When writing a new biography about a well-studied individual, one must always explain why a new study of the subject is necessary. This is a question that Loris Zanatta tackles immediately in the introduction to her new political biography of Eva Perón. She lays out two reasons justifying her new work: first, that there are still many stories to be told about Perón beyond what is already well known; and second, that Perón is useful as a starting point for exploring her particular era in all its facets, a fact that Zanatta identifies as the reason why so many have focused on Evita’s story. However, Zanatta’s main rationale for writing the biography, and the most important and innovative argument that she makes within it, is to question Evita’s legacy. Traditionally, scholars have argued that Evita’s untimely death in 1952 deprived the regime of one of its fundamental supports, thus weakening...

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