Visiting Buenos Aires gave me a firsthand look at how deeply Juan Domingo Perón shaped Argentina’s healthcare system, particularly through his support of labor unions and public health infrastructure. At the Museo Evita, I learned that Perón believed healthcare was a right that should be available to every Argentine citizen, regardless of their economic background. That philosophy drove major changes that are still felt across the country today.

One of Perón’s most lasting contributions was the creation of obras sociales, healthcare plans organized through labor unions that allowed workers and their families to access medical care through their jobs. Before Perón, healthcare was largely limited to those who could afford it privately. By partnering with unions, Perón built a system where organized workers had a direct stake in their own healthcare, tying medical coverage to employment in a way that gave unions significant power and responsibility. This relationship between the government, workers, and healthcare became a defining feature of Peronism as a political movement.

Beyond the union-based system, Perón’s government also invested heavily in public hospitals and clinics throughout Argentina, expanding access to communities that had previously been underserved. His wife, Eva Perón, whose tomb I visited at the Recoleta Cemetery, was equally passionate about social welfare and used her own political influence to support programs benefiting the working class. Together, their efforts represented a broader vision of social justice that placed healthcare at the center of national policy.

What stood out to me most was how many of these structures Perón built still function today. The obras sociales system remains a core part of how Argentines receive medical coverage, which shows just how foundational his policies were. Walking through Buenos Aires and connecting those history lessons to real places made Perón’s impact feel concrete rather than just something written in a textbook.