According to the Argentine ambassador in Spain, the project was reportedly the first monument dedicated to Perón to be erected outside Argentina's borders.[1] The monument was a token of gratitude for the support provided by Perón to the Francoist regime during the immediate period after World War II, amid the international isolation of the dictatorship.[2]
Designed by Agustín de la Herrán, the full-body leading sculpture, cast in bronze and 2.10 metre high, represents a standing Perón, dressed with a full dress uniform and carrying the presidential staff.[1] The design of the granite plinth was entrusted to a municipal architect of the Ayuntamiento de Madrid.[1]
The inscription in the main plaque displays the "paladín de la amistad argentino española" ("Paladin of the Argentine–Spanish friendship") epithet.[2]
The monument was unveiled on 1 July 1975, on occasion for the first anniversary of Peron's death, in the Madrilenian avenue already named after him during a ceremony attended by the Miguel Ángel García-Lomas [es] (Mayor of Madrid), José Campano [es] (Argentine ambassador), León Herrera [es] (Minister of Information and Tourism), Pedro Cortina Mauri (Minister of Foreign Affairs), and the Duke of Cádiz (President of the Institute of Hispanic Culture [es]), among others.[3][4] Before the inauguration, authorities paid a visit to the nearby Monument to Isabella the Catholic in order to deposit a floral tribute.[3]
