000 families.

All the Foundation's works were followed and supervised by Evita, from the drawing board to their daily operation. She was often accompanied in her tours by visitors from abroad.

The Foundation also helped other countries in times of need or catastrophe, as Ecuador, Spain, Italy, Israel, France, Japan, Peru, and Bolivia (among others) can testify.

The origin of the funds which the Foundation used for its works has been an object of controversy in Argentina. The Foundation's Balance Sheet for 1953 specifies the origin of its funds: cash donations, mostly from unions but also from individuals and companies; collective bargaining agreements; taxes; rents; Legislative grants, etc. We must mention that stories circulated about forced donations where resistance was met with persecution; the Mu-Mu Candy Factory is cited as an example.

Historian Marysa Navarro, in her biography Evita, notes: "But if the "spontaneous contributions" had existed on a large scale and been accepted systematically, those who were forced could have denounced them after September of 1955. If they did not wish to denounce them publicly they could have done so before the commission in charge of investigating the administration of the Foundation and presumably the commission would have been pleased to receive these accusations. We must believe that there were not a large number of denunciations because if there had been, the commission would have listed them and it does not do so" (Navarro, Marysa: Evita, ed. Planeta, Buenos Aires, 1994, pg. 263).

After Evita's death the Foundation continued to operate but without its former vigor and achievements. Perón tried to take her place but two circumstances were different: Perón was not Evita and the economy was not the same as it had been when Evita was alive.

As Evita's popularity and power grew so did criticism from the opposition and (in some cases) from certain sectors of Peronismo. They attacked from different angles: activities inappropriate for a First Lady, undistilled resentment, dangerous influence on Perón, uncontrolled ambition for power. Under the surface, but not too far under, was the criticism not of what was being done, or how it was being done, or why it was being done but that it was being done by a woman. As J.M. Taylor says, "Evita confronts us with the enigma of power attributed to a woman in a traditionally and formally patriarchal society, a society that devalues women as against men." (Taylor, J.M.: Eva Perón, The Myths of a Woman, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1981, pg. 10).

Evita reached the height of her power in 1950-1951. These were also the years when she was confronted with her illness and her last choice: should she be Vice President of the nation?

On August 2, 1951, the CGT asked Perón to run again for President (this was possible after the reform of the Constitution in 1949) and expressed the desire that Evita would be his running mate. Support for the ticket Perón-Perón grew in the following days.

On August 22, in the historic Cabildo Abierto de Justicialismo, a mass concentration on Nueve de Julio Avenue, over a million people voiced their desire and support for Evita's candidacy.

Evita spoke to the multitude but eluded accepting the office of vice president. The people insisted and a dialogue began whose fervor and intensity is difficult to put into words. Evita asked for time to think things over before reaching a decision.

"At least four days."

"No! Now!"

"I do not renounce my work, I only renounce the honors ... ."

"Now!"

"I don't want any worker in my country to be without a response when the resentful, the mediocre people who never understood me nor never will, who believe that everything I do is for personal gain ... ."

"Now!"

"One day ... ."

"No!"

"Two hours ... ."

"No!"

Evita left the microphone. Torches were lit and illuminated a multitude willing to spend the night there waiting for a reply. Evita took the microphone.

"Friends! As General Perón said, "I will do as the people ask."

The dialogue was over. The people believed she had accepted.

On August 31, in a nationwide broadcast, Evita announced her "irrevocable decision to renounce the honor which the workers and the people" had wished to bestow on her.

The background behind the story of Evita's renunciation has yet to be written. There are many threads to be woven together ... the Armed Forces, her illness, the CGT, the people, Evita herself.

The Perón-Quijano ticket won the November elections. Evita voted from her sickbed in the Polyclinic in Avellaneda for the first and last time.

She accompanied Perón during his second inauguration.

It was her last public appearance.

Her work had become a part of the thousands of men, women, and children who mourned her. In only thirty-three years Evita had found the reason for her life and had left to others, as she herself once said when she inaugurated a polyclinic, the easiest task: that of changing the names of the works she had built.

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