Argentine general election, March 1973
Encyclopedia
The first Argentine general election of 1973 was held on 11 March. Voters chose both the President and their legislators and with a turnout of 85.5%, it produced the following results:
Note: The FREJULI ticket was declared the winner, bypassing the Electoral College.
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
in 1955, did well in. Five years later, however, President Alejandro Lanusse found himself heading an unpopular junta, saddled by increasing political violence and an economic wind-down from the prosperous 1960s. Seizing the initiative, he gathered leaders from across the nation's political and intellectual spectrum for a July 1971 asado
, a time-honored Argentine custom as much about camaraderie as about steak.
The result was Lanusse's "Great National Agreement," a road map to the return to democratic rule, including Peronists (the first such concession the military had made since Perón's 1955 exile). The agreement, however, bore little resemblance to what had been discussed and, instead, proposed virtual veto power for the armed forces over most future domestic and foreign policy. This patently unacceptable condition led most political figures to dismiss the much-touted event as the "Great National Asado," instead.
A year later, President Lanusse made the much-anticipated announcement: elections would be held, nationally, on March 11, 1973. Retaliating for Perón's unequivocal rejection of the 1971 accords, Lanusse limited the field of candidates to those residing in Argentina as of August 25, 1972 - a clear denial of the aging Perón the right to run on his own party's ticket (the likely winners). Perón did return to Argentina, however, on November 17, when, during a month-long stay, he secured the endorsement of prominent figures such as former President Arturo Frondizi
of the Integration and Development Movement
, Popular Conservative Alberto Fonrouge, Christian Democrat
Carlos Imbaud, and other, mainly provincial parties. These diverse parties signed on to an umbrella ticket, led by the Justicialist Party
and Perón's personal representative in Argentina, Héctor Cámpora. Partly in recognition for their support and to provide a counter-weight to the left-leaning Cámpora, Perón had the Justicialist Liberation Front (FREJULI) nominate for Vice President Popular Coservative leader Vicente Solano Lima
, a newspaper publisher respected across most of Argentina's vastly diverse political spectrum.
Given little time to campaign by the calculating Lanusse (who fielded his own candidate, Brigadier General Ezequiel Martínez, for his ad hoc Federal Republican Alliance), the nation's myriad parties jockeyed for alliances and rushed to name candidates. The main opposition, the centrist Radical Civic Union
(UCR), put forth their 1958 nominee, former Congressman Ricardo Balbín
(head of the party's more conservative wing). Hoping to carry the mantle of those supporting Lanusse, Social Policy Minister Francisco Manrique
ran on the Federalist ticket and Américo Ghioldi
, who had led a split in the Socialist Party in 1958, ran on his Democratic Socialist
slate, refusing (as the traditional Socialists had done) to endorse the Popular Revolutionary Alliance headed by former Governor Oscar Alende
, the runner-up in the 1963 election.
The March 11 polls went smoothly and the FREJULI, which needed 50% of the total to avoid a runoff as per Lanusse's agreement, garnered 49.6%. The irony of the result, which came despite a 28% margin over the runners-up (the UCR), led the seasoned Balbín to petition President Lanusse for a waiver of the rule, something he granted, making the FREJULI alliance the winners of the March 11, 1973 election and paving the way for the definitive return of Juan Perón
, whom Lanusse, many years later, would admit to being his "life's obsession."
Todo Argentina
President
| Party/Electoral Alliance | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Justicialist Liberation Front Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de... |
5,907,464 | 49.6% |
| Radical Civic Union Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina... |
2,537,605 | 21.3% |
| Popular Federalist Alliance | 1,775,867 | 14.9% |
| Popular Revolutionary Alliance | 885,201 | 7.4% |
| Federal Republican Alliance | 347,215 | 2.9% |
| New Force | 234,188 | 2.0% |
| Democratic Socialist Party | 109,068 | 0.9% |
| others | 122,367 | 1.0% |
| Total votes | 11,918,975 | 100.0% |
Argentine Chamber of DeputiesArgentine Chamber of DeputiesThe Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
| Party/Electoral Alliance | Seats | % of votes |
|---|---|---|
| Justicialist Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de... MID Integration and Development Movement The Integration and Development Movement or MID is a political party in Argentina.-Historical overview:Flying to Caracas, Venezuela in 1956, Argentine wholesaler and publisher Rogelio Frigerio secretly negotiated an agreement between his friend, the centrist UCR's 1951 vice-presidential nominee... Popular Conservative |
131 12 2 |
|
| FREJULI | 145 | 49.5% |
| UCR Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina... |
51 | 21.3% |
| Federalist | 20 | 14.8% |
| Popular Revolutionary | 12 | 7.4% |
| Federal Republican | 7 | 2.9% |
| Others | 8 | 4.1% |
| Invalid votes | 2.6% | |
| Total | 243 | 100.0% |
Background
The 1966 coup d'état against the moderate President Arturo Illia was carried out largely as a reaction to Illia's decision to honor local and legislative elections in which Peronists, officially banned from political activity following the violent overthrow of President Juan PerónJuan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
in 1955, did well in. Five years later, however, President Alejandro Lanusse found himself heading an unpopular junta, saddled by increasing political violence and an economic wind-down from the prosperous 1960s. Seizing the initiative, he gathered leaders from across the nation's political and intellectual spectrum for a July 1971 asado
Asado
Asado is a term used both for a range of barbecue techniques and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and southern Brazil. In the former countries asado is also the standard word for barbecue. An asado usually consists of beef alongside various...
, a time-honored Argentine custom as much about camaraderie as about steak.
The result was Lanusse's "Great National Agreement," a road map to the return to democratic rule, including Peronists (the first such concession the military had made since Perón's 1955 exile). The agreement, however, bore little resemblance to what had been discussed and, instead, proposed virtual veto power for the armed forces over most future domestic and foreign policy. This patently unacceptable condition led most political figures to dismiss the much-touted event as the "Great National Asado," instead.
Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi Ercoli was the President of Argentina between May 1, 1958, and March 29, 1962, for the Intransigent Radical Civic Union.-Early life:Frondizi was born in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes Province...
of the Integration and Development Movement
Integration and Development Movement
The Integration and Development Movement or MID is a political party in Argentina.-Historical overview:Flying to Caracas, Venezuela in 1956, Argentine wholesaler and publisher Rogelio Frigerio secretly negotiated an agreement between his friend, the centrist UCR's 1951 vice-presidential nominee...
, Popular Conservative Alberto Fonrouge, Christian Democrat
Christian Democratic Party (Argentina)
The Christian Democratic Party is a Christian Democrat political party in Argentina.The Party was founded in 1954 after several other organisations had been active promoting Christian democracy in Argentina. Leading activists in its early years included José Allende and Horacio Sueldo...
Carlos Imbaud, and other, mainly provincial parties. These diverse parties signed on to an umbrella ticket, led by the Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
and Perón's personal representative in Argentina, Héctor Cámpora. Partly in recognition for their support and to provide a counter-weight to the left-leaning Cámpora, Perón had the Justicialist Liberation Front (FREJULI) nominate for Vice President Popular Coservative leader Vicente Solano Lima
Vicente Solano Lima
Vicente Solano Lima was a moderately conservative newspaper publisher and politician who served as Vice President of Argentina from May 25, 1973 to July 13, 1973.-Life and times:...
, a newspaper publisher respected across most of Argentina's vastly diverse political spectrum.
Given little time to campaign by the calculating Lanusse (who fielded his own candidate, Brigadier General Ezequiel Martínez, for his ad hoc Federal Republican Alliance), the nation's myriad parties jockeyed for alliances and rushed to name candidates. The main opposition, the centrist Radical Civic Union
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
(UCR), put forth their 1958 nominee, former Congressman Ricardo Balbín
Ricardo Balbín
Ricardo Balbín was an Argentine lawyer and politician, and one of the most important figures of the centrist Radical Civic Union , for which he was the presidential nominee four times: in 1951, 1958, and twice in 1973....
(head of the party's more conservative wing). Hoping to carry the mantle of those supporting Lanusse, Social Policy Minister Francisco Manrique
Francisco Manrique
Francisco Manrique was an Argentine naval officer, journalist, policy maker and presidential candidate.-Life and times:...
ran on the Federalist ticket and Américo Ghioldi
Américo Ghioldi
Américo Ghioldi was an Argentine educator, publisher and prominent Socialist politician.-Life and times:...
, who had led a split in the Socialist Party in 1958, ran on his Democratic Socialist
Democratic Socialist Party (Argentina)
The Democratic Socialist Party was a political party in Argentina formed in 1959 as a division of the Socialist Party.The most important figure of the PSD was Alfredo Bravo, a teacher and civil rights activist, which was a deputy and the presidential candidate of the Socialist Party in the 2003...
slate, refusing (as the traditional Socialists had done) to endorse the Popular Revolutionary Alliance headed by former Governor Oscar Alende
Oscar Alende
Oscar Eduardo Alende was an Argentine politician who founded the Intransigent Party.Alende was born in Maipú, Buenos Aires Province. He studied medicine at the University of La Plata, where he led the student union, and completed his medical studies at the University of Buenos Aires in 1933...
, the runner-up in the 1963 election.
The March 11 polls went smoothly and the FREJULI, which needed 50% of the total to avoid a runoff as per Lanusse's agreement, garnered 49.6%. The irony of the result, which came despite a 28% margin over the runners-up (the UCR), led the seasoned Balbín to petition President Lanusse for a waiver of the rule, something he granted, making the FREJULI alliance the winners of the March 11, 1973 election and paving the way for the definitive return of Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
, whom Lanusse, many years later, would admit to being his "life's obsession."
Todo Argentina
Candidates
- Justicialist Liberation FrontJusticialist PartyThe Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
(populist): Former Deputy Héctor Cámpora of Buenos Aires ProvinceBuenos Aires ProvinceThe Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880... - Radical Civic UnionRadical Civic UnionThe Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
(centrist): Former Deputy Ricardo BalbínRicardo BalbínRicardo Balbín was an Argentine lawyer and politician, and one of the most important figures of the centrist Radical Civic Union , for which he was the presidential nominee four times: in 1951, 1958, and twice in 1973....
of Buenos Aires ProvinceBuenos Aires ProvinceThe Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880... - Popular Federalist Alliance (conservative): Former Minister of Social Policy Francisco ManriqueFrancisco ManriqueFrancisco Manrique was an Argentine naval officer, journalist, policy maker and presidential candidate.-Life and times:...
of Mendoza ProvinceMendoza ProvinceThe Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is... - Popular Revolutionary Alliance (social democratic): Former Gobernor Oscar AlendeOscar AlendeOscar Eduardo Alende was an Argentine politician who founded the Intransigent Party.Alende was born in Maipú, Buenos Aires Province. He studied medicine at the University of La Plata, where he led the student union, and completed his medical studies at the University of Buenos Aires in 1933...
of Buenos Aires ProvinceBuenos Aires ProvinceThe Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...