Independent Socialist Party

The Independent Socialist Party of Argentina was created in 1927 as the result of a power struggle within the mainline Socialist Party. The new party was led by mostly younger members with a more nationalistic, conservative orientation than the directors of its older predecessor. Entering national congressional elections for the first time in 1928, the Independents came in ahead of the mainline Socialists for second place in the city of Buenos Aires. Two years later they scored an even more impressive victory in a similar contest, besting both the Socialists and the representatives of the incumbent national administration, the Radicals (of the Unión Cívica Radical), to capture a majority of the congressional seats available.

In 1930 the Independents formed an important part of the conservative coalition that contributed to the overthrow of popularly elected President Hipólito Irigoyen (1928–1930). Party leaders Antonio de Tomaso and Federico Pinedo subsequently served as cabinet members under the conservative president Agustín P. Justo (1932–1938). A handful of other party members were elected to the national Congress and to the city council of Buenos Aires in the early 1930s. In Congress and on the council, the Independent Socialists usually allied with the conservative bloc on most major issues, although their opposition to the first mayor (intendente) of Buenos Aires appointed by Justo led to his forced resignation a few months after assuming office.

The death of Antonio de Tomaso, the party's main leader, in 1933, coupled with a growing popular reaction against the antidemocratic practices of the conservative regime with which the Independents were associated, caused the party to lose considerable electoral support. By 1936, the Independents were polling less than 3 percent of the total vote in national and local elections and by 1940 had virtually disappeared from the national political scene. While the Independents enjoyed some momentary influence, they are best remembered as one of several examples of recurring divisions within the mainline Socialist Party and of the often ephemeral nature of the many short-lived parties and factions that have characterized much of Argentina's modern political history.

See alsoPinedo, Federico .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Horacio Sanguinetti, Los socialistas independientes (1981).

Additional Bibliography

Camarero, Hernán, and Carlos-Miguel Herrera. El Partido Socialista en Argentina: Sociedad, política e ideas a través de un siglo. Buenos Aires: Prometeo, 2005.

Consigli, Raquel E. Breve historia del Partido Socialista Argentino, 1893–1943. Córdoba, Argentina: Prosopis Editora, 2004.

García Sebastiani, Marcela. Los antiperonistas en la Argentina peronista: Radicales y socialistas en la política Argentina entre 1943 y 1951. Buenos Aires: Prometeo Libros, 2005.

Walter, Richard J. The Socialist Party of Argentina, 1890–1930. Austin: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1977.

                                        Richard J. Walter