1983 Argentine general election

1983 Argentine general election

Presidential election
30 October 1983
600 members of the Electoral College 301 votes needed to win
Registered	17,929,951
Turnout	85.61%
Candidate Raúl Alfonsín Ítalo Lúder Party Radical Civic Union Justicialist Party Running mate Víctor Martínez Deolindo Bittel Electoral vote 317 259 States carried 15 + CABA 8 Popular vote 7,724,559 5,944,402 Percentage 51.75% 40.16%
Percentage of votes (left) and electoral votes (right) by province.
President before election Reynaldo Bignone Military Elected President Raúl Alfonsín UCR
Legislative election
30 October 1983
254 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 128 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	85.61%
Party Vote % Seats Chamber of Deputies Radical Civic Union 47.97% 129 Justicialist Party 38.47% 111 Intransigent Party 2.78% 3 Union of the Democratic Centre 1.70% 2 Blockist Party 0.42% 2 Neuquén People's Movement 0.24% 2 Others 8.4% 5 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by province

A general election was held in Argentina on 30 October 1983 and marked the return of constitutional rule following the self-styled National Reorganization Process dictatorship installed in 1976. Voters fully chose the president, governors, mayors, and their respective national, province and town legislators; with a turnout of 85.6%.

Background

In 1976 the military announced a coup d'état against President Isabel Perón with problems of financial instability, inflation, endemic corruption, international isolation and violence that typified her last year in office. Many citizens believed the National Reorganization Process, the junta's government, would improve the general state of Argentina. As that regime's third dictator, General Leopoldo Galtieri, awoke in the early hours of June 18, 1982, to find a letter requesting he resign, however, he had no doubt that the Process had run its course. Against the wishes of Galtieri's commanders, the Joint Chiefs chose Army General Reynaldo Bignone not so much the new President as the usher towards a democratic transition, which President Bignone announced would take place in March 1984. Inheriting an economy struggling under crushing interest rates imposed by the Central Bank Circular 1050, Bignone's new president of the institution, Domingo Cavallo, rescinded the policy in July, a move towards economic liberalization complemented by Bignone's restoring a limited right of assembly and free speech. Argentina's wide array of political parties, jointly pressing for elections through a "Multiparty" convened by centrist UCR leader Ricardo Balbín in 1981, geared for the imminent return to democracy.

Six years of intermittent wage freezes, policies adverse to industry and restrictive measures like the Circular 1050 had left GDP per capita at its lowest level since 1968 and real wages lower by around 40%. Given these conditions, the return of some freedoms quickly led to a wave of strikes, including two general strikes led by Saúl Ubaldini of the CGT labor federation (then the largest in South America). Fanning antagonism on the part of hard-liners in the regime, this led Admiral Jorge Anaya (later court-martialed for gross malfeasance in the 1982 Falklands War) to announce his candidacy for President in August, becoming the first to do so; he proved to be highly unpopular and Bignone immediately thwarted the move.

Amid growing calls for quicker elections, police brutally repressed a December 16, 1982, demonstration in Buenos Aires' central Plaza de Mayo, resulting in the death of one protester and Bignone's hopes for an indefinite postponement of elections. Devoting themselves to damage control, the regime began preparing for the transition by shredding evidence of their murder of between 15,000 and 30,000 dissidents (most of which were students, academics and labor union personnel uninvolved in the violence Argentina suffered from 1973 to 1976). Hoping to quiet demands that their whereabouts be known, in February 1983 Buenos Aires Police Chief Ramón Camps publicly recognized the crime and asserted that the "disappeared" were, in fact, dead. Provoking popular indignation, Camps' interview forced President Bignone to cease denying the tragedy and, on April 28, declare a blanket amnesty for those involved (including himself).

The closing rally for the UCR campaign on Buenos Aires' 9 de Julio Avenue.

Nominations

Among the first prominent political figures to condemn the amnesty was the leader of the UCR's progressive wing, Raúl Alfonsín, who easily secured his party's nomination during their convention in July. Alfonsín chose as his running mate Víctor Martínez, a more conservative UCR figure from Córdoba Province. Their traditional opponents, the Justicialist Party, struggled to find candidates for not only the top of the ticket, but for a number of the more important local races, as well. Following conferences that dragged on for two months after the UCR nominated Alfonsín, the Justicialists' left wing (the target of much of the repression before and after the 1976 coup) proved little match for the CGT's influence within the party. They nominated ideological opposites Ítalo Lúder, who had served as acting President during Mrs. Perón's September 1975 sick leave, for President and former Chaco Province Governor Deolindo Bittel as his running mate; whereas Lúder had authorized repression against the left in 1975, Bittel was a populist renowned for his defense of Habeas Corpus during the subsequent dictatorship.

Campaign issues

Constrained by time, Alfonsín focused his strategy on accusing the Justicialists, who had refused to condemn Bignone's military amnesty, of enjoying the dictator's tacit support. Alfonsín enjoyed the valuable support of a number of Argentine intellectuals and artists, including playwright Carlos Gorostiza, who devised the UCR candidate's slogan, Ahora, Alfonsín ("Now is the Time for Alfonsín").

Lúder, aware of intraparty tensions, limited his campaign ads and rhetoric largely to an evocation of the founder of the Justicialist Party, the late Juan Perón. Polls gave neither man an edge for the contest, which was scheduled for October 30. A few days for the elections (which a record turnout), the Justicialist candidate for Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Herminio Iglesias, threw a (premature) "victory rally" in which a coffin draped in the UCR colors was burned before the television cameras.

The bonfire ignited the electorate's bitter memories of Isabel Perón's tenure and helped result in a solid victory for the UCR. The Peronists were given a majority in the Senate and 12 of 22 governorships. The UCR secured only 7 governors, though the nation's largest province, Buenos Aires, would be governed by the UCR's Alejandro Armendáriz. Alfonsín persuaded Bignone after the elections to advance the inaugural to December 10, 1983.

Candidates for President

• Radical Civic Union (centrist/social democrat): Former Deputy Raúl Alfonsín of Buenos Aires.
• Justicialist Party (populist): Former Senator Ítalo Lúder of Santa Fe.
• Intransigent Party (socialist) : Former Governor Oscar Alende of Buenos Aires.
• Integration and Development Movement (developmentalist): Economist Rogelio Julio Frigerio of Buenos Aires.

• 
  Alfonsín
• 
  Alende
• 
  Frigerio

Results

The Alfonsín-Martínez tandem won the election by 51.75% of votes against the 40.16% of Luder-Bittel tandem. Alfonsín's 51.75% vote percentage would be broken by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's record of 54.11% vote percentage in 2011.

President

Presidential candidate	Vice Presidential candidate	Party		Popular vote		Electoral vote
				Votes	%	Votes	%
Raúl Alfonsín	Víctor Hipólito Martínez		Radical Civic Union (UCR)	7,724,559	51.75	317	52.83
Ítalo Lúder	Deolindo Bittel		Justicialist Party (PJ)	5,995,402	40.16	259	43.17
Oscar Alende	Mirto Lisandro Viale		Intransigent Party (PI)	347,654	2.33	2	0.33
Rogelio Julio Frigerio	Antonio Salonia		Integration and Development Movement (MID)	177,426	1.19	2	0.33
Francisco Manrique	Guillermo Belgrano Rawson		Total Manrique – Rawson	107,188	0.72
			Federal Alliance	59,045	0.40
			Democratic Party of Mendoza (PD)	17,192	0.12
			Democratic Party of Córdoba (PD)	12,232	0.08
			Federal Party (PF)	8,129	0.05
			Popular Line Movement (MOLIPO)	6,365	0.04
			Democratic Party of Entre Ríos	4,225	0.03
No candidates			Autonomist – Liberal Alliance	104,052	0.70	6	1.00
Álvaro Alsogaray	Jorge S. Oría		Total Alsogaray – Oría	62,854	0.42
			Union of the Democratic Centre (UCeDe)	52,526	0.35
			Center National Confederation	8,736	0.06
			Center Party	1,592	0.01
No candidates			Blockist Party (PB)	58,038	0.39	4	0.67
Rafael Martínez Raymonda	René H. Balestra		Total Martínez Raymonda – Balestra	50,184	0.34
			Democratic – Socialist Alliance	47,692	0.32
			Democratic Progressive Party (PDP)	2,227	0.01
			Democratic Socialist Party (PSD)	265	0.00
Francisco Eduardo Cerro	Arturo Ponsati		Christian Democratic Party (PDC)	46,544	0.31
Luis Zamora	Silvia Díaz		Movement for Socialism (MAS)	42,500	0.28
No candidates			Neuquén People's Movement (MPN)	30,546	0.20	4	0.67
			Three Flags Party	22,583	0.15	1	0.17
			Jujuy People's Movement (MPJ)	22,303	0.15	2	0.33
Guillermo Estévez Boero	Edgardo Rossi		Popular Socialist Party (PSP)	21,177	0.14
No candidates			Salta Renewal Party (PARES)	18,844	0.13	1	0.17
			La Pampa Federalist Movement (MOFEPA)	15,298	0.10	2	0.33
Jorge Abelardo Ramos	Elisa Margarita Colombo		Popular Left Front (FIP)	14,093	0.10
Gregorio Flores	Catalina Guagnini		Workers' Party (PO)	13,067	0.09
No candidates			Federal Vanguard	12,373	0.08
			Renewal Crusade (CR)	5,539	0.04
			Catamarca Popular Movement	4,464	0.03
			Popular Line	4,044	0.03
			Salta Popular Movement	3,197	0.02
			Salta Alliance	3,089	0.02
			Conservative Principist Party	3,000	0.02
			Chaco Unity Movement	2,853	0.02
			The People's Voice	2,735	0.02
			Chubut Action Party (PACH)	2,640	0.02
			Popular Alliance	2,568	0.02
			Socialist Party (PS)	2,289	0.02
			Rionegrino Provincial Party (PPR)	1,113	0.01
			Popular Union (UP)	934	0.01
			Authentic Socialist Party (PSA)	585	0.00
			Renewal Party	448	0.00
			Democratic Party of Catamarca	401	0.00
			Nationalist Movement	394	0.00
			Provincial Defense – White Flag	264	0.00
			Party for Social Democracy	257	0.00
			Conservative People's Party (PCP)	13	0.00
Total				14,927,512	100
Positive votes				14,927,512	97.25
Blank votes				334,946	2.18
Invalid votes				87,728	0.57
Total votes				15,350,186	100
Registered voters/turnout				17,929,951	85.61
Sources:

Results by province

		Alfonsín/Martínez (UCR)			Lúder/Bittel (PJ)			Alende/Viale (PI)			Friegrio/Salonia (MID)			Others			Blank/Invalid		Turnout
Province	El.	Votes	%	El.	Votes	%	El.	Votes	%	El.	Votes	%	El.	Votes	%	El.	Votes	%	Votes	%
Buenos Aires	144	2,878,858	51.41	79	2,364,585	42.23	65	181,488	3.24	–	47,004	0.84	–	356,099	2.28	–	127,607	2.77	5,759,215	87.69
Buenos Aires City	54	1,269,352	64.26	37	540,389	27.36	15	88,480	4.48	2	14,480	0.73	–	62,556	3.17	–	33,422	1.66	2,008,679	85.78
Catamarca	14	48,595	46.79	7	45,329	43.65	7	602	0.58	–	805	0.78	–	8,526	8.20	–	3,762	3.50	107,619	81.34
Chaco	18	153,971	46.55	9	158,721	47.98	9	1,391	0.42	–	7,141	2.16	–	9,556	2.89	–	10,656	3.12	341,436	75.90
Chubut	14	56,912	50.85	8	46,400	41.46	6	1,957	1.75	–	2,362	2.11	–	4,281	3.82	–	5,167	4.41	117,079	80.63
Córdoba	40	791,470	56.22	23	561,954	39.92	17	12,245	0.87	–	13,078	0.93	–	29,089	2.06	–	33,381	2.32	1,441,217	88.35
Corrientes	18	112,216	33.84	7	94,105	28.38	5	2,467	0.74	–	11,662	3.52	–	111,117	33.51	6	8,232	2.42	339,799	77.26
Entre Ríos	22	251,811	49.53	12	224,778	44.21	10	7,558	1.49	–	7,949	1.56	–	16,301	3.21	–	11,769	2.26	520,166	83.70
Formosa	14	45,065	37.20	5	54,660	45.12	7	560	0.46	–	16,680	13.77	2	4,188	3.46	–	5,369	4.24	126,522	75.92
Jujuy	16	61,173	35.46	6	84,051	48.72	8	877	0.51	–	1,421	0.82	–	24,979	14.48	2	8,852	4.88	181,353	84.32
La Pampa	14	50,753	41.38	6	50,138	40.88	6	1,922	1.57	–	3,294	2.69	–	16,540	13.48	2	5,350	4.18	127,997	89.52
La Rioja	14	35,534	41.04	6	48,073	55.52	8	462	0.53	–	1,588	1.83	–	925	1.08	–	9,285	9.69	95,867	89.31
Mendoza	24	368,484	57.81	15	233,035	36.56	9	6,073	0.95	–	7,233	1.13	–	22,566	3.55	–	11,680	1.80	649,071	86.63
Misiones	18	118,676	49.56	9	114,454	47.79	9	738	0.31	–	3,885	1.62	–	1,717	0.72	–	11,359	4.53	250,829	80.15
Neuquén	14	48,279	45.31	7	23,653	22.20	3	2,114	1.98	–	904	0.85	–	31,594	29.66	4	6,006	5.34	112,550	86.80
Río Negro	14	84,226	53.57	8	62,801	39.94	6	2,868	1.82	–	2,616	1.66	–	4,725	3.01	–	10,447	6.23	167,683	85.84
Salta	18	135,398	44.62	8	137,369	45.27	9	1,340	0.44	–	1,774	0.58	–	27,537	9.08	1	7,677	2.47	311,095	80.07
San Juan	16	98,916	40.23	7	75,368	30.65	5	2,152	0.88	–	2,940	1.20	–	66,505	27.04	4	4,724	1.89	250,605	86.40
San Luis	14	58,723	48.58	8	50,095	41.44	6	549	0.45	–	4,434	3.67	–	7,075	5.86	–	4,138	3.31	125,014	84.99
Santa Cruz	14	19,077	44.01	7	22,324	51.50	7	668	1.54	–	844	1.95	–	437	1.01	–	1,850	4.09	45,200	82.22
Santa Fe	42	719,186	50.21	23	615,007	42.94	19	26,835	1.52	–	20,519	1.43	–	50,672	3.89	–	47,401	3.20	1,479,620	88.28
Santiago del Estero	18	109,012	40.57	8	130,411	48.53	9	1,146	0.43	–	1,106	0.41	–	27,030	10.06	1	8,794	3.17	277,499	69.89
Tierra del Fuego	4	5,410	50.40	2	4,180	38.94	2	406	3.78	–	329	3.07	–	409	3.81	–	3,166	22.78	13,900	90.56
Tucumán	22	203,462	41.55	10	253,522	51.78	12	2,756	0.56	–	3,378	0.69	–	26,539	5.42	–	10,514	2.10	500,171	81.67
Total	600	7,724,559	51.75	317	5,995,402	40.16	259	347,654	2.33	2	177,426	1.19	2	682,471	4.57	20	422,674	2.75	15,350,186	85.61

Chamber of Deputies

Party		Votes	%	Seats 1983–1985	Seats 1983–1987	Total seats
	Radical Civic Union (UCR)	7,104,748	47.97	64	65	129
	Justicialist Party (PJ)	5,697,610	38.47	56	55	111
	Intransigent Party (PI)	411,883	2.78	2	1	3
	Union of the Democratic Centre (UCeDe)	251,541	1.70	1	1	2
	Integration and Development Movement (MID)	223,763	1.51	—	—	—
	Communist Party (PC)	182,296	1.23	—	—	—
	Federal Alliance	169,585	1.14	—	—	—
	Christian Democratic Party (PDC)	139,881	0.94	—	1	1
	Democratic – Socialist Alliance	125,085	0.84	—	—	—
	Autonomist Party of Corrientes (PACo)	67,259	0.45	—	1	1
	Blockist Party (PB)	61,737	0.42	1	1	2
	Movement for Socialism (MAS)	56,193	0.38	—	—	—
	Liberal Party of Corrientes (PLCo)	46,223	0.31	1	—	1
	Neuquén People's Movement (MPN)	36,168	0.24	1	1	2
	Popular Socialist Party (PSP)	35,631	0.24	—	—	—
	Jujuy People's Movement (MPJ)	26,535	0.18	—	1	1
	Three Flags Party	24,923	0.17	—	—	—
	Salta Renewal Party (PARES)	22,453	0.15	—	—	—
	Popular Left Front (FIP)	18,750	0.13	—	—	—
	Federal Vanguard – Christian Democratic Party	17,926	0.12	—	—	—
	Workers' Party (PO)	17,720	0.12	—	—	—
	La Pampa Federalist Movement (MOFEPA)	16,490	0.11	1	—	1
	Catamarca Popular Movement	10,049	0.07	—	—	—
	Renewal Crusade (CR)	7,065	0.05	—	—	—
	Chubut Action Party (PACH)	5,544	0.04	—	—	—
	Popular Alliance	5,377	0.04	—	—	—
	Salta Alliance	4,656	0.03	—	—	—
	Conservative Principist Party	3,728	0.03	—	—	—
	Salta Popular Movement	3,387	0.02	—	—	—
	Chaco Unity Movement	3,254	0.02	—	—	—
	The People's Voice	3,075	0.02	—	—	—
	Socialist Party (PS)	2,573	0.02	—	—	—
	Neighborhood Association - Fueguino Popular Union	1,940	0.01	—	—	—
	Popular Union (UP)	1,490	0.01	—	—	—
	Rionegrino Provincial Party (PPR)	1,453	0.01	—	—	—
	Authentic Socialist Party (PSA)	797	0.01	—	—	—
	Democratic Party of Catamarca	688	0.00	—	—	—
	Renewal Party	587	0.00	—	—	—
	Nationalist Movement	474	0.00	—	—	—
	Provincial Defense – White Flag	415	0.00	—	—	—
	Party for Social Democracy	266	0.00	—	—	—
	Conservative People's Party (PCP)	13	0.00	—	—	—
Total		14,811,231	100	127	127	254
Positive votes		14,811,231	96.49
Blank votes		451,756	2.94
Invalid votes		87,199	0.57
Total votes		15,350,186	100
Registered voters/turnout		17,929,951	85.61
Sources:

Results by province

Province	UCR			PJ			Others
	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
Buenos Aires	2,743,064	49.38	37	2,239,629	40.32	31	571,969	10.30	2
Buenos Aires City	967,275	49.47	14	460,952	23.57	7	527,197	26.96	4
Catamarca	43,008	41.81	2	43,096	41.89	3	16,764	16.30	—
Chaco	151,976	45.96	3	157,302	47.57	4	21,372	6.46	—
Chubut	52,791	47.75	3	44,991	40.69	2	12,784	11.56	—
Córdoba	773,659	55.06	11	549,929	39.14	7	81,524	5.80	—
Corrientes	101,345	31.35	3	82,463	25.51	2	139,470	43.14	2
Entre Ríos	243,652	48.24	5	218,044	43.17	4	43,338	8.58	—
Formosa	44,129	36.55	2	54,280	44.96	3	22,326	18.49	—
Jujuy	56,133	32.70	2	82,737	48.20	3	32,789	19.10	1
La Pampa	48,870	40.00	2	49,133	40.22	2	24,171	19.78	1
La Rioja	35,226	40.75	2	47,416	54.86	3	3,796	4.39	—
Mendoza	351,001	55.26	6	225,488	35.50	4	58,676	9.24	—
Misiones	118,055	49.36	4	113,615	47.50	3	7,514	3.14	—
Neuquén	40,925	39.00	2	22,681	21.61	1	41,326	39.38	2
Río Negro	81,879	52.64	3	60,952	39.18	2	12,721	8.18	—
Salta	126,119	42.03	3	135,236	45.07	4	38,684	12.89	—
San Juan	91,874	37.65	2	73,389	30.07	2	78,782	32.28	2
San Luis	53,926	45.32	3	48,914	41.11	2	16,137	13.56	—
Santa Cruz	18,957	43.70	2	21,865	50.41	3	2,554	5.89	—
Santa Fe	657,272	46.42	10	585,323	41.34	9	173,216	12.23	—
Santiago del Estero	103,225	38.61	3	127,388	47.65	4	36,745	13.74	—
Tierra del Fuego	3,730	35.99	1	3,654	35.26	1	2,979	28.75	—
Tucumán	196,657	40.31	4	249,133	51.07	5	42,039	8.62	—
Total	7,104,748	47.97	129	5,697,610	38.47	111	2,008,873	13.56	14

Senate

Party		Seats 1983-1986	Seats 1983-1989	Seats 1983-1992	Total seats
	Justicialist Party (PJ)	7	7	6	20
	Radical Civic Union (UCR)	6	6	6	18
	Neuquén People's Movement (MPN)	—	1	1	2
	Blockist Party (PB)	1	—	1	2
	Autonomist Party of Corrientes (PACo)	1	—	—	1
	Liberal Party of Corrientes (PLCo)	—	1	—	1
	Integration and Development Movement (MID)	—	1	—	1
	Conservative People's Party (PCP)	—	—	1	1

Results by province

Province	PJ	UCR	MPN	PB	PACo	PLCo	MID	PCP
Buenos Aires	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Buenos Aires City	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Catamarca	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Chaco	1	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
Chubut	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Córdoba	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Corrientes	—	—	—	—	1	1	—	—
Entre Ríos	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Formosa	1	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Jujuy	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
La Pampa	1	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
La Rioja	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Mendoza	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Misiones	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Neuquén	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—
Río Negro	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Salta	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
San Juan	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—
San Luis	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Santa Cruz	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Santa Fe	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Santiago del Estero	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tucumán	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total	20	18	2	2	1	1	1	1

Provincial Governors

Election of Provincial Governors
Elected: 22 provincial governors, 24 legislative bodies Presidential appointment: Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires and Territorial Governor of Tierra del Fuego
Province	Elected	Party		Map
Buenos Aires	Alejandro Armendáriz		Radical Civic Union
Catamarca	Ramón Saadi		Justicialist Party
Chaco	Florencio Tenev		Justicialist Party
Chubut	Atilio Viglione		Radical Civic Union
Córdoba	Eduardo Angeloz		Radical Civic Union
Corrientes	José Antonio Romero Feris		Autonomist Party
Entre Ríos	Sergio Montiel		Radical Civic Union
Formosa	Floro Bogado		Justicialist Party
Jujuy	Carlos Snopek		Justicialist Party
La Pampa	Rubén Marín		Justicialist Party
La Rioja	Carlos Menem		Justicialist Party
Mendoza	Santiago Llaver		Radical Civic Union
Misiones	Ricardo Barrios Arrechea		Radical Civic Union
Neuquén	Felipe Sapag		Neuquén People's Movement
Río Negro	Osvaldo Álvarez Guerrero		Radical Civic Union
Salta	Roberto Romero		Justicialist Party
San Juan	Leopoldo Bravo		Blockist Party
San Luis	Adolfo Rodríguez Saá		Justicialist Party
Santa Cruz	Arturo Puricelli		Justicialist Party
Santa Fe	José María Vernet		Justicialist Party
Santiago del Estero	Carlos Juárez		Justicialist Party
Tucumán	Fernando Riera		Justicialist Party
Buenos Aires City	Julio César Saguier		Radical Civic Union
Tierra del Fuego	Ramón Alberto Trejo Noel		Radical Civic Union

Bibliography

• Burns, Jimmy (1987). The land that lost its heroes: the Falklands, the post-war, and Alfonsín. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7475-0002-9.