DESCAMISADO

(Spanish: shirtless one), in Argentine history, during the regime of dictator Juan Pern (ruled 194655, 197374), any of the impoverished and underprivileged Argentine workers who were Pern's chief supporters. Under Pern's rule the political influence of the large landowners (estancieros) was diminished in favour of the lower-middle and working classes. Pern's wife, ne Mara Eva Duarte, popularly called Evita, became the idol of the descamisados because of her own poor origins and her reputation for using her great influence to benefit the poor. After Evita's death (July 1952), Pern lost support among the workers.