Domingo A. Mercante

A Democrat in the Shadow of Perón and Evita

The history of Argentina in the second half of the twentieth century was dominated by the charismatic figures of Juan Pern and his wife Evita. Both within Argentina and in the outside world, it has come to be accepted that the populist revolution which swept through Argentina in the 1940s and profoundly transformed the political, economic and social conditions in the country was spearheaded by and Pern and Evita with little help from anyone else. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. This biography of Domingo A. Mercante profiles not only Perns closest collaborator and a man whom Evita called the heart of Pern, but also an important leader in his own right who was genuinely committed to democratic government. This book documents Mercantes essential contributions to the Peronist movement and to the history of Argentina, accomplishments that have undeservedly been obscured by the shadow cast by Pern and Evita over all other figures with whom they shared the political stage.