Once independence was declared, two political currents rose to prominence: Unitary and Federal. The Unitarians believed in a central power, based in Buenos Aires, while the federals maintained the autonomy of the provinces, independent from the capital. This caused a civil war between both sides. The first president was Rivadavia, a Unitarian, in 1826.
In 1829, Juan Manuel de Rosas, who retained power until 1852, took over as Governor of Buenos Aires. His government was authoritarian, but oversaw an increase in commerce and exports.
Rosas’ policies slowed the growth of the provinces, so in 1851 Urquiza, Governor of Entre Ríos, confronted Rosas and defeated him in the battle of Caseros.
Having done so, he called a Constituent Congress in the province of Santa Fe in 1853, and passed a National Constitution. Division reigned for almost 10 years. Only in 1861 did Bartolomé Miter succeed in defeating Urquiza and unifying the country under the governance of Buenos Aires.
Next in line for the presidency were Sarmiento, between 1868 and 1874, and Avellaneda, between 1874 and 1880. When Julio A. Roca assumed the role in 1880, a conservative model was consolidated. Around this time the first political parties began to appear, starting with the Radical Civic Union in 1890. In 1912, during the presidency of Roque Saénz Peña, a law was passed establishing the mandatory and secret electoral vote.
A period of governmental uncertainty ensued, with the radical President Hipólito Yrigoyen overthrown by a coup in 1930, followed by a series of conservative governments. In 1943 Castillo was overthrown by a group of military personnel – among them Perón, who became president for two terms from 1946. Between 1958 and 1966 the country was governed by the radicals Frondizi and Illía. In 1966 the latter was overthrown by a coup. Onganía and Lanusse succeeded each other in government. In 1973, Héctor Cámpora won the elections on a Peronist ticket and was succeeded by Lastiri, Perón and Isabel Perón until 1976, when the dictatorship in Argentina began after a military coup. In 1982 it claimed the Falkland Islands, triggering a war with England for control of the territory which it ultimately lost. The dictatorship was also responsible for the disappearance of Argentine citizens and disrespect for Human Rights. Anyone with alternative views from the military government was persecuted. Trade unionists, politicians, artists, intellectuals, poets and many others lost their lives – as did ordinary people who did not have subversive views but appeared by chance on the government’s lists.
Following elections in 1983, radicalism returned to the government with Raúl Alfonsín, who established democracy and tried those responsible for crimes against humanity. He was succeeded by Carlos Menem from 1989 to 1999. In 1997 the Alliance emerged as a political party, and Fernando de la Rúa won the elections in 1999.
