Domingo A. Mercante

About the Book

The history of Argentina in the second half of the twentieth century was dominated by the charismatic figures of Juan Perón 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 Perón 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 Perón’s closest collaborator and a man whom Evita called “the heart of Perón,” but also an important leader in his own right who was genuinely committed to democratic government. This book documents Mercante’s essential contributions to the Peronist movement and to the history of Argentina, accomplishments that have undeservedly been obscured by the shadow cast by Perón and Evita over all other figures with whom they shared the political stage.

About the Author

Carolyn Becker was born and raised in Evansville, Indiana and attended Indiana University, where she received a B.A. in German. She continued her studies of German language and literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received her M.A. and Ph D. Electing not to pursue an academic career, she entered the University of Wisconsin School of Business to obtain an MBA. Dr. Becker worked for three years at the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau before entering the private sector, eventually becoming Chief Financial Officer for an American division of an international agri-business concern. Upon her retirement in 1999, she decided to devote herself once again to scholarship. Her research for this biography of Domingo Mercante took her to Argentina five times as well as to various libraries and research facilities in the United States. Dr. Becker lives with her husband Donald, an emeritus professor of German and Linguistics, in De Forest, Wisconsin.