100 words history paper. Details in the files attached

1 Eva Perón , “My Labour in the Field of Social Aid ” (1949) Introduction : This is a speech delivered by Eva Perón in the Hall of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, on the 5th of December 1949. Eva and Juan Perón were at the high point of their rule at the time she made this speech. Until her death in 1951, Eva Perón oversaw an enormous charity affiliated to the government that had replaced the Socieda d de Benificencia . This speech provides multiple insights into the Perónist movement, gender roles, and the personality of Eva Perón. The “shirtless ones” or descamisados is the phrase used by Peronists to describe the Argentine working class. Click on the descamisados link to see how they were portrayed in a children’s book at the time. These men and women are the descendants of those who had li ved in the conventillos of the big cities and small towns of the interior. For reason of length I have divided it into two parts. The first ,alon e, provides insight into the movement’s goals, methods, and organization while the second adds further insights and information about the Eva Perón Foundation , also called the Social Aid Fund . What does the reading say about Eva’s view of the upper class and former political leadership of the nation? Do you think this was a widespread view and why? What does the speech suggest is Eva’s role in the Perónist movement? What distinguishes the Social Aid Fund from previous charities in Argentina? How does Ev ita present pre -Peronist Charity? How is Juan Perón leadership position viewed by Eva and the Perónist movement? Thomas M. Edsall Source: Thomas M. Edsall, “Argentine History Sourcebook ”, http://edsall - historypage.org/html/eva_social_aid.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the session held by the first American Congress of Industrial Medicine in the Hall of the Ministry of Labour and Welfare, on the 5th of De cember 1949, Mrs. Eva Perón delivered a speech on the work of Social Aid which is being carried out on such a colossal scale under her inspiration and guidance with noteworthy success throughout the entire country. The said speech was as follows: I wish t o welcome you in the name of this Ministry, which has received you today with open doors, and likewise in the name of the women of Argentina, and especially, in the name of the Fund over which I have the honour and pleasure of presiding. I might have prep ared a magnificent written oration: however, I have thought best to 2 express myself extempore, in words which, if not eloquent, will be as sincere and clear as possible, with regard to the work of the Fund of Social Aid, because those of us who have accompl ished anything know what we want and what we are aiming at. I wish to express my thanks to the Congress of Industrial Medicine which has called on me to make this speech, and responding to this request, I will describe the Fund of Social Aid, which has co mplemented to an extraordinary degree the tasks of safeguarding the good health of our citizens. First of all , we Argentines are immensely proud because our illustrious President has proclaimed the Rights of the Worker, which have been incorporated in the Perón Constitution – the epitome of justice – which cannot be considered as a mere addition to the Statute Book, but what they really are, something tangible which the then Colonel Perón was putting into effect from this very building. In every single one of the rights comprised in the aforesaid Declaration, there is some point which signifies an action beneficial to human living conditions, not only as regards physical health but also concerning dwellings, education and in short, everything which tends to the elevation of the individual citizen, or improvement of his status. It is my fervent desire that this Declaration of Rights, of which I repeat, we Argentines are justly proud, should some day be made effective for all workers throughout the whole wo rld; and I say this because I love “the shirtless” of my own country with all my heart and I know that in every country, there are the same heartbeats, the same feelings, the same anxieties and the same hopes as among the Argentine workers. The Social Ai d Fund over which, as I have said, it is my honour to preside, is an institution brought into being by the Revolution of General Perón. It is something which has arisen out of the Peronist movement, which is of the people and belongs directly to the people . For this reason the Fund was brought into being, to supply a lack in the national organization, because in every country where work is carried out, there are always deficiencies to be remedied, and therefore one should always be ready to adopt swift, direct and efficacious action. Purposes of the Fund The Fund was started to mitigate urgent needs and improve and consolidate family life, that is the life of all those inhabitants of Argentina who endure suffering and are anxiously awaiting the tangib le benefits which our great President is dispensing from day to day. And furthermore we desired to supplement Government action and supply what was lacking to the solution of the problems of each individual. The donations, which I receive every day, sent in to the Fund by workmen, prove that the poor are those who are ready to do the most to help the poor. 3 That is why I have always been opposed to charity. Charity satisfies the person who dispenses it. Social Aid satisfies the people themselves, inasmuch as they make it effective. Charity is degrading while Social Aid ennobles. Give us Social Aid, because it implies something fair and just. Out on charity! From the study of the problems which crop up every day in my office, I have been able to verify th at here, as in many other countries, there is a scarcity of dwelling houses, lack of medical attention, neglect of childhood, want of adequate protection for the aged, instability of employment and lack of safety precautions during work. As regards the s carcity of dwelling houses, the Peronist Government has taken up with extraordinary vigour the construction of as many as a hundred thousand homes, to be scattered about the country all along its highways. In the province of Buenos Aires 118 groups of wo rking class houses have been built; the new city Evita, which comprises 15,000 dwellings, has been put up, as also the model villages President Perón, Los Perales and Primero de Marzo. Other groups of working class houses and modern villages have been buil t in Córdoba, Mendoza, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Corrientes, not to speak of other Provinces and Territories where similar work has been done. Much still remains to be accomplished but in the matter of providing dwelling houses, the government of Pe rón has accomplished more than had bee done during a whole century. In the matter of medical attention, there are a great many doctors present here today who are thoroughly acquainted with this problem. I may say that in this country medical attention wa s not only insufficient but furthermore inadequate. The Revolutionary government has faced this problem in a social and Christian spirit, worthy of our illustrious President. In collaboration with the National Government, the Social Aid Fund has been form ed as an accessory, and while perhaps the most modest of General Perón’s helpers it is nevertheless the most fervent, the most tenacious and the most persevering, because it is an offspring of the doctrine of General Perón; inasmuch as it is nourished ther eby and loves “the shirtless” of its country with all its heart. Child Welfare Our president has declared that the only privileged persons in our country are the children. Childhood was being neglected form every point of view. Government Departments have diligently studies this problem throughout the whole of the vast territory of the Republic. The Social Aid Fund, for its part, has commenced the construction of a Children’s Polyclinic, with 1,000 beds, with all the most modern equipment, as well as a n Institution for new born infants, also with a capacity of 1,000 and equipped with all the most up to date appliances, including furthermore a section for contagious diseases with 500 beds. I believe that the Fund will be collaborating efficiently with th e Government of General Perón when it hands over 2,500 hospital beds for children for the use of the population of the city of Buenos Aires. 4 At the movement the Fund is well ahead with the construction of the President Perón Polyclinic in Avellaneda with 500 beds for clinical, surgical, and maternity cases; the Colonel Perón Polyclinic at San Martin, likewise with 500 beds for clinical and surgical cases, and also with polyclinics of 350 beds each in Santiago del Estero, Salta, Jujuy, Paso de los Libres (P rovince of Corrientes), Mendoza, San Juan, Córdoba and Rosario. Nor has the very serious problem of tuberculosis been neglected. A serious problem, indeed, I repeat, in spite of the efficacy with which preventive medicine is attacking it, and the higher rates of pay which the Revolutionary government has made effective, bringing about a decrease in the number of cases from tuberculosis, and furthermore obviating the propagation of the disease from contagion with consumptives. The Social Aid Fund has comme nced the construction of a consumptive polyclinic with 300 beds fro men, and another one for women. From the foregoing, I may say that before the end of the year, the Social Aid Fund will have supplied hospital beds for 5,000 inmates. Thus this organism which has risen up out of the heart of the people to serve the people, within three years has accomplished the marvelous task, with the collaboration of all the poorest people in the country, of supplying 5,000 beds for the sick folks scattered throughout the whole territory of the country. I do not believe that the people’s problems can be solved with speech or be giving lectures, but only by practical action. Therefore I do not at this moment propose to make a speech or give a lecture, but enumerate the hard facts of what the Fund over which I have the honour to preside is accomplishing. The Aged As regards the aged, the Social Aid Fund was the first to raise its voice and proclaim that no country is great if it does not start out by protecting and re specting its aged folks; that no country can be great if it does not render assistance to those who have given their all for their country and who, in their declining years, find themselves obliged to appeal to their brethren for assistance. Therefore th e Fund, following out the Peronist doctrine and with a spirit of humanity and fairness, proclaimed the Rights of the Aged, which were included in the glorious Perón Constitution, in the Constitution of “the shirtless,” of the country of our new age. And s peaking of “the shirtless,” I wish to declare that by working for them, we can elaborate the great and happy homeland which is the dream of us all. And for them, “the shirtless” of the whole world, it is that medical conferences are held, as well as labour conferences, because all governments desire the happiness of their people. We, in Argentina, enjoy the privilege of having in our midst a man of the caliber of General Perón, who is building up the greatness of the country, stone by stone, without hesita ting for one single instant because he is illuminated by a star so great and so pure in its light, 5 that can be identified only with a seer, such as General Perón. Therefore, when the leading classes, to whom the country had entrusted so much, never did any thing except abuse and ridicule the populace, betraying their own country, there arose a man who set up the banner of social justice: I refer to our illustrious President. I have mentioned this fact to explain why the people, at the critical moment, floc ked out into the streets with their hearts steeled to win the historical victory of the glorious and heroic day – October , 17th of 1945. I cannot fail to render homage to the said vanguard of “the shirtless” who love General Perón so fervently, in the presence of the men of science who see these poor people every day when they come to their consulting rooms, people who have been forgotten by the governments, the outcasts cosigned to oblivion by the rest of mankind, and to whom today, we Argentines exten d a welcome with open arms, so that the truth of Argentina may dawn on their vision, the truth of a happy and contented people marching along with their leader towards the blissful future which awaits their country. Well Earned Justice Instead of Almsgivi ng We, the Argentines of today and tomorrow, owe it to “the shirtless” of that historical revolution of October 1945, that this country could be converted into a country of social justice economically free and politically sovereign. That is why the Social Aid Fund is directing all its actions towards “the shirtless,” not as almsgiving or charity, but as pure justice, something well earned and which has been denied to them for so long. That is why we shall be indefatigable in our efforts to improve conditi ons, to supply what is needed and to be on hand at all times to relieve the anxieties of all “the shirtless” of the country, imparting a message of brotherly love to all those who come to the doors of the Fund. As I have already said, we wish to make a di fference between aid and what we call almsgiving. Almsgiving humiliates while social aid ennobles and dignifies. Social aid should be organized instead of almsgiving. Charity ought to disappear as a motive for social aid. Aid is a duty and duty is the fu ndamental basis of the aid. Charity is dispensed capriciously; aid is furnished rationally. Almsgiving tends to perpetuate poverty; aid does away with it once and for all. Almsgiving leaves a man just where he was before. Aid restores him to society as a n individual worthy of all respect and not as a man with a grievance. Almsgiving is the generosity of the rich, social aid levels up social inequalities. Charity separates the rich from the poor; aid raises the needy and sets him on the same level with t he rich. In Argentina, the beggars, tramps, and vagrants have disappeared, and we owes this to the untiring patriotic work of our illustrious president, General Perón. Until his advent, little or nothing had been done in our country for the Argentine popu lace. That is why the Fund had to start by organizing everything down to the smallest unit. 6 There will be a Great Many Educational Homes The individual social workers who travel all over the country, are these smallest units, who go and see for themselve s in every home, in each district, the problem which is crying out for immediate solution. If we had merely a bureaucratic Department in the city of Buenos Aires, with branches in the interior of the country, we should have done nothing more than give emp loyment to functionaries without solving the social problem, which is what interests us. As to Institutions, we have already the City of Children created by the Social Aid Fun, which is a model town for little children, and it is not because I am so much in love with my own work, that I declare it is unique in its kind. I would like to see similar institutions put up in every corner of the globe, because they would the very best monument which could be erected for the children who are the hope of the future world. And just because this model town cannot be merely a sample, the Social Aid Fund has already built others. In Santiago del Estero we have an educational home which is also a model establishment. Infants are received to live there, their s ocial problems are studied and they receive physical and spiritual care. Others will shortly be inaugurated in Tucumán, Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, La Rioja, Corrientes, Comodoro Rivadavia, Mendoza, San Juan, Córdoba and in the provinces of Buenos Aires and S anta Fe. Thus we have traversed all the highways of the country to arrange for the location in each Province as many as three, with capacity for 1,500 children in each. The Social Aid Fund does not build Institutions for the aged, for infants and their par ents, in order that its Lady President may boast about them, but it brings into being in order to solve many social problems. The Social Aid Fund has also taken up as an aspect of child life which, although it may appear as merely a sport, nevertheless f ills a very important and indispensable mission. The “Evita” championship for children will make 150,000 boys and girls compete in Athletic Sports and will collect them for another very interesting purpose, because these 150,000 children will be medically examined, radiographed, etc., and no unfit child will be allowed to take part, while the mother will be notified and advised to see that proper treatment is applied. The Social Aid Fund also has holiday camps in Córdoba, Mar de Plata an in the Province of Buenos Aires. Protection of Adults So far as the adults are concerned, we want to do away with the word, “Charitable Institution” and use instead the word “Home”, but we do not want the word “home” to be 7 nothing more than a word. Rather it should be transformed into action so that the institutions opened up by the Fund point the way for social aid to the world. That is your ambition and that is why we have inaugurated these Temporary Rest Homes or, Clearing Houses. In devoting ourselves with all ou r hearts to every detail involved, we were thinking that in the Argentine Republic there should not be distinctions between the rich and the poor, since we are all simply human beings, and when a human being is in need, you cannot dress him in rags as a be ggar, but should five him a hand as man to man. Only in this way can we build up a society where there is fairplay and contentment, and we shall turn out of these institutions men and women who are self respecting and constructive and not beating a grudge against society. We have built a very interesting chain of these Rest Homes. I should like those in my audience who have time, to visit these institutions which I am mentioning, and I say this not because I am in love with my own work but rather that havi ng done this out of real affection, I have made every home as I, myself, should like it to be, and only works inspired by love are great and perfect. Therefore I should like you, if you have time, to visit the Homes of the Fund and its Institutions, and so you would see what is being done in this country of fair play, thanks to the doctrine which General Perón gave us in days of perplexity for the Argentine spirit, and which the people, with their extraordinary intuition, knew how to interpret, endorse and g uarantee for the all time, with unshakable faith in their Leader and Chief, who was capable of affording them the well -being which they now enjoy, and who, above all, returned to the Country that which it had lost, the last thing it should ever lose, hope; their hopes which General Perón fulfilled for all Argentines. We have also brought into being rehabilitation clinics for children, and clinics for the treatment of rheumatism in Termas de Reyes, Jujuy. Medical attention for certain trades union members ha ve also been organized and aid has been rendered in every needy case. This is what the fund is doing every day, either through its store houses or by our social visitors. I, myself, am doing the same in my office, although there is no time to attend to all the people I should like to, and also by means of the voluminous correspondence which we constantly receive. I am devoting every hour of my day to attending the “shirtless,” to showing them that here, in the Argentine Republic, there no longer exists t hat gulf which formerly separated the people from the Government; that here we are all one, to work night and day for the aggrandizement of the Country and for the common Weal. Another interesting undertaking by the Fund has been the “Casa de la Empleada” [Home for Female Workers ] which will be opened in December. In all big cities there are many working men and women who cannot go home for lunch, or others who have com in from the Provinces and are unable to find suitable lodgings which are cheap at the sa me time. Therefore the Fund, which takes an interest in all sections of the inhabitants of the city, has built the “Casa de la Empleada,” which is the home of the female workers, not belonging to any particular charitable institution as we do not want to “ offer protection,” 8 since we should be ashamed in the first place, that there should exist people in Argentina who need our protection. That is why the “Casa de la Empleada,” this Home which is being built in Avenida de Mayo, can afford adequate board and lodging to 450 women workers, and a midday meal to 1,500 men and women workers. There are premises especially for shops in the building, a small infirmary and all the comfort that anyone may expect: central heating, air conditioning and other amenities wh ich were formerly only enjoyed by the very wealthy, because the Government wishes to raise the standard of living of all Argentines, and especially those of the working classes. The Social Aid Fund is inaugurating a First Aid Service. We want to collabora te with the Municipality of Buenos Aries and make it a model service, and as modern as possible. In that way we are doing all we can for the “shirtless” in our country. So far as Maternity Aid is concerned, we are not only working and putting up buildings in the Federal Capital and in the suburbs, but are going farther afield right into the heart of the country, which is where help is needed most. That is why, in nearly all the Provinces, the fund is building maternity homes so that the mothers may have pro per medical attention and thus give birth to happy children, who are healthy and strong for this great and prosperous Argentina which is General Perón’s most cherished dream. In the Fund’s premises in Colón Street, besides receiving medical attention and s ocial aid, the working families can take their troubles there and be sure that everything will be done to find a happy solution, arrangements made for entering hospital and supplying medicine. The Fund has also tackled a problem which had to be faced if w e wanted the Country to be worthy of the Peronist Movement: how to deal with the insane. This ghastly problem exists all over the world and there are very few instances where a solution has been found by shutting up the insane in modern institutions. Fo r this purpose the Fund has acquired a piece of land of an area of 900 hectares as the site for an asylum with 1,000 beds equally divided between men and women mental patients. It will be as up -to-date as possible. It will take in women, children the temp orarily insane and chronic cases. Furthermore, it will have its own home farm. The Fund will organize this institution on entirely modern lines. In doing this I think we shall deserve the respect and consideration of all Argentines. In the hospitals run b y the Fund, both in the towns and in the country, we have aimed at doing away with the impression of infirmary wards and everything which is conducive to a state of pessimism and self -pity. The average man or woman has troubles enough, and more than enoug h grief at being taken ill at all, to be laid in a white coat surrounded by bare walls. The fund has to brighten up these institutions so as to make them more cheerful and give them that homely air which at present is entirely lacking. So as to have a st aff of nurses who are embued with the mystic spirit which inspires the Peronist doctrine, the Fund has its own training school from which fully equipped 9 specialists have already graduated and are now forming part of the staffs in the polyclinics which have sprung up in the farthermost corners of the country. The Well Being of the People The Fund does not wish to overlook the question of University Cities. Therefore one is being built in the city of Córdoba which will be the first in the Argentine Republic , a model of its kind and the pride of the all Argentines, and should command the admiration of all broad -minded men. The University City will house 2,000 Argentine students and 400 foreigners. The work which is being done on behalf of the aged is alread y well known to you. We believe that he Rights of the Aged should not be a dead letter. The ideal of the Peronist Doctrine must be put into practice. So, two and a half months after the declaration of the Rights of the Aged, the Fund has opened the first H ome for old people, but as many of them prefer to continue living with their families and do not want to be a burden on anybody, the Social Aid Fund, through the Honourable Chamber of Deputies, succeeded in getting the law of old age annuities approved and passed by Congress, and this year we shall have the satisfaction of granting the first annuities. In the Homes of the Aged everybody is respected as an individual. The inmates are not exploited because if an old person wish to work he, or she, is paid 7 5% of the value of the fruits of his labours. To work is not compulsory. Moreover, they receive medical attention, suitable lodgings and, most important of all, we have abolished the humiliating uniforms, a measure which was adopted in the institutions t hemselves, and an unwelcome reminder for all right -minded Argentines. Perón believes that the greatness and the prosperity of the Country is founded on the work and the well being of the people. When the Peronist Movement as achieved its ends…and it is tak ing gigantic steps in that direction…it will succeed in freeing man from a state of need, from fear and from uncertainty, so that each man will be the ruler of his own destiny. Poverty will vanish, everyone will have employment and provision will be made to guard against destitution. Perón’s mission will be fulfilled when he has performed the colossal task he has set himself to do, and when this is accomplished, neither the Social Aid Fund nor our assistance will be any longer necessary. But each institut ion in whatever part of the country it may be, will remain as a flag nailed to the mast, the symbol of an ear of fair play and a humanitarian spirit, which will set an example to all the other countries of the world. And we Argentines will have fully live d up to the tenets of the Peronist Doctrine when every Argentine citizen does not feel himself to more than he really is, nor less than what he might have been.