The setting of Eva Luna is an unnamed South American country. Though Allende deliberately refrains from identifying the country, events throughout the narrative closely mirror political changes in both Chile and Venezuela during the period in which it takes place. Eva Luna is roughly set between the end of WWII in 1945 and the 1980s. During this time, Chile and Venezuela each underwent sociopolitical upheaval.

Allende was born in Peru but raised in Chile. Her father’s cousin, Salvador Allende, was the first Marxist President of Chile from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, General Augusto Pinochet staged a coup and overthrew Salvador Allende, establishing an authoritarian dictatorship. Salvador Allende died during the coup; although his death was officially ruled a suicide, many believe that he was assassinated. Violent power struggles and suppressive dictatorships are a recurring motif in Eva Luna, likely inspired by Allende’s firsthand experience. After Salvador Allende’s death, Isabel Allende helped to smuggle dissenters out of Chile. When she herself became a target, she fled to Venezuela, where she spent the next 13 years. Allende has stated that Eva Luna was inspired by her exile in Venezuela and the people she met there.