ABSTRACT

Argentina has long had comparatively high levels of social mobilization and political participation. There have been two important reform movements in twentieth-century Argentina, generally characterized as "radicalism" and "Peronism." Argentina's first national party, the Liberal party, emerged in 1852 following the overthrow of dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas. The Liberal party remained a force in Argentina until the mid-1870s, and several of its leaders were subsequently elected president—Domingo Sarmiento, Bartolome Mitre, and Nicolas Avellaneda. Marxist parties have a long tradition in Argentina, dating at least from 1896, with the formation of the Socialist Labor party. National elections in Argentina have been held under a variety of electoral systems. Since 1916, twenty-seven persons have held the presidency in Argentina, of whom only ten gained office by election. The expulsion of Juan Peron in 1955 initiated a reorientation of the Argentine party system that has continued to redefine party competition.