Sáenz Peña Law
The Sáenz Peña Law (
The
Origin
Sáenz Peña made his intentions about the voting system public during his first speech before the National Congress, in 1910. Interior Minister Indalecio Gómez proposed a reform that left the compilation of the electoral list in the hands of the War Ministry (males over 18 were recorded when called for
Consequences
The conservatives, who had stayed in power for decades through dubious and fraudulent elections, could not consolidate a political party without popular support. Hipólito Yrigoyen, the candidate of the Radical Civic Union (Unión Cívica Radical, UCR), won the first presidential elections after the new law by a considerable distance, and the UCR became the most powerful political force.
As a consequence of the law, all political parties had to reorganize themselves, revising their regulations, creating electoral platforms, opening local seats and periodically gathering in assemblies.
References
- ^ Tercer Censo Nacional, Tomo I, Antecedentes y comentarios (Buenos Aires: Talleres Gráficos de L.J. Rosso y Cía, 1916), 202.
- ^ Tercer censo nacional, tomo I, antecedentes y comentarios (Buenos Aires: Talleres gráficos de L.J. Rosso y Cía, 1916), 205–206.
- ISBN 9789505187089.
- (in Spanish) Sucesos Históricos Argentinos.