Legislative elections were held in Argentina on 27 March. Voters chose their legislators, and with a turnout of 87%.
Background President Arturo Frondizi had been elected in 1958 largely with the endorsement of the exiled, populist leader, Juan Perón. Military and conservative pressure made the president unable to lift the 1955 ban imposed on Peronism - though Peronists had other reasons for breaking with Frondizi ahead of the 1960 elections. Contrary to his platform, he appointed ultra-conservative economist Alvaro Alsogaray, whose austerity program helped lead to a doubling of prices in 1959 (a record, up to that time) and sharp recession.Todo Argentina: 1959 Recommending the casting of blank votes, Perón took care to deprive Frondizi of potential anti-peronist support by revealing their earlier, secret deal: Peronist support in 1958 in exchange for restored political rights.Rock, David. Argentina: 1516-1982. University of California Press, 1987. A year marked with labor strife was followed by the bombing of a Shell Petroleum facility in March 1960, leading to the enactment of the Conintes Plan - a further, severe limitation on political freedoms.Página/12
Frondizi bore the brunt of public disapproval over these developments; in reality, however, both decisions were signed on the insistence of the Argentine military, many of whom were unambiguous on their willingness to overthrow the president (Conintes, in particular was signed in lieu of military demands for martial law).Potash, Robert. The Army and Politics in Argentina. Stanford University Press, 1996. Frondizi's UCRI congressional candidates went from nearly half the 1958 vote to only 27% - though they retained their overall majority since its loss of seats was more moderate (mostly to Ricardo Balbín's more conservative UCR-P). Peronists' blank votes resulted in one of the highest such incidences (25%) in Argentine electoral history.
Results
Results by province
ProvinceUCRPUCRICenter PartiesOthers Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % SeatsBuenos Aires753,70234.5518 507,283 23.258 272,574 12.490 648,220 29.710Buenos Aires City371,53029.0013 307,145 23.985 79,307 6.190 523,101 40.830Catamarca18,98035.832 18,477 34.880 7,054 13.320 8,462 15.970Chaco49,68837.102 46,075 34.401 9,341 6.970 28,836 21.530Chubut 9,715 30.69011,97137.821 2,444 7.720 7,526 23.770Córdoba294,25144.336 189,458 28.543 102,019 15.370 78,046 11.760Corrientes 12,042 6.19063,25132.522 104,624 53.791 14,586 7.500Entre Ríos111,88237.715 87,642 29.542 56,779 19.140 40,412 13.620Formosa 12,763 38.56012,94939.122——— 7,386 22.320La Rioja 17,100 41.19017,39541.902 5,015 12.080 2,002 4.820Mendoza 66,199 23.921 60,813 21.970101,90936.822 47,846 17.290Misiones 28,173 38.15130,20440.902 3,107 4.210 12,373 16.750Neuquén 7,081 28.9707,52330.771 2,177 8.910 7,665 31.350Salta 27,395 27.95031,47532.111 25,119 25.620 14,041 14.320San Luis 5,925 9.12028,26543.502 27,843 42.850 2,943 4.530Santa Cruz 2,564 31.6402,72433.612 1,130 13.940 1,686 20.800Santa Fe 218,421 28.803235,37031.037 25,236 3.330 279,380 36.840Santiago del Estero 47,876 33.98160,90643.232 7,505 5.330 24,608 17.470Tucumán 36,416 15.92073,57032.163 14,027 6.130 104,773 45.801 Total 2,091,703 31.76 52 1,792,496 27.22 46 847,210 12.87 3 1,853,892 28.15 1
References