1983 Argentine general election

none Argentina Presidential election September 1973 Argentine presidential election September 1973 1989 Argentine general election 1989 30 October 1983 600 members of the Electoral College 301 yes presidential 17,929,951 85.61% Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Alfonsin (cropped).jpg Radical Civic Union Víctor Martínez 7,724,559 51.75% 317 Ítalo Argentino Luder Ítalo Argentino Luder (cropped).jpg Justicialist Party Deolindo Bittel 5,944,402 40.16% 259 President Reynaldo Bignone Military Raúl Alfonsín Radical Civic Union 145px 145px Percentage of votes (left) and electoral votes (right) by province yes yes Chamber of Deputies election March 1973 1985 All 254 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 128 30 October 1983 85.61% yes Radical Civic Union 47.97 129 Justicialist Party 38.47 111 Intransigent Party 2.78 3 Union of the Democratic Centre 1.70 2 Christian Democratic Party 0.94 1 Autonomist Party of Corrientes 0.45 1 Blockist Party of San Juan es Partido Bloquista de San Juan 0.42 2 Liberal Party of Corrientes 0.31 1 Neuquén People's Movement 0.24 2 Jujuy People's Movement es Movimiento Popular Jujeño 0.18 1 Pampa Federalist Movement es Movimiento Federalista Pampeano 0.11 1 Elecciones legislativas de Argentina de 1983 - Resultados por distrito.svg Results by province General elections were held in Argentina on 30 October 1983, marking the return of constitutional rule following the self-styled National Reorganization Process dictatorship installed in 1976.Foweraker Joe 1984 The Argentine elections of 30 October 1983 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/026137948490026X Electoral Studies 3 1 107–112 10.1016/0261-3794(84)90026-X 0261-3794 subscription Voters fully chose the president, governors, mayors, and their respective national, province and town legislators, with a turnout of 85.6%. Background The government of Isabel Perón faced several simultaneous crises in 1976. Guerrillas such as Montoneros and the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP) were out of control and caused hundreds of deaths each month. In turn, the army counter-attacked with undercover agents, the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance. The Rodrigazo caused an annual inflation rate above 600 percent and growing, which, coupled with union unrest, left the national industry in a virtual halt. Congresswoman Cristina Guzmán also accused Perón of stealing funds from a charity, but the Congress refused to proceed with an impeachment. All this led to the 1976 Argentine coup d'état, as most of society perceived the military as the only ones capable of fixing the crises.Burns, pp. 11–12 General Roberto Viola was deposed in 1981 by Leopoldo Galtieri, during a "palace coup", which strengthened the political clout of the Agentine Navy. Opposed by the other military factions and fearing to be deposed in a new coup, Galtieri planned an invasion of the Falkland Islands.Burns, 27 The 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands gave a huge popularity boost to the Junta, but it also caused a bank panic and undermined the attempts of minister Roberto Alemann to decrease inflation and stabilize the economy.Burns, p. 50 This boost turned into a massive decrease after the Argentine surrender in the Falklands War, even more because the local media distorted the events and the surrender came as a complete surprise to the population.Burns, p. 80 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.Todo Argentina: 1982 esSeptember 2025 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).Todo Argentina: 1983 esSeptember 2025 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 its 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 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 Luder, who had served as acting president during Isabel Perón's September 1975 sick leave, for president, and former Chaco Province Governor Deolindo Bittel as his running mate; whereas Luder had authorized repression against the left in 1975, Bittel was a populist renowned for his defense of Habeas Corpus during the subsequent dictatorship.October 2025 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").Página/12: El marketing que acompañó al candidato es Luder, aware of intraparty tensions, limited his campaign ads and rhetoric largely to an evocation of the founder of the Justicialist Party, Juan Perón. Polls gave neither man an edge for the contest, which was scheduled for October 30. A few days before the elections (which had 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.October 2025 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 seven 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 bring forward the inauguration to December 10, 1983. Presidential candidates Radical Civic Union (centrist/social democrat): Former Deputy Raúl Alfonsín of Buenos Aires. Justicialist Party (populist): Former Senator Ítalo Luder 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. Results The Alfonsín–Martínez ticket won the election with 52% of the vote against the 40% of the Luder–Bittel ticket. Alfonsín's 52% vote share would be broken by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's record of 54% in 2011. President Popular vote Electoral vote Raúl Alfonsín Víctor Hipólito Martínez Radical Civic Union 7724559 317 Ítalo Argentino Luder Deolindo Bittel Justicialist Party 5995402 259 Oscar Alende Mirto Lisandro Viale es Intransigent Party 347654 2 Rogelio Julio Frigerio Antonio Salonia es Integration and Development Movement 177426 2 Francisco Manrique Guillermo Belgrano Rawson es Manrique–Rawson 7 Federal Alliance (Argentina) es Alianza Federal Federal Alliance 59045 Democratic Party of Mendoza 17192 Democratic Party of Córdoba es Partido Demócrata de Córdoba 12232 Federal Party 8129 Popular Line Movement es Movimiento Línea Popular 6365 Democratic Party of Entre Ríos 4225 107188 No candidate No candidate Autonomist–Liberal Alliance 104052 6 Álvaro Alsogaray Jorge Salvador Oría Alsogaray–Oría 4 Union of the Democratic Centre 52526 Centre National Confederation 8736 Centre Party 1592 62854 No candidate No candidate Blockist Party of San Juan es Partido Bloquista de San Juan 58038 4 Rafael Martínez Raymonda es René H. Balestra Democratic–SocialistAlliance 4 Democratic–Socialist Alliance 47692 Democratic Progressive Party 2227 Democratic Socialist Party 265 50184 Francisco Eduardo Cerro es Arturo Ponsati es Christian Democratic Party 46544 Luis Zamora Silvia Díaz Movimiento al Socialismo 42500 No candidate No candidate 3 Neuquén People's Movement 30546 4 Three Flags Party 22583 1 Jujuy People's Movement es Movimiento Popular Jujeño 22303 2 Guillermo Estévez Boero Edgardo Rossi Popular Socialist Party 21177 No candidate No candidate 2 Salta Renewal Party 18844 1 Pampa Federalist Movement es Movimiento Federalista Pampeano 15298 2 Jorge Abelardo Ramos es Elisa Margarita Colombo Popular Left Front 14093 Gregorio Flores es Catalina Guagnini es Workers' Party 13067 No candidate No candidate 21 Federal Vanguard es Vanguardia Federal 12373 Renewal Crusade 5539 Catamarca People's Movement 4464 Popular Line Movement es Movimiento Línea Popular 4044 Salta Popular Movement 3197 Salta Alliance 3089 Conservative Principist Party 3000 Chaco Unity Movement 2853 The People's Voice 2735 Chubut Action Party es Partido Acción Chubutense 2640 Popular Alliance 2568 Socialist Party 2289 Río Negro Provincial Party es Partido Provincial Rionegrino 1113 Popular Union 934 Authentic Socialist Party 585 Renewal Party 448 Democratic Party of Catamarca 401 Nationalist Movement 394 Provincial Defence–White Flag es Defensa Provincial - Bandera Blanca 264 Party for Social Democracy 257 Conservative People's Party 13 334946 87728 17929951 DINE,https://recorriendo.elecciones.gob.ar/presidente1983.html#/4/1 Recorriendo las Elecciones de 1983 a 2013 – Presidenciales Dirección Nacional Electoral 2017-09-25 2017-09-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20170925230635/https://recorriendo.elecciones.gob.ar/presidente1983.html#/4/1 dead Ministry of the InteriorElecciones Nacionales ESCRUTINIO DEFINITIVO 1983 https://www.mininterior.gov.ar/asuntos_politicos_y_alectorales/dine/infogral/RESULTADOS%20HISTORICOS/1983.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20181024090913/https://www.mininterior.gov.ar/asuntos_politicos_y_alectorales/dine/infogral/RESULTADOS%20HISTORICOS/1983.pdf 24 October 2018 Ministry of the Interior Results by province Alfonsín/Martínez(UCR) Luder/Bittel(PJ) Alende/Viale(PI) Friegrio/Salonia(MID) Others Blank/Invalid TurnoutProvinceEl.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 87.69Buenos 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 85.78Catamarca 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 81.34Chaco 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 75.90Chubut 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 80.63Córdoba 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 88.35Corrientes 18 112,216 33.84 7 94,105 28.38 5 2,467 0.74 – 11,662 3.52 – 111,117 33.51 6Autonomist – Liberal Alliance 8,232 2.42 339,799 77.26Entre 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 83.70Formosa 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 75.92Jujuy 16 61,173 35.46 6 84,051 48.72 8 877 0.51 – 1,421 0.82 – 24,979 14.48 2Jujuy People's Movement 8,852 4.88 181,353 84.32La Pampa 14 50,753 41.38 6 50,138 40.88 6 1,922 1.57 – 3,294 2.69 – 16,540 13.48 2La Pampa Federalist Movement 5,350 4.18 127,997 89.52La 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 89.31Mendoza 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 86.63Misiones 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 80.15Neuquén 14 48,279 45.31 7 23,653 22.20 3 2,114 1.98 – 904 0.85 – 31,594 29.66 4Neuquén People's Movement 6,006 5.34 112,550 86.80Río 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 85.84Salta 18 135,398 44.62 8 137,369 45.27 9 1,340 0.44 – 1,774 0.58 – 27,537 9.08 1Salta Renewal Party 7,677 2.47 311,095 80.07San Juan 16 98,916 40.23 7 75,368 30.65 5 2,152 0.88 – 2,940 1.20 – 66,505 27.04 4Blockist Party 4,724 1.89 250,605 86.40San 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 84.99Santa 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 82.22Santa 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 88.28Santiago 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 1Three Flags Party 8,794 3.17 277,499 69.89Tierra 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 90.56Tucumán 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 81.67Total 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 File:Elecciones legislativas de Argentina de 1983.svg 1983–1985 1983–1987 Total Radical Civic Union 7104748 64 65 129 Justicialist Party 5697610 56 55 111 Intransigent Party 411883 2 1 3 Union of the Democratic Centre 251541 1 1 2 Integration and Development Movement 223763 0 0 0 Communist Party of Argentina 182296 0 0 0 Federal Alliance (Argentina) es Alianza Federal Federal Alliance 169585 0 0 0 Christian Democratic Party 139881 0 1 1 Democratic–Socialist Alliance 125085 0 0 0 Autonomist Party of Corrientes 67259 0 1 1 Blockist Party of San Juan es Partido Bloquista de San Juan 61737 1 1 2 Movimiento al Socialismo 56193 0 0 0 Liberal Party of Corrientes 46223 1 0 1 Neuquén People's Movement 36168 1 1 2 Popular Socialist Party 35631 0 0 0 Jujuy People's Movement es Movimiento Popular Jujeño 26535 0 1 1 Three Flags Party 24923 0 0 0 Salta Renewal Party 22453 0 0 0 Popular Left Front 18750 0 0 0 Federal Vanguard es Vanguardia Federal–Christian Democratic Party 17926 0 0 0 Workers' Party 17720 0 0 0 Pampa Federalist Movement es Movimiento Federalista Pampeano 16490 1 0 1 Catamarca People's Movement 10049 0 0 0 Renewal Crusade 7065 0 0 0 Chubut Action Party es Partido Acción Chubutense 5544 0 0 0 Popular Alliance 5377 0 0 0 Salta Alliance 4656 0 0 0 Conservative Principist Party 3728 0 0 0 Salta Popular Movement 3387 0 0 0 Chaco Unity Movement 3254 0 0 0 The People's Voice 3075 0 0 0 Socialist Party 2573 0 0 0 Neighborhood Association – Fuegian Popular Union 1940 0 0 0 Popular Union 1490 0 0 0 Río Negro Provincial Party es Partido Provincial Rionegrino 1453 0 0 0 Authentic Socialist Party 797 0 0 0 Democratic Party of Catamarca 688 0 0 0 Renewal Party 587 0 0 0 Nationalist Movement 474 0 0 0 Provincial Defence–White Flag es Defensa Provincial - Bandera Blanca 415 0 0 0 Party for Social Democracy 266 0 0 0 Conservative People's Party 13 0 0 0 451756 87199 17929951 DINE,https://recorriendo.elecciones.gob.ar/diputados1983.html#/ Recorriendo las Elecciones de 1983 a 2013 – Diputados Nacionales Dirección Nacional Electoral https://web.archive.org/web/20220909121511/https://recorriendo.elecciones.gob.ar/diputados1983.html#/ 9 September 2022 Ministry of the Interior Results by province ProvinceUCRPJOthers Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % SeatsBuenos Aires2,743,06449.3837 2,239,629 40.3231 571,969 10.302Buenos Aires City967,27549.4714 460,952 23.577 527,197 26.964Catamarca 43,008 41.81243,09641.893 16,764 16.300Chaco 151,976 45.963157,30247.574 21,372 6.460Chubut52,79147.753 44,991 40.692 12,784 11.560Córdoba773,65955.0611 549,929 39.147 81,524 5.800Corrientes101,34531.353 82,463 25.512 139,470 43.142Entre Ríos243,65248.245 218,044 43.174 43,338 8.580Formosa 44,129 36.55254,28044.963 22,326 18.490Jujuy 56,133 32.70282,73748.203 32,789 19.101La Pampa 48,870 40.00249,13340.222 24,171 19.781La Rioja 35,226 40.75247,41654.863 3,796 4.390Mendoza351,00155.266 225,488 35.504 58,676 9.240Misiones118,05549.364 113,615 47.503 7,514 3.140Neuquén40,92539.002 22,681 21.611 41,326 39.382Río Negro81,87952.643 60,952 39.182 12,721 8.180Salta 126,119 42.033135,23645.074 38,684 12.890San Juan91,87437.652 73,389 30.072 78,782 32.282San Luis53,92645.323 48,914 41.112 16,137 13.560Santa Cruz 18,957 43.70221,86550.413 2,554 5.890Santa Fe657,27246.4210 585,323 41.349 173,216 12.230Santiago del Estero 103,225 38.613127,38847.654 36,745 13.740Tierra del Fuego3,73035.991 3,654 35.261 2,979 28.750Tucumán 196,657 40.314249,13351.075 42,039 8.620 Total 7,104,748 47.97 129 5,697,610 38.47 111 2,008,873 13.56 14 Senate File:Senado Argentina 1983.svg 1983–1986 1983–1989 1983–1992 Total Justicialist Party 7 7 6 20 Radical Civic Union 6 6 6 18 Neuquén People's Movement 0 1 1 2 Blockist Party of San Juan es Partido Bloquista de San Juan 1 0 1 2 Autonomist Party of Corrientes 1 0 0 1 Liberal Party of Corrientes 0 1 0 1 Integration and Development Movement 0 1 0 1 Conservative People's Party 0 0 1 1 Results by province Province PJ UCR MPN PB PACo PLCo MID PCP Buenos Aires 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Buenos Aires City 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Catamarca 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Chaco 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chubut 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Córdoba 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Corrientes 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Entre Ríos 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Formosa 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Jujuy 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 La Pampa 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 La Rioja 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mendoza 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Misiones 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Neuquén 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Río Negro 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Salta 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 San Juan 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 San Luis 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Santa Cruz 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Santiago del Estero 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tucumán 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 20 18 2 2 1 1 1 1 Provincial Governors Election of Provincial GovernorsElected: 22 provincial governors, 24 legislative bodiesPresidential appointment: Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires and Territorial Governor of Tierra del Fuego Province ElectedParty MapBuenos Aires Alejandro Armendáriz Radical Civic Union 300pxCatamarca Ramón Saadi Justicialist PartyChacoFlorencio Tenev Justicialist PartyChubutAtilio Viglione Radical Civic UnionCórdobaEduardo Angeloz Radical Civic UnionCorrientesJosé Antonio Romero Feris Autonomist PartyEntre RíosSergio Montiel Radical Civic UnionFormosa Floro Bogado Justicialist PartyJujuyCarlos Snopek Justicialist PartyLa Pampa Rubén Marín Justicialist PartyLa Rioja Carlos Menem Justicialist PartyMendoza Santiago Llaver Radical Civic UnionMisiones Ricardo Barrios Arrechea Radical Civic UnionNeuquén Felipe Sapag Neuquén People's MovementRío Negro Osvaldo Álvarez Guerrero Radical Civic UnionSalta Roberto Romero Justicialist PartySan JuanLeopoldo Bravo Blockist PartySan Luis Adolfo Rodríguez Saá Justicialist PartySanta Cruz Arturo Puricelli Justicialist PartySanta FeJosé María Vernet Justicialist PartySantiago del Estero Carlos Juárez Justicialist PartyTucumánFernando Riera Justicialist PartyBuenos Aires CityJulio César Saguier Radical Civic UnionTierra del FuegoRamón Alberto Trejo Noel Radical Civic Union References Bibliography Burns Jimmy 1987 The land that lost its heroes: the Falklands, the post-war, and Alfonsín London Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd. 0-7475-0002-9 Category:Presidential elections in Argentina Category:Legislative elections in Argentina Legislative Category:Presidency of Raúl Alfonsín Category:Democratization