José Tamborini was an Argentine physician and historically significant politician.

Life and times

José Pascual Tamborini was born in 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...

, in 1886. He enrolled at the public college preparatory school, the National College of Buenos Aires

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the tradition of the European gymnasium it provides a free education that includes classical languages such as Latin and Greek. The school is one of the most prestigious in Argentina...

 and by 1900, became affiliated with the Radical Civic Union

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...

 (UCR) - then the nation's leading advocacy group

Advocacy group

Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...

 for universal male suffrage. He then headed the school's UCR chapter and published its newsletter.

Tamborini received a medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires

University of Buenos Aires

The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...

 and by 1912, headed that city's UCR committee. That year, free and fair elections guaranteed by the landmark Sáenz Peña Law

Sáenz Peña Law

The Sáenz Peña Law was Law 8871 of Argentina, sanctioned by the National Congress on 10 February 1912, which established the universal, secret and mandatory male suffrage though the creation of an electoral list...

 led to the victory of numerous UCR candidates for the Argentine Congress, including Tamborini. Following the election to the presidency of longtime UCR leader Hipólito Yrigoyen

Hipólito Yrigoyen

Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Irigoyen Alem was twice President of Argentina . His activism became the prime impetus behind the obtainment of universal suffrage in Argentina in 1912...

 in 1916, however, Tamborini aligned himself against what a faction in the UCR viewed as the president's growing personality cult. This opposition was fueled by Yrigoyen's numerous removals of provincial governors, for instance, and soon became known as "anti-personalism."

The election of a diplomat with anti-personalist sympathies, Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear

Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear

Máximo Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear Pacheco , better known as Marcelo T. de Alvear was an Argentine politician and President of Argentina from October 12, 1922 to October 12, 1928.-Biography:...

, as president in 1922 led to a division in the UCR. Congressman Tamborini joined Senate President Leopoldo Melo

Leopoldo Melo

Leopoldo Melo was an Argentine lawyer, diplomat and politician. He was a leading figure in the Radical Civic Union, a nominee for President, and later Minister of Internal Affairs.-Biography:...

 and others in the formation of the Antipersonalist UCR in 1924. President Alvear named Tamborini Interior Minister (overseeing law enforcement), in 1925. The aging Yrigoyen returned to power in 1928, deeping inter-party divisions; but his 1930 overthrow helped unify the UCR, and Tamborini joined the City Hotel Declaration of April 1931 to that effect.

Seeking to thwart a UCR victory ahead of the 1931 elections

Argentine presidential election, 1931

The Argentine presidential election of 1931 was held on 8 November. With a turnout of 73.4%, it produced the following official results: aAbstentions.-Argentine Chamber of Deputies:-Argentine Senate:-Background:...

, the dictator, General José Félix Uriburu

José Félix Uriburu

General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu was the first de facto President of Argentina, achieved through a military coup, from September 6, 1930 to February 20, 1932.-Biography:...

 jailed much of its leadership - including Alvear and Tamborini. Freed after the election (which the UCR boycotted), Tamborini was returned to Congress in 1934 and stood for the UCR nomination in 1937

Argentine presidential election, 1937

The Argentine presidential election of 1937 was held on 5 September. With a turnout of 76.2%, it produced the following official results: aAbstentions.-Background:...

; but he was defeated by Alvear. Elected Senator in 1940, he became the dominant figure in the UCR following Alvear's death in 1942.

A coup d'état

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 in 1943 led to rise of the populist new Labor Minister, Col. Juan Perón

Juan Perón

Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...

. Forcing the junta to call elections for early 1946

Argentine general election, 1946

The Argentine general election of 1946, the last for which only men were enfranchised, was held on 24 February. Voters chose both the President and their legislators and with a turnout of 83.4%, it produced the following results:-President:aAbstentions....

, Perón's populism and anti-U.S. sentiment rallied an unusually diverse opposition against him. Tamborini led the majority of the UCR, the reformist Democratic Progressive Party

Democratic Progressive Party (Argentina)

The Democratic Progressive Party is a provincial political party in Santa Fe, Argentina. It was founded by Lisandro de la Torre at the Savoy Hotel in Buenos Aires on December 14, 1914. One of its founders was the academic Dr...

, Socialists, Communists

Communist Party of Argentina

The Communist Party of Argentina is a communist party from Argentina. It was founded in 1918.At the 2005 legislative elections, the Party joined the Encuentro Amplio with other left-wing parties in Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province...

 and the conservative National Democrats (part of the Concordance that kept the UCR from power by "patriotic fraud

Infamous Decade

The Infamous Decade in Argentina is the name given to the period of time that started in 1930 with the coup d'état against President Hipólito Yrigoyen by José Félix Uriburu...

" in the 1930s) into a Democratic Union. Joined by interests in the financial sector and the chamber of commerce, the alliance also enjoyed the support of U.S. Ambassador Spruille Braden

Spruille Braden

Spruille Braden was an American diplomat, businessman, lobbyist, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as the ambassador of various Latin American countries, and as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs...

, and was united solely by the goal of keeping Perón from the Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada

La Casa Rosada is the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina, and of the offices of the President. The President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is pink, and is considered one of the most...

. Organizing a massive kick-off rally in front of Congress on December 8, the Democratic Union nominated Tamborini and his fellow political prisoner in 1931: former Congressman Enrique Mosca

Enrique Mosca

Enrique Mosca was an Argentine lawyer and politician prominent in the centrist UCR.-Life and times:Enrique Mosca was born in Santa Fe, in 1880...

. The alliance, however, failed to win over several prominent lawmakers opposed the Union's ties to conservative interests. Ambassador Braden's leak of a white paper

White paper

A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...

 accusing Perón of fascist ties and his addressing Democratic Union rallies in person backfired, moreover. Perón seized on this to make the election a choice between "Perón or Braden," while prevailing on President Edelmiro Farrell to enact his populist agenda and dismissing Tamborini and Mosca as "the tambourine and the fly." The Democratic Union was defeated by 11%.

Tamborini was unable to return to prominence following his break with less conservative UCR figures during that election. He ran once again for his party's nomination in 1951

Argentine general election, 1951

The Argentine general election of 1951, the first to have enfranchised women at the national level, was held on 11 November. Voters chose both the President and their legislators and with a turnout of 88.0%, it produced the following results:-President:...

; but he lost to Congressman Ricardo Balbín

Ricardo Balbín

Ricardo Balbín was an Argentine lawyer and politician, and one of the most important figures of the centrist Radical Civic Union , for which he was the presidential nominee four times: in 1951, 1958, and twice in 1973....

. President Perón was overwhelmingly reelected, though on September 19, 1955, he was violently overthrown. The ailing Dr. Tamborini died a week later, at age 69.