Argentine legislative election, 2005
Encyclopedia
Argentina
held national parliamentary elections on Sunday, 23 October 2005. For the purpose of these elections, each of the 23 provinces
and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
are considered electoral districts.
Each district elected a number of members of the Lower House (the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
) roughly proportional to their population. Eight districts (Buenos Aires
, Formosa
, Jujuy
, La Rioja
, Misiones
, San Juan
, San Luis
, and Santa Cruz
) also elected members to the Upper House of Congress (the Argentine Senate
); as usual, three senators were elected (two for the majority, one for the first minority).
In most provinces, the national elections were conducted in parallel with local ones, whereby a number of municipalities elected legislative officials (concejales) and in some cases also a mayor
(or the equivalent executive post). Each provincial election followed local regulations.
A number of districts had held primary election
s beforehand. In most cases, primary elections are optional and can be called for by the local political parties
as needed; in Santa Fe
, however, the primaries were universal and compulsory due to a recent law that repealed the much-criticized Ley de Lemas
. Turnout continued to decline, and reached 70.9 % in these elections.
In some districts, different factions of the Justicialist Party
(PJ) presented candidates separately. In Buenos Aires Province
and the city of Buenos Aires, the main intra-party division of the PJ was between the center-right, traditional Peronist faction led by Hilda González de Duhalde (wife of former governor and interim president Eduardo Duhalde
), and the more center-left "heterodox" faction with candidates that answer to President Néstor Kirchner
. These included his own wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
, and Minister of Foreign Relations, Rafael Bielsa
. In the Province of Buenos Aires, this split was protested by other parties, on the grounds that the PJ (taken as a whole) would most likely win the three senatorial benches available (as it finally occurred).
Kirchner took a prominent role in the campaign for "his" candidates of the Front for Victory
(Frente para la Victoria, FV) in most provinces, explicitly stating that these elections were a referendum
on his administration. Kirchner also campaigned against former President Carlos Menem
, a leading conservative Peronist, in La Rioja Province
, where the latter was ultimately elected to the Senate for the third (minority party) seat. The opening and closing campaign meetings of the FV were both held in Rosario
, a typically progressive city that, since 1987, had been governed successfully by a Socialist
local government. This party changed the traditional electoral paradigm in the Province of Santa Fe, largely displacing Peronism
and the UCR
in that district.
(mainly on the Front for Victory ticket) obtained an overwhelming triumph. Of the 127 deputies elected, the FV won 69 seats (54%); the UCR only got 19. The rest of the Justicialist Party obtained 11 seats; Recrear got 9, the ARI got 8, and the Socialist Party got 5. Only the three most voted in this list have an established national structure; Recrear and the ARI are relatively recent offshoots of the UCR (to the right- and left-wing side of the political spectrum, respectively), and the Socialist Party's five deputies all belong to the province of Santa Fe
, the only district where the PS is strong.
As explained above, eight provinces were also scheduled to renew their senators (the Senate is renewed by thirds every two years). The Front for Victory won 17 of the 24 senatorial seats. The other factions of Peronism got 4 senators. The UCR got the remaining 3 seats. Among the remarkable results were the victory of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Buenos Aires, the largest in the country, beating Hilda González de Duhalde by about 25% of the votes; and the defeat of Carlos Menem in his home district, La Rioja (though he won the first minority seat).
Parties took part in the elections in various alliances and with various labels in the diverse provinces. The table below is based on the results per province listed at Elecciones 2005.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
held national parliamentary elections on Sunday, 23 October 2005. For the purpose of these elections, each of the 23 provinces
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
are considered electoral districts.
Each district elected a number of members of the Lower House (the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
) roughly proportional to their population. Eight districts (Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, Formosa
Formosa Province
Formosa Province is in northeastern Argentina, part of the Gran Chaco Region. Its northeast end touches Asunción, Paraguay, and borders the provinces of Chaco and Salta to its south and west, respectively...
, Jujuy
Jujuy Province
Jujuy is a province of Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is Salta to the east and south.-History:...
, La Rioja
La Rioja Province (Argentina)
La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...
, Misiones
Misiones Province
Misiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamiсa region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.- History :The province was...
, San Juan
San Juan Province (Argentina)
San Juan is a province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja, San Luis and Mendoza. It borders with Chile at the west....
, San Luis
San Luis Province
San Luis is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country . Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan.-History:...
, and Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
Santa Cruz is a province of Argentina, located in the southern part of the country, in Patagonia. It borders Chubut province to the north, and Chile to the west and south. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
) also elected members to the Upper House of Congress (the Argentine Senate
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
); as usual, three senators were elected (two for the majority, one for the first minority).
In most provinces, the national elections were conducted in parallel with local ones, whereby a number of municipalities elected legislative officials (concejales) and in some cases also a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
(or the equivalent executive post). Each provincial election followed local regulations.
A number of districts had held primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
s beforehand. In most cases, primary elections are optional and can be called for by the local political parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
as needed; in Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
, however, the primaries were universal and compulsory due to a recent law that repealed the much-criticized Ley de Lemas
Ley de Lemas
||The ley de lemas is the Spanish name of the double simultaneous voting system which is, or has been, used in elections in Argentina, Uruguay and Honduras...
. Turnout continued to decline, and reached 70.9 % in these elections.
Background
The main parties and coalitions competing in these elections were:- President Kirchner's faction of Peronism, called Frente para la Victoria (FV, "Front for VictoryFront for VictoryThe Front for Victory is a Peronist political party and electoral alliance in Argentina, although it is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Both the former President Néstor Kirchner and the current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner belong to this party, located on the left-wing...
") and its allies. - Other factions of Peronism, under the usual name Partido Justicialista (PJ, "Justicialist PartyJusticialist PartyThe Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
"), often led by their respective provincial party leaders (notably Eduardo DuhaldeEduardo Duhalde-External links:...
in Buenos Aires Province). - Unión Cívica Radical (UCR, "Radical Civic UnionRadical Civic UnionThe Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
"). - Afirmación Para Una República Igualitaria (ARI, "Support for an Egalitarian RepublicSupport for an Egalitarian RepublicCivic Coalition ARI is a social liberal Argentine political party, founded in 2001 by Elisa Carrió. It is a member of the Civic Coalition with centrist and centre-left parties.- Creation and political representation :...
"), led by Elisa CarrióElisa CarrióElisa María Avelina Carrió is an Argentine politician, founder of the party initially known as Alternative for a Republic of Equals , now Civic Coalition ARI ....
. - Recrear para el Crecimiento (Recreate for GrowthRecreate for GrowthRecreate for Growth was a conservative liberal political party in Argentina, that existed from 2002 to 2009.The party was formed in March 2002, mostly by market-oriented members of the Radical Civic Union, headed by Ricardo López Murphy....
, usually shortened to Recrear) and its allies within the Propuesta Republicana (Republican ProposalRepublican ProposalRepublican Proposal is a right-wing political party in Argentina. It is usually referred to as PRO. PRO was formed as an electoral alliance in 2005, but was transformed into a unitary party on 3 June 2010....
, PRO) front. - Partido Socialista (PS, Socialist PartySocialist Party (Argentina)The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in Argentina. The history of socialism in Argentina began in the 1890s, when a group of people, notably Juan B. Justo, expressed the need for a greater social focus....
).
In some districts, different factions of the Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
(PJ) presented candidates separately. In Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
and the city of Buenos Aires, the main intra-party division of the PJ was between the center-right, traditional Peronist faction led by Hilda González de Duhalde (wife of former governor and interim president Eduardo Duhalde
Eduardo Duhalde
-External links:...
), and the more center-left "heterodox" faction with candidates that answer to President Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
. These included his own wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
, and Minister of Foreign Relations, Rafael Bielsa
Rafael Bielsa
Rafael Antonio Bielsa Caldera is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician from Rosario, province of Santa Fe. He is the brother of former Argentina national football team coach Marcelo Bielsa; both are well-known Newell's Old Boys supporters...
. In the Province of Buenos Aires, this split was protested by other parties, on the grounds that the PJ (taken as a whole) would most likely win the three senatorial benches available (as it finally occurred).
Kirchner took a prominent role in the campaign for "his" candidates of the Front for Victory
Front for Victory
The Front for Victory is a Peronist political party and electoral alliance in Argentina, although it is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Both the former President Néstor Kirchner and the current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner belong to this party, located on the left-wing...
(Frente para la Victoria, FV) in most provinces, explicitly stating that these elections were a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on his administration. Kirchner also campaigned against former President Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
, a leading conservative Peronist, in La Rioja Province
La Rioja Province (Argentina)
La Rioja is a one of the provinces of Argentina and is located in the west of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Catamarca, Córdoba, San Luis and San Juan.-History:...
, where the latter was ultimately elected to the Senate for the third (minority party) seat. The opening and closing campaign meetings of the FV were both held in Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, a typically progressive city that, since 1987, had been governed successfully by a Socialist
Socialist Party (Argentina)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in Argentina. The history of socialism in Argentina began in the 1890s, when a group of people, notably Juan B. Justo, expressed the need for a greater social focus....
local government. This party changed the traditional electoral paradigm in the Province of Santa Fe, largely displacing Peronism
Peronism
Peronism , or Justicialism , is an Argentine political movement based on the programmes associated with former President Juan Perón and his second wife, Eva Perón...
and the UCR
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
in that district.
Results
Bouyed by a strong recovery in the Argentine economy, candidates endorsed by KirchnerKirchnerism
Kirchnerism is a term used to refer to the political philosophy and supporters of Néstor Kirchner, president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, and of his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President from 2007...
(mainly on the Front for Victory ticket) obtained an overwhelming triumph. Of the 127 deputies elected, the FV won 69 seats (54%); the UCR only got 19. The rest of the Justicialist Party obtained 11 seats; Recrear got 9, the ARI got 8, and the Socialist Party got 5. Only the three most voted in this list have an established national structure; Recrear and the ARI are relatively recent offshoots of the UCR (to the right- and left-wing side of the political spectrum, respectively), and the Socialist Party's five deputies all belong to the province of Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
, the only district where the PS is strong.
As explained above, eight provinces were also scheduled to renew their senators (the Senate is renewed by thirds every two years). The Front for Victory won 17 of the 24 senatorial seats. The other factions of Peronism got 4 senators. The UCR got the remaining 3 seats. Among the remarkable results were the victory of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Buenos Aires, the largest in the country, beating Hilda González de Duhalde by about 25% of the votes; and the defeat of Carlos Menem in his home district, La Rioja (though he won the first minority seat).
Parties took part in the elections in various alliances and with various labels in the diverse provinces. The table below is based on the results per province listed at Elecciones 2005.
In the news
- CNN (Link dead as of 03:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- Miami Herald (Link dead as of 03:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- Boston Globe (Link dead as of 03:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- Pravda (English edition)
- AFP (via Yahoo! News) (Link dead as of 03:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC))
- Financial Times
- From the Line of sight weblog: Pick your poison, And the winner is... (and follow ups).
- From the GoodAirs weblog: The Argentine Elections and "Clientelismo"