Eva Duarte de Perón

Eva María Duarte de Perón was an Argentine actress and political leader the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón and First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952 She is usually referred to as Eva Perón or Evita Juan Perón was elected President of Argentina in 1946 during the next 6 years Eva Perón became powerful within the proPeronist trade unions primarily for speaking on behalf of labor rights She also ran the Ministries of Labor and Health founded and ran the charitable Eva Perón Foundation championed womens suffrage in Argentina and founded and ran the nations first largescale female political party the Female Peronist Party In 1951 Eva Perón announced her candidacy for the Peronist nomination for the office of Vice President of Argentina receiving great support from the Peronist political base lowincome and workingclass Argentines who were referred to as descamisados or shirtless ones However opposition from the nations military and bourgeoisie coupled with her declining health ultimately forced her to withdraw her candidacy In 1952 shortly before her death from cancer at 33 Eva Perón was given the title of Spiritual Leader of the Nation by the Argentine Congress She was given a state funeral upon her death a prerogative generally reserved for heads of state