The Sociedad de Beneficencia de Buenos Aires, also known as Sociedad de Damas de Beneficencia or simply Sociedad de Beneficencia (English: Society of Beneficence), was an Argentine state institution. The association was created by president

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at th ...

in 1823. The purpose was to transfer social work from the Catholic church to the association after the Argentine independence. The first president was the patrician

Mercedes de Lasala de Riglos Mercedes de Lasala de Riglos or (incorrectly) Ana Lasala de Riglos (23 September 1764 – 1 January 1837), known as Madame Riglos, was an Argentine patriot and socialite during the period when Argentina was gaining its independence from Spain. He ...

. The organisation was administered by female Argentine philanthropists from the upper classes, with the founding members including

Mariquita Sánchez Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson y de Mendeville, also known as Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson (1 November 1786 – 23 October 1868), was an Argentine socialite and activist from Buenos Aires. She was one of the city's leading ''salonnières'', who ...

(who presided the organization between 1830–1832 and 1866–1867), María Cabrera de Altolaguirre, Isabel Casamayor, Joaquina de Izquierdo, Josefa Ramos Mejía, Isabel Agüero de Ugalde, Cipriana Viana y Bone, Manuela Aguirre, María de los Santos Riera del Sar, Bernardina Chavarría de Viamonte, María del Rosario Azcuénaga. Among the organisations placed under the supervision of the society were schools for girls, hospitals and orphanages, such as Casa de Niños Expósitos,

Hospital Rivadavia The Hospital General de Agudos Bernardino Rivadavia was founded in 1774 in 800 Bartolomé Mitre St., San Nicolás, Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a countr ...

and Casa de Huérfanas. In 1838, the Governor of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Althoug ...

suspended state funding for the Sociedad de Beneficencia. The organization was not formally reinstated until after the end of Rosas's reign in 1852. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the Socieded de Beneficencia administered various schools for girls, women's hospitals, mental institutions, and penitentiaries. The organization also contributed to charitable causes and relief funds outside of Buenos Aires. The Sociedad de Beneficencia was disbanded during the first presidency of

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

in 1947, after his wife

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 194 ...

was not invited by the patrons. Evita was furious and moved against the society, effectively bringing it to an end. She then created the

Eva Perón Foundation The Eva Perón Foundation was a charitable foundation begun by Eva Perón, a prominent Argentine political leader, when she was the First Lady and Spiritual Leader of the Nation of Argentina. It operated from 1948 to 1955. Inspiration and Be ...

to replace it, which she ran and which was much more comprehensive in scope.

References

* Laura Susana Golbert & Emilia Eugenia Roca, ''De la Sociedad de Beneficencia a los Derechos Sociales'', primera edición. Buenos Aires, Ministerio de Trabajo, Empleo y Seguridad Social, 2010. (print) {{ISBN, 978-987-25026-2-1 (web pdf) 1823 establishments in Argentina 1947 disestablishments in Argentina Charities based in Argentina Social welfare charities