1946 Argentine general election

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1946 Argentine general election
Flag of Argentina.svg
Presidential election
  1937 24 February 1946 1951  

376 members of the Electoral College
189 votes needed to win
Registered3,477,169
Turnout81.21%
  Juan Peron 1946.jpg Jose Tamborini.jpg
Candidate Juan Domingo Perón José Tamborini
Party Labour Party Radical Civic Union
Alliance Radical Civic Union Renewal Board  [ es ], Independent Party Democratic Union
Running mate Hortensio Quijano Enrique Mosca
Electoral vote30472
States carried10 + CF 4
Popular vote1,485,4681,262,630
Percentage53.71%45.65%

Elecciones presidenciales de Argentina de 1946.png Resultados de las Elecciones presidenciales de Argentina de 1946 (por departamento).svg
Most voted party by province (left) and department (right).

President of Argentina before election

Edelmiro Julián Farrell

Elected President

Juan Perón
Labour Party

Legislative election
  1942 24 February 1946 1948  

158 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
80 seats needed for a majority
Turnout82.25%
PartyVote %Seats
Labour Party 51.19%109
Radical Civic Union 27.23%44
National Democratic Party 7.643
Democratic Progressive Party 2.551
Blockist Radical Civic Union  [ es ]0.491
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Elecciones legislativas de Argentina de 1946 - Resultados por distrito.svg
Results by province
President of the Chamber of Deputies after
Ricardo Guardo
UCR-JR  [ es ]

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.

Contents

Background

Conservative rule, maintained through electoral fraud despite a moderate record, was brought to an end in a June 1943 coup d'état. Barking "orders of the day" every morning on the radio, the new regime enjoyed little approval. The devastating 1944 San Juan earthquake presented an opportunity to regain lost goodwill and the regime moved quickly, involving the private sector through nationwide fund-raising, entrusted to the Labor Minister, Juan Perón. Perón enlisted celebrities for the effort, among which was a radio matinee star of middling talent, Eva Duarte, who introduced herself to the Labor Minister by remarking that "nothing's missing, except a touch of Atkinson's". The effort's success and the rise of his ally, Edelmiro Farrell, within the junta, led to Perón's appointment as vice-president, which he leveraged in support of Argentina's struggling labor unions, particularly the CGT.

Supporters of the Democratic Union gather on May Avenue in Buenos Aires. This 1945 alliance of conservatives and leftists was tenuously united only by its opposition to Peron. Marcha de la Constitucion 19-sep-1945.jpg
Supporters of the Democratic Union gather on May Avenue in Buenos Aires. This 1945 alliance of conservatives and leftists was tenuously united only by its opposition to Perón.

Perón's sudden clout led to growing rivalry among his junta colleagues, who had him arrested on October 9, a surprise move outdone by CGT leaders like retail workers' leader Ángel Borlenghi, the slaughterhouses' Cipriano Reyes and Eva Duarte, herself. Organizing a mass (and, at times, violent) demonstration for his release on the Plaza de Mayo, their October 17, 1945, mobilization marked a turning point in Argentine history: the creation of the Peronist movement. Capitulating to the political winds, the junta bestowed presidential powers on Perón, who initiated his program of mass nationalizations of institutions such as the universities and Central Bank. Calling elections for February 1946, Perón's opposition hastily arranged an alliance, the Democratic Union. Many in the centrist Radical Civic Union were steadfastly opposed to this ad hoc union with conservatives and the left, an intrinsic burden compounded by a white paper scathingly critical of Perón released by the U.S. Ambassador, Spruille Braden. The report, accusing Perón of fascist ties, allowed him to marginalize the Democratic Union (and their distinguished, though disastrously named nominees, José Tamborini and Enrique Mosca – the "tambourine and the fly"). He quickly reframed the argument as one between "Perón or Braden", making this his rallying cry and winning the 1946 elections handily.

Candidates for President

Results

President

Presidential
candidate
Vice Presidential
candidate
PartyPopular voteElectoral vote
Votes%Votes%
Juan Domingo Perón Hortensio Quijano Labour Party – UCR Renewal Board – Independent Party1,485,46853.7130480.85
José Tamborini Enrique Mosca Democratic Union 1,207,17843.657219.15
No candidates National Democratic Party 43,4991.57
Blockist Radical Civic Union13,4690.49
Santiago del Estero Radical Civic Union12,3620.45
Lencinist Radical Civic Union3,9180.14
Total2,765,894100
Positive votes2,765,89497.95
Blank votes20,8310.74
Invalid votes150.00
Tally sheet differences37,0191.31
Total votes2,823,759100
Registered voters/turnout3,477,16981.21
Sources: [1] [2]

Chamber of Deputies

PartyVotes%Seats
1946–1948
Seats
1946–1950
Total seats
Labour Party – UCR Renewal Board – Independent Party1,439,24351.195455109
Radical Civic Union (UCR)765,62027.23222244
National Democratic Party (PDN)214,8947.64213
Socialist Party (PS)139,1864.95
Democratic Progressive Party (PDP)71,7312.5511
Unity and Resistance (PCPDP)71,6282.55
Communist Party (PC)41,4701.48
Liberal Party of Corrientes (PL)16,1070.57
Blockist Radical Civic Union13,6960.4911
Santiago del Estero Radical Civic Union12,7910.45
Santa Fe Radical Civic Union6,3280.23
Autonomist Party of Corrientes (PA)5,8110.21
Labour Gathering Party (CO)4,2410.15
Lencinist Radical Civic Union4,0400.14
Provincial Defense – White Flag3,9370.14
Public Health Party6050.02
Total2,811,3281007979158
Positive votes2,811,32898.29
Blank votes22,5250.79
Invalid votes1500.01
Tally sheet differences26,1300.91
Total votes2,860,133100
Registered voters/turnout3,477,16982.25
Sources: [1] [2]

Results by province

ProvinceLabour – UCR-JR – Indep.Radical Civic UnionNational DemocraticOthers
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsVotes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Buenos Aires 440,41954.9328260,34232.471450,8156.3450,2696.27
Buenos Aires City 300,95550.1622118,75919.7910180,31530.05
Catamarca 14,73355.6429,46635.752,2818.61
Córdoba 124,02640.3710117,09838.11557,54718.738,5812.79
Corrientes 33,81736.23517,54218.7920,06521.50221,91823.48
Entre Ríos 67,59842.94659,02437.49328,57618.152,2321.42
Jujuy 15,34268.6822,48111.114,27719.152401.07
La Rioja 10,20653.6327,47739.291,3477.08
Mendoza 49,12947.55425,33324.52217,23016.6811,62611.25
Salta 28,72263.1929,52320.9517,21015.86
San Juan 15,97033.2827,28115.179,82120.4614,92031.091
San Luis 14,46044.7126,23919.2911,64436.001
Santa Fe 194,79256.511371,87220.85578,05922.641
Santiago del Estero 46,40851.82428,31331.62214,83316.56
Tucumán 82,66668.78524,87020.6924,0813.408,5787.14
Total1,439,24351.19109765,62027.2344214,8947.643391,57113.932

Provincial Governors

Election of Provincial Governors
Elected: 14
ProvinceElectedPartyMap
Buenos Aires Domingo Mercante Labour Party Mapa de las elecciones provinciales de 1946.png
Catamarca Pacífico Rodríguez Labour Party
Córdoba Argentino Auchter UCR – Junta Renovadora
Corrientes Blas Benjamín de la Vega Unión Cívica Radical
Entre Ríos Héctor Domingo Maya Labour Party
Jujuy Alberto Iturbe UCR – Junta Renovadora
La Rioja José Francisco de la Vega UCR – Junta Renovadora
Mendoza Faustino Picallo UCR – Junta Renovadora
Salta Lucio Alfredo Cornejo Linares UCR – Junta Renovadora
San Juan Juan Luis Alvarado Labour Party
San Luis Ricardo Zavala Ortíz UCR – Junta Renovadora
Santa Fe Waldino Suárez Labour Party
Santiago del Estero Aristóbulo Mittelbach Labour Party
Tucumán Carlos Domínguez Labour Party

References

  1. 1 2 Las Fuerzas Armadas restituyen el imperio de la soberanía popular: Las elecciones generales de 1946. Vol. Tomo II. Buenos Aires: Imprenta de la Cámara de Diputados. 1946.
  2. 1 2 Amaral, Samuel (December 2018). Perón presidente: las elecciones del 24 de febrero de 1946 (PDF). Vol. Tomo 2. Sáenz Peña, Buenos Aires: Editorial de la Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero. ISBN   978-987-4151-57-5.

Online references