Eva Peron and initial leaders of Peronism, 1949-1955

Abstract

The Women’s Peronist Party came up in July 1949 as one of the three branches of the Peronist movement. This party was an emblematic example of charismatic power; it was a centralized organization ruled by the principle of obedience to the leader, where the symbiosis between the organizational identity and the founding leader was absolute. Eva Perón decided which was going to be the organization and structure of the Party and who would occupy the leadership posts. In this way, there was not any space for internal democracy or for splinter groups. At the same time, this was the very first organization that assembled the women as voters, activists and legislators. This article tries to figure out how the election processes for the leadership posts were and which was the political power that the chosen leaders could exercise. In addition, how much influence did the power of Eva Perón signified to the party and what happened after her death.