March 1973 Argentine general election

March 1973 Argentine general election
	Presidential election
11 March 1973
	Results by province
President before election; Alejandro Lanusse;	Elected President ; Héctor Cámpora; Justicialist Party
	Chamber of Deputies election
11 March 1973
	All 243 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
Turnout	85.61%
	Senate election
11 March 1973 (first round); 15 April 1973 (second round)
	All 69 seats in the Senate
Turnout	85.55%
	Chamber of Deputies results by province

General elections were held in Argentina on 11 March 1973, with a second round of elections for the Senate on 15 April. Voters chose both the President and their legislators.

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 Perón in 1955, did well. 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, Jorge Abelardo Ramos of the Popular Leftist Front (FIP), 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 Conservative 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 49.53%. Realizing that the FREJULI was less than 0.5% short of the agreed threshold, plus having a 28% margin over the runners-up (the UCR), the seasoned Balbín petitioned 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."^[1]

Candidates

Justicialist Liberation Front (populist): Former Deputy Héctor Cámpora of Buenos Aires Province
Radical Civic Union (centrist): Former Deputy Ricardo Balbín of Buenos Aires Province
Federalist Popular Alliance (conservative): Former Minister of Social Policy Francisco Manrique of Mendoza Province
Popular Revolutionary Alliance (social democratic): Former Governor Oscar Alende of Buenos Aires Province

Cámpora
Balbín
Manrique
Alende

Results

President


Candidate		Running mate	Party	Votes	%
	Héctor José Cámpora	Vicente Solano Lima	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]	5,899,642	49.53
	Ricardo Balbín	Eduardo Gamond [es]	Radical Civic Union	2,535,581	21.29
	Francisco Manrique	Rafael Martínez Raymonda [es]	Federalist Popular Alliance [es]	1,775,767	14.91
	Oscar Alende	Horacio Sueldo [es]	Popular Revolutionary Alliance [es]	885,274	7.43
	Ezequiel Alfredo Martínez [es]	Leopoldo Bravo	Federal Republican Alliance [es]	347,262	2.92
	Julio Chamizo [es]	Raúl Ondarts	New Force [es]	235,188	1.97
	Américo Ghioldi	René Balestra	Democratic Socialist Party	109,068	0.92
	Juan Carlos Coral	Nora Ciapponi	Workers' Socialist Party	73,799	0.62
	Jorge Abelardo Ramos [es]	José Silvetti	Popular Left Front	48,571	0.41
Total				11,910,152	100.00

Valid votes				11,910,152	97.82
Invalid votes				51,284	0.42
Blank votes				214,575	1.76
Total votes				12,176,011	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				14,276,977	85.28
Source: General Archive of the Nation,^[2] National Congress^[3]

Chamber of Deputies



Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats
	Justcialist Liberation Front [es]		Justicialist Liberation Front [es]	4,589,247	38.63	102
			Integration and Development Movement	670,183	5.64	15
			Justicialist Party	574,905	4.84	28
			Renewal Crusade	27,706	0.23	1
			United People's Front	18,113	0.15	0
			Christian Popular Party	4,093	0.03	0
			17 de Octubre	7,050	0.06	0
			Three Flags Party	23	0.00	0
		Total		5,891,320	49.60	146
	Radical Civic Union			2,427,130	20.43	51
	FederalistPopularAlliance [es]		Federalist Popular Alliance [es]	701,908	5.91	11
			Federalist Popular Confederation	180,164	1.52	3
			Democratic Progressive Party	144,078	1.21	0
			Popular Union	97,981	0.82	0
			Federal Renewal Party	96,971	0.82	0
			Federalist Party	85,398	0.72	0
			Federal Vanguard [es]	70,706	0.60	2
			Jujuy People's Movement [es]	32,376	0.27	1
			Pampa Federalist Movement [es]	32,186	0.27	2
			Catamarca People's Movement	16,561	0.14	1
			UP–APF [es]	16,213	0.14	0
			Provincial Defence–White Flag [es]	12,219	0.10	0
			Federal Movement	11,625	0.10	0
			Provincial Union	11,432	0.10	0
			Liberal Democratic Party [es]	8,421	0.07	0
			Federal Democratic Party	4,675	0.04	0
			Popular Democratic Party	2,679	0.02	0
			Renewal Action	2,664	0.02	0
		Total		1,528,257	12.87	20
	PopularRevolutionaryAlliance [es]		Popular Revolutionary Alliance [es]	796,625	6.71	12
			Christian Revolutionary Party	25,359	0.21	0
			Intransigent Party	4,603	0.04	0
		Total		826,587	6.96	12
	FederalRepublicanAlliance [es]		Democratic Party	133,598	1.12	2
			Federal Republican Alliance [es]	44,437	0.37	0
			Autonomist–Liberal Pact	93,958	0.79	3
			Blockist Party [es]	70,801	0.60	3
			Río Negro Provincial Party [es]	19,555	0.16	1
			Provincial People's Movement	14,410	0.12	1
			Popular Federalist Party	12,231	0.10	0
			Civic Combatant Crusade	8,055	0.07	0
			Workers' White Party	3,296	0.03	0
			Conservative Democratic Party	857	0.01	0
		Total		401,198	3.38	10
	New Force (Argentina) [es]		New Force [es]	318,919	2.68	0
			Republican Party	4,210	0.04	0
		Total		323,129	2.72	0
	Democratic Socialist Party			209,599	1.76	0
	Workers' Socialist Party			103,481	0.87	0
	Popular Left Front			54,885	0.46	0
	Salta People's Movement			30,891	0.26	1
	Neuquén People's Movement			28,898	0.24	2
	Labor Party			13,611	0.11	0
	Chubut Action Party [es]			11,976	0.10	1
	United People's Movement			6,782	0.06	0
	Socialist Party			4,711	0.04	0
	Tucumán People's Movement			4,413	0.04	0
	Popular Socialist Party			4,016	0.03	0
	Republican Union			3,177	0.03	0
	Liberation Front			2,368	0.02	0
	Labor Defenders			1,344	0.01	0
	Nationalist Movement			753	0.01	0
	Fuegian Popular Union			163	0.00	0
Total				11,878,689	100.00	243

Valid votes				11,878,689	97.07
Invalid votes				46,748	0.38
Blank votes				311,382	2.54
Total votes				12,236,819	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				14,293,548	85.61
Source: General Archive of the Nation,^[2] National Congress^[3]

Senate



Party or alliance				First round			Second round			Total seats
Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total seats
	Justcialist Liberation Front [es]		Justicialist Liberation Front [es]			11			21	32
			Integration and Development Movement			0			3	3
			Justicialist Party			6			4	10
			Renewal Crusade			0			0	0
		Total				17			28	45
	Radical Civic Union					4			8	12
	FederalistPopularAlliance [es]		Federalist Popular Alliance [es]			0			1	1
			Democratic Progressive Party			0			0	0
			Popular Union			0			0	0
			Federal Vanguard [es]			1			0	1
			Jujuy People's Movement [es]			1			0	1
			Pampa Federalist Movement [es]			0			1	1
			Catamarca People's Movement			1			0	1
		Total				3			2	5
	Popular Revolutionary Alliance [es]					0			0	0
	FederalRepublicanAlliance [es]		Federal Republican Alliance [es]			0			0	0
			Democratic Party of Mendoza			0			1	1
			Autonomist–Liberal Pact			0			1	1
			Blockist Party [es]			0			1	1
			Río Negro Provincial Party [es]			0			0	0
			Provincial Popular Movement			0			1	1
		Total				0			4	4
	Salta People's Movement					1			0	1
	Neuquén People's Movement					2			0	2
	Chubut Action Party [es]					0			0	0
Total						27			42	69

Provincial governors

Election of Provincial Governors
Elected: 22 provincial governors
Province	Elected	Party	Map
Buenos Aires	Oscar Bidegain	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Catamarca	Hugo Alberto Mott	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Chaco	Deolindo Bittel	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Chubut	Benito Fernández	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Córdoba	Ricardo Obregón Cano	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Corrientes	Julio Romero	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Entre Ríos	Enrique Tomás Cresto	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Formosa	Antenor Argentino Gauna	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Jujuy	Carlos Snopek	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
La Pampa	Aquiles José Regazzoli	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
La Rioja	Carlos Menem	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Mendoza	Alberto Martínez Baca	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Misiones	Juan Manuel Irrazábal	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Neuquén	Felipe Sapag	Neuquén People's Movement
Río Negro	Mario José Franco	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Salta	Miguel Ragone	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
San Juan	Eloy Camus	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
San Luis	Elías Adre	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Santa Cruz	Jorge Cepernic	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Santa Fe	Carlos Sylvestre Begnis	Integration and Development Movement
Santiago del Estero	Carlos Juárez	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]
Tucumán	Amado Juri	Justicialist Liberation Front [es]

References

^ Clarín. 11 March 1993.
^ a b Elecciones Nacionales: Presidenciales y Legislativas 1973 Elecciones Provinciales: Gobernadores y Legislativas 1973 Autoridades Municipales 1973. General Archive of the Nation.
^ a b Elecciones (PDF). Estudios e Investigaciones Nº7. Vol. I. Dirección de Información Parlamentaria del Congreso de la Nación. April 1993. p. 227-229. ISBN 950-685-009-7.

[1] Clarín. 11 March 1993.

[agn-2] Elecciones Nacionales: Presidenciales y Legislativas 1973 Elecciones Provinciales: Gobernadores y Legislativas 1973 Autoridades Municipales 1973. General Archive of the Nation.

[hcdn-3] Elecciones (PDF). Estudios e Investigaciones Nº7. Vol. I. Dirección de Información Parlamentaria del Congreso de la Nación. April 1993. p. 227-229. ISBN 950-685-009-7.