At the start of Eva Luna, the unnamed country is ruled by a brutal dictatorship, headed by El Benefactor. By the third chapter, a violent coup unseats the dictatorship, and a more progressive government is installed, but soon they too are toppled, and a new dictator takes over. As the narrative progresses, this cycle repeats itself, with further coups and rebellions arising and power changing hands several times. Despite the façade of progress, no meaningful change is being made in the lives of the country’s citizens. At the highest level, power is simply being passed between different but equally corrupt groups, speaking to the insidious and stubborn influence of corruption in the political realm.

Eva and her friends remain relatively unaffected by the political dramatics playing out in the background of their lives. Whether the country is led by El Benefactor or the General, they are still poor, marginalized, and have the concerns of everyday life to deal with. As Mimí laments, “they may modify the rules, but they always operate on the sample principle: authority, competitiveness, greed, repression” (302). Promises of freedom and democracy mean little to begin with and lose any remaining luster once Eva has seen several political reshufflings play out with little to no change in her circumstances.