 Photo ofJuan Perón's supporters inPlaza de Mayo onLoyalty Day, 1945. His supporters were known as "Descamisados" | |
| Origin/etymology | Les Misérables |
|---|---|
| Meaning | lit. Shirtless |
| Context | Trienio Liberal |
| Coined by | Victor Hugo |
Descamisado (Spanish pronunciation:[deskamiˈsaðo]) is aSpanish word that literally means "without shirt" or "shirtless".
The term was originally used by the narrator inVictor Hugo's seminal 1862 novelLes Misérables to refer to the revolutionary Spanish masses. Following the defeat ofNapoleon Bonaparte at theBattle of Waterloo, the French (Bourbon) monarchy was restored to power. The Bourbons acted to prop up theSpanish monarchy against the popular forces of the Spanish social revolution in theSpanish War of 1823. Hugo's character is commenting on the use of the term by the supporters of the French Bourbons. The word was used pejoratively and in direct comparison to the derogative term applied to the French popular masses, thesans-culottes of the Frenchbourgeoisie revolution of 1789.
In the 20th century, it was also used as an insult by the elite ofArgentina to describe the followers ofJuan Perón, who served aspresident of Argentina from1946 until 1955, and then again briefly from 1973 to 1974. The term was laterreclaimed as a term of pride, with Juan Perón and his wifeEva Perón affectionately referring to their followers as "descamisados". During his 1945 campaign for president, Juan Perón toured the country on a train that he namedEl Descamisado.
The first usage of the term in the history of Argentina dates back to the 19th century.Tomás de Iriarte described in his memories a time when he was walking withCarlos María de Alvear and foundManuel Dorrego with dirty and torn clothes. Iriarte wrote that "Excusado es decir que esto era estudiado para captarse la multitud, los descamisados."[1] ("Needless to say, this was planned to captivate the multitude, the shirtless.")El Descamisado was also the name of an anarchist newspaper inBuenos Aires, Argentina.
By most accounts, the term has its modern origins on October 17, 1945, when thousands of supporters of Juan Perón gathered in front of theCasa Rosada making ademonstration to demand Perón's release from prison. While waiting for Perón on this hot day, many men in the crowd removed their shirts—hence the term "shirtless". However, there is much debate among scholars with regard to the origins of the label. Some claim that the word was coined to describe theworking poor, the social class from which Perón drew the greatest amount of his political backing. Thedescamisados ofPeronism have occasionally been compared to thesans-culottes of theFrench Revolution. This segment of the population was able to join the ranks of the middle class thanks to mass access to healthcare and education opportunities and the process of industrialisation that took place in Argentina during thefirst two terms of Juan Perón's presidency (1946-1955).
In 1989,Fernando Collor de Mello in hispresidential campaign useddescamisados andpés descalços ("shoeless") to refer to the poor people.[2]