“What is happening to our people is a drama, an authentic and extraordinary
drama for the ownership of life… of happiness… of the pure and simple
well-being that my people have been dreaming about since the beginning of
history.” ~Eva Peron The Evita that people worldwide cherish as the
Argentinian sweetheart is a stronger woman than I had ever envisioned. From
reading her personal message to the people, I saw a woman who knew so much and
had the will of an army to achieve her virtuous goal. She was a leader of the
people, the people who lacked the power and authority to speak out for their
cause. And she had a love for her nation’s people, like a mother’s undying
love for her children. But more than all else, she had a devotion to her
beliefs, exemplified through her husband, the man she loved. Her message serves
so many purposes, but ultimately it was a goodbye to all her loved ones. She
wanted to leave them in body only after her death, and never desert them in
spirit. And she never shall. Her ideals, and the spark she invoked in her people
will always exist. She tells of truths about the people against her. She talks
of politicians and people who claim they work for the good of Argentine. She
tells her people not to believe their lies, because they only think of
themselves, and they do not care about the impoverished. Only Perón has the
understanding that they need. Even though he has come from military backgrounds,
he has broken free of the selfish upper class ways, and has seen what is going
on in Argentine. What most people of power try not to see is what is the most
important and prevalent problem. Eva also points out that this devotion to the
descamisados means much more and suggests greater character coming from Peron.
For Eva, it is easy to rally her beliefs behind the impoverished, because she is
one of them, and understands them. So, she defers all admiration to her husband,
who she says is truly the stronger leader to overcome his upbringing and see the
injustices in the world as they really are. “In me, all the love and affection
I feel for my people are not important and have no value because I came from the
people, I suffered with the people. By contrast, Perón’s love for the
descamisados is worth infinitely more,… because given his rank as Colonel, the
easiest path of his life would have been that of the oligarchy and its
privileges.” Eva also talks of religion and her views about God. Her faith is
very strong, and she believes that God is un-biased and loves everyone equally.
He loves his people, just as she does. She tells her descamisados not to be
afraid of religion, because it has brought her so much. “I rebel against the
“religions” that make men bow their heads and people bow their souls. That
cannot be religion. Religion should lift the heads of men.” She points out
that many of the clergy also seek to satisfy their own needs, and that they
often scare us into believing that God is a fiery, judgmental being. “The
clerical politician attempts in every country to exercise dominion over and even
to exploit the people through the government.” But Eva shows her people that
religion is a belief to cherish, not to fear. Eva’s message is very powerful
and touching. She really cared for each Argentinian as if he was a child born of
her womb. So, part of the allure of this message to them all is that it takes on
a very motherly tone. I see her as if she were a loving mother who wanted to
give her children all the guidance they would need in life. Mothers want nothing
more than to tell their children all of the choices to make, good or bad.
Sometimes we must learn for ourselves, but that is so hard for our mothers. They
must sit back silently gritting their teeth while we go out and make painful
mistakes. Eva is the same with her descamisados. She wants to pass on to them
all of the knowledge she has acquired in her life. Much of it was learned
through her mistakes. She wants to protect her people, just as she has during
her life with Perón. Eva also has a great love for her husband. Her tone is
almost comical at times, however. She talks about him with such respect and
almost worship. She puts her full trust in his judgment and his decisions. She
would never doubt him. However, she also talks of his naivety. Once she says,
“Nestled in a corner of my Colonel’s life, it strikes me that I was like a
bouquet of flowers in his house. I never attempted to be more than that.”
Later she says, “I got to know [Perón’s colleagues] close up, one by one.
Later, almost every one of them betrayed Perón… and I had the pleasure of
insulting them to their faces, denouncing out loud the disloyalty and dishonor
with which they proceeded, or fighting them until proving the hypocracy of their
actions and intentions.” I believe Eva may have taken more of a stand in
politics than originally intended. However, she only would have intervened when
she felt she had no other choice. Sometimes she believed that Perón did not
understand the harsh ways of the world and the ways that people could deceive.
It almost seems that she found it charming, and it did no harm. However, she did
feel the need to watch out for him. “On behalf of my people, I protected Perón.”
Eva was a strong character, and it seems that she carried the weight of the
world on her shoulders. Maybe that is why her body was so weak it could not
overcome the cancer that invaded her. She had expended so much of her energy in
the fight for her descamisados. She could be thought of as a person who died for
her people. Eva was not a writer by trade. Her message, dictated on her
deathbed, is very choppy and very repetitive. She repeats many ideas over and
over again. However, this only adds to the credibility of her level of
sincerity. She claims no great powers or supreme intelligence in her life. She
only admits to her devotion, the fire under her that kept her going through good
times and bad. Her string of thought written down on paper comes across as a
repetitive chant or declaration, “I love my people, my descamisados.” The
reader is left with no doubt that Eva’s heart is huge with love for her
children. “I want to live with Perón and with my People forever.”