Argentine presidential election, 1868

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Argentine general election, 1868

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←  1862 12 April 1868 1874  →
156 members of the Electoral College
79 votes needed to win

  Sarmiento.jpg Urquiza.jpg
Nominee Domingo Sarmiento Justo José de Urquiza
Party Independent Federal
Home state San Juan Entre Ríos
Running mate Adolfo Alsina
Electoral vote79 26
States carried7 3
Percentage60.3% 19.8%
President before election

Bartolomé Mitre
Liberal

Elected President

Domingo Sarmiento
Independent

The Argentine presidential election of 1868 was held on 12 April to choose the president of Argentina. Domingo Sarmiento was elected.

Argentina federal republic in South America

Argentina, officially named the Argentine Republic, is a country located mostly in the southern half of South America. Sharing the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, the country is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi), Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the fourth largest in the Americas, and the largest Spanish-speaking nation. The sovereign state is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the nation as decided by Congress. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Contents

Background

Presiding over a prosperous economy overshadowed somewhat by the costly Paraguayan War, President Mitre was at pains to avoid risking the tenuous national unity his administration had secured. Though he hand-picked prospective candidates, Mitre avoided the appearance of direct support for any one figure, while limiting the field to those he considered acceptable. Electors from Buenos Aires Province favored Autonomist Party candidate Adolfo Alsina, who was instead persuaded by Mitre to run for the vice-presidency. The nomination was handed to the Ambassador to the United States, Domingo Sarmiento, who remained at his post and did not campaign. Mitre also supported former Unitarian Party leader Rufino de Elizalde and his running mate General Wenceslao Paunero, a key figure in Mitre's victory at the Battle of Pavón. These candidates were all preferred by the president over that year's dark horse, former President Justo José de Urquiza (whom Mitre attempted to dissuade from running for fear of the separatist conflict his presence might provoke). [1]

Paraguayan War large-scale conflict in South America (1864–1870)

The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance and the Great War in Paraguay, was a South American war fought from 1864 to 1870, between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadliest and bloodiest inter-state war in Latin America's history. It particularly devastated Paraguay, which suffered catastrophic losses in population: almost 70% of its adult male population died, according to some counts, and it was forced to cede territory to Argentina and Brazil. According to some estimates, Paraguay's pre-war population of 525,000 was reduced to 221,000, of which only 28,000 were men.

Adolfo Alsina politician and lawyer

Adolfo Alsina Maza was an Argentine lawyer and Unitarian politician, and one of the founders of the Partido Autonomista and the National Autonomist Party.

United States federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

These candidates were, with the exception of Sarmiento, contentious in many circles and provided the new system its first real test. The electoral college met on 12 April 1868, and selected Sarmiento by 79 out of 131 votes, making this the only closely contested race during this era. [2]

Results

Argentine Republic
Population 1,688,000
Voters 16,900
Turnout 1%
Presidential Candidates Party Electoral Votes
Domingo Sarmiento Independent 79
Justo José de Urquiza Federal 26
Rufino de Elizalde Liberal Party 22
Guillermo Rawson Nacionalista 3
Dalmacio Vélez Sarsfield Unitarian 1
Total voters131
Did not vote 25
Total156
Vice Presidential Candidates Party Electoral Votes
Adolfo Alsina Autonomist 82
Wenceslao Paunero Unitarian 45
Manuel Anselmo Ocampo — 2
Juan Bautista Alberdi — 1
Francisco de las Carreras — 1
Total voters131
Did not vote 25
Total156

Results by Province

Province President Vice President
Sarmiento Urquiza de Elizalde Rawson Vélez Sarsfield Alsina Paunero Ocampo Alberdi de las Carreras
Buenos Aires 24 3 1 25 2 1
Catamarca 10 10
Córdoba 16 3 13
Corrientes Did not voteDid not vote
Entre Ríos 8 8
Jujuy 7 4 3
La Rioja 6 6
Mendoza 10 10
Salta 10 10
San Juan 8 8
San Luis 8 8
Santa Fe 8 7 1
Santiago del Estero 12 12
Tucumán The votes were not preservedThe votes were not preserved
Total 79 26 22 3 1 82 45 2 1 1

Notes

  1. ↑ Levene, Ricardo. A History of Argentina. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1937.
  2. ↑ Todo Argentina: 1868 (in Spanish)

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