Mi Mensaje

By Eva Perón

“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.”

Bibliography

Mi Mensaje bye Eva Peron

Word Count: 1146