1983 Argentine general election

Argentine general election, 1983

October 30, 1983
600 members of the Electoral College 301 votes needed to win
Registered	17,929,951
Turnout	85.61%
File:Alfonsin.jpg Nominee Raúl Alfonsín Ítalo Lúder Party Radical Civic Union Justicialist Party Home state Buenos Aires Santa Fe Running mate Víctor Martínez Deolindo Bittel Electoral vote 336 259 States carried 15 + CABA 8 Popular vote 7,724,559 5,944,402 Percentage 51.75% 40.16%
Most voted party by province.
President before election Reynaldo Bignone none (de facto regime) Elected President Raúl Alfonsín Radical Civic Union

The Argentine general election of 1983 was held on 30 October 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

Few believed, as morning headlines on March 24, 1976, announced a military coup d'état against President Isabel Perón, that most of the problems of financial instability, inflation, endemic corruption, international isolation and violence that typified her last year in office would be worsened by the self-appointed National Reorganization Process. 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interest rates imposed by the Central Bank Circular 1050, Bignone's new president of the institution, Domingo Cavallo, rescinded the policy in July, a move towards economic liberalization complemented by Bignone's restoring a limited right of assembly and free speech.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; amid popular jeers of "Anaya canalla" (Anaya the fiend), 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 15-30,000 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.

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 violent left in 1975, Bittel was a populist renowned for his defense of Habeas Corpus during the subsequent dictatorship.

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. The elections themselves, which allowed Alfonsín to persuade Bignone to advance the inaugural to December 10, 1983, became, in playwright Carlos Gorostiza's words, "more than a democratic way out, a way into life."

Candidates for President

• Radical Civic Union: Former Deputy Raúl Alfonsín of Buenos Aires
• Justicialist Party: Former Senator Ítalo Lúder of Santa Fe
• Intransigent Party: Former Governor Oscar Alende of Buenos Aires
• Integration and Development Movement: Economist Rogelio Julio Frigerio of Buenos Aires

• 
  Alfonsín
• 
  Alende
• 
  Frigerio

Results

President

Presidential Candidate – Vice Presidential Candidate	Party	Popular Vote	Percentage	Electoral Vote
Raúl Alfonsín Víctor Hipólito Martínez	Radical Civic Union	7,724,559	51.75	317
Ítalo Lúder Deolindo Bittel	Justicialist Party	5,995,402	40.16	259
Oscar Alende Mirto Lisandro Viale	Intransigent Party	347,654	2.33	2
Rogelio Julio Frigerio Antonio Salonia	Integration and Development Movement	177,426	1.19	2
Francisco Manrique Guillermo Belgrano Rawson	Alianza Federal Fuerza Federalista Popular Movimiento Línea Popular Federal	104,114	0.70
Álvaro Alsogaray Jorge Oría	Union of the Democratic Centre	60,271	0.40
Rafael Martínez Raymonda René Balestra	Alianza Demócrata Socialista Democratic Progressive Party Democratic Socialist Party	48,258	0.32
Francisco Cerro Arturo Ponsati	Christian Democratic Party	46,544	0.31
Luis Zamora Silvia Díaz	Movement for Socialism	42,500	0.28
Guillermo Estévez Boero Edgardo Rossi	Popular Socialist Party	21,011	0.14
Jorge Abelardo Ramos Elisa Colombo	Frente de Izquierda Popular	14,259	0.10
Gregorio Flores Catalina Guagnini	Workers' Party	13,067	0.09
Political parties without candidates
Pacto Autonomista Liberal		104.052	0.70	6
Bloquista		58,038	0.39	4
Neuquén People's Movement		30,546	0.20	4
Movimiento Popular Jujeño		22,303	0.15	2
Movimiento Federalista Pampeano		15,298	0.10	2
Tres Banderas		22,583	0.15	1
Salta Renewal Party		18,844	0.13	1
Vanguardia Federal		12,373	0.08
Cruzada Renovadora		5,539	0.04
Movimiento Popular Catamarqueño		4,464	0.03
Línea Popular		4,044	0.03
Movimiento Popular Salteño		3,197	0.02
Alianza Salteña		3,089	0.02
Movimiento Línea Popular		3,074	0.02
Conservador Principista		3,000	0.02
Movimiento de Unidada Chaqueña		2,853	0.02
La Voz del Pueblo		2,753	0.02
Acción Chubutense		2,640	0.02
Alianza Popular		2,568	0.02
Socialist		2,289	0.02
Democratic Progressive		1,926	0.01
Del Centro		1,592	0.01
Provincial Rionegrino		1,113	0.01
Confederación Nacional de Centro		991	0.01
Unión Popular		934	0.01
Authentic Socialist		585	0.00
Renovador de la Provincia		448	0.00
Democráta de Catamarca		401	0.00
Movimiento Nacionalista		394	0.00
Defensa Provincial		264	0.00
Para la Democracia Social		257	0.00
Conservador Popular		13	0.00
Total		14,927,512	100	600
Positive votes		14,927,512	97.25
Blank votes		334,946	2.18
Invalid votes		87,728	0.57
Total voters		15,350,186	100	600
Registered voters / Turnout		17,929,951	85.61
Source: Dirección Nacional Electoral - Recorriendo las Elecciones de 1983 a 2013

Results by province

Provinces won by Raúl Alfonsín/Víctor Martínez

Provinces won by Ítalo Lúder/Deolindo Bittel

Provinces tied between Raúl Alfonsín/Víctor Martínez and Ítalo Lúder/Deolindo Bittel

		Alfonsín/Martínez UCR			Lúder/Bittel PJ			Others Full list			Blank/Invalid		Total	Registered	Turnout
Province	Electors	#	%	Electoral votes	#	%	Electoral votes	#	%	Electoral votes	#	%
Buenos Aires	144	2,878,858	51.41	79	2,364,585	42.23	65	356,099	6.36	–	159,673	2.77	5,759,215	6,567,389	87.69
Buenos Aires City	54	1,269,352	64.26	37	540,389	27.36	15	165,516	8.38	2 Alende-Viale (Intransigent)	33,422	1.67	2,008,679	2,341,791	85.78
Catamarca	14	48,595	46.79	7	45,329	43.65	7	9,933	9.57	–	3,762	3.50	107,619	132,308	81.34
Chaco	18	153,971	46.55	9	158,721	47.98	9	18,088	5.47	–	10,656	3.12	341,436	449,824	75.90
Chubut	14	56,912	50.85	8	46,400	41.46	6	8,600	7.70	–	5,167	4.41	117,079	145,205	80.63
Córdoba	40	791,470	56.22	23	561,954	39.92	17	54,412	3.87	–	33,381	2.32	1,441,217	1,631,287	88.35
Corrientes	18	112,216	33.84	7	94,105	28.38	5	125,246	37.76	6 Pacto Autonomista Liberal	8,232	2.42	339,799	439,798	77.26
Entre Ríos	22	251,811	49.53	12	224,778	44.21	10	31,808	6.25	–	11,769	2.26	520,166	621,499	83.70
Formosa	14	45,065	37.20	5	54,660	45.12	7	21,428	17.69	2 Frigerio-Salonia (MID)	5,369	4.24	126,522	166,651	75.92
Jujuy	16	61,173	35.46	6	84,051	48.72	8	27,277	15.81	2 Popular Jujeño	8,852	4.88	181,353	215,074	84.32
La Pampa	14	50,753	41.38	6	50,138	40.88	6	21,756	17.74	2 Federalista Pampeano	5,350	4.18	127,997	142,988	89.52
La Rioja	14	35,534	41.04	6	48,073	55.52	8	2,975	3.44	–	9,285	9.68	95,867	107,344	89.31
Mendoza	24	368,484	57.81	15	233,035	36.56	9	35,872	5.62	–	11,680	1.80	649,071	749,248	86.63
Misiones	18	118,676	49.56	9	114,454	47.79	9	6,340	2.64	–	11,359	4.53	250,829	312,945	80.15
Neuquén	14	48,279	45.31	7	23,653	22.20	3	34,612	32.48	4 MPN	6,006	5.33	112,550	129,662	86.80
Río Negro	14	84,226	53.57	8	62,801	39.94	6	10,209	6.48	–	10,447	6.23	167,683	195,344	85.84
Salta	18	135,398	44.62	8	137,369	45.27	9	30,651	10.10	1 Salta Renewal Party	7,677	2.46	311,095	388,537	80.07
San Juan	16	98,916	40.23	7	75,368	30.65	5	71,597	29.12	4 Bloquista	4,724	1.89	250,605	290,040	86.40
San Luis	14	58,723	48.58	8	50,095	41.44	6	12,058	9.98	–	4,138	3.31	125,014	147,100	84.99
Santa Cruz	14	19,077	44.01	7	22,324	51.50	7	1,949	4.50	–	1,850	4.09	45,200	54,974	82.22
Santa Fe	42	719,186	50.21	23	615,007	42.94	19	98,026	6.84	–	47,401	3.20	1,479,620	1,676,080	88.28
Santiago del Estero	18	109,012	40.57	8	130,411	48.53	9	29,282	10.90	1 Tres Banderas	8,794	3.17	277,499	397,068	69.89
Tierra del Fuego	4	5,410	50.40	2	4,180	38.94	2	1,144	10.66	–	3,166	22.78	13,900	15,349	90.56
Tucumán	22	203,462	41.55	10	253,522	51.78	12	32673	6.68	–	10,514	2.11	500,171	612,446	81.67
Totals	600	7,724,559	51.75	317	5,995,402	40.16	259	1,207,551	5.34	24	422,674	2.75	15,350,186	17,929,951	85.61

Argentine Congress

Party/Electoral Alliance	Lower House Seats	% of votes	Senate
UCR	129	48.0%	18
Justicialist Party	111	38.5%	20
Intransigent Party	3	2.8%
UCeDé	2	1.2%
Autonomist-Liberal Pact (Corrientes Province)	2	0.8%	2
People's Movement (Neuquén Province)	2	0.2%	2
Bloc (San Juan Province)	2	0.4%	2
Christian Democratic	1	1.0%
Others	2	7.1%	2
Invalid votes		3.5%
Total	254	100.0%	46

Electoral system: Proportional representation by districts according to the D'Hondt method. Seats are divided among those lists of candidates from parties or electoral alliances that obtain at least 3% of the electoral census or working electoral of the district.