An Argentine complaining about the
nationalism of others. As anyone who lives in Argentina will testify, including
a large proportion of locals, nationalism is a very Argentine trait. However,
as someone explained to me recently, there is a clear difference between
Argentine nationalism and Brazilian patriotism. Brazilians truly love their
country and will continually gush forth about its wonders. Argentines, on the
other hand, are both cynical by nature and fully aware of their country’s
shortcomings – but will not countenance any criticism of their country by
someone who is not from there.
Perhaps it’s fitting that these thoughts
are bouncing round my brain on the 60th anniversary of the death
of a person who, for better or worse, entirely transformed Argentina. Eva
Perón’s short life and work have influenced this country for over half a
century, and her mystique is a key allure to thousands if not millions of
tourists to Argentina on an annual basis. However, her actual role in
contemporary Argentina remains as divisive as her revolutionary labour politics
and communication techniques were during her lifetime.
Exhibit A was provided last night, with
yet another demagoguery-tinged speech by President Cristina Fernández de
Kirchner, with the portrait of Evita behind her. CFK yesterday announced that
the highest legal tender in the country, namely the 100-peso bill, would now
carry the face of Evita. Not Perón, her husband, the twice-President and in
some respects the reason why she even had a platform to speak from. Evita. In
broad terms, this would be the equivalent of putting a key figure of the last
century on bills – say, Martin Luther King on a note in the US, or Princess
Diana in the UK.
Naturally, this is a highly Marmite
decision, and has accordingly split the country – just as the choice of Madonna
to play her in Alan Parker’s 1997 film of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical did.
However, Evita and her veneration or denigration plays into the hands of
nationalists of all ilks, as her image can be skewed to represent…well, pretty
much whatever you want. She is a symbol of struggle, an embodiment of virtue,
the encapsulation of innocence or the permanent reminder of when exactly
Argentina went down the tubes. Depending on who one talks to, she can be any of
these things and many more.
That is a key aspect to Evita, and to
Peronism. Yesterday, during the events to commemorate her “passing into
immortality” 60 years ago, speech after speech was laid at her altar by
worshippers of all political stripes – but, as several people pointed out, the
majority focused on what she represented, an entirely different thing each
time, rather than what she did. What Evita represents, in the eye of the beholder,
will always be of greater relevance than what she achieved. That’s why
Argentines grimace when troops of tourists file past her tomb in Recoleta each
day, where she lies surrounded by the oligarchs who she despised and sought to
destroy – only a true Argentine will really understand what she means, or what
she has come to mean.
Although we are only seven and a half
months into 2012, this has been a year of nationalism. Whether the issue is the
30th anniversary of a war, the 60th anniversary of a death or the veneration of 50 goals by a famous footballer, the message is clear: to the outside world, Argentina is united, taking all comers, especially those who seek to undermine or criticise - because by doing so, we can briefly forget that, on the inside, unity is fleeting, and the future is very bleak.
