The Argentine presidential election of 1910 was held on 13 March to choose the president of Argentina and 63 of 120 seats in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. Roque Sáenz Peña was elected president.

Background

The ailing President Quintana's death in 1906 was the beginning of the end of Roca's dominance of national politics and policy. Moderate opposition to the PAN had greatly eroded its majorities in Congress, the very day the president died, and within months,

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre Martínez (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of unified Argentina. Mitre is known as the most versatile ...

and

Carlos Pellegrini Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini Bevans (October 11, 1846 – July 17, 1906) was Vice President of Argentina and became President of Argentina from August 6, 1890 to October 12, 1892, upon Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation (see Rev ...

were dead, as well. President José Figueroa Alcorta defied Roca by signing many of Congressman Palacios' labor law reform bills and by 1909, Figueroa Alcorta was poised to nominate the reformist who had been turned away in 1892: Roque Sáenz Peña. Other prominent conservatives, such as '' La Nación'' publisher Emilio Mitre and Buenos Aires Governor

Marcelino Ugarte Marcelino Ugarte (1855–1929) was an Argentine jurist and politician, who served for two terms as governor of the Province of Buenos Aires. He also served as deputy and national senator for the Province of Buenos Aires. He was born in Buenos ...

, presented token candidacies. Sáenz Peña, who was the Ambassador to Italy and did not campaign, was selected unanimously on April 12, 1910. He promptly began negotiations with UCR leader

Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (; 12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union and two-time President of Argentina, who served his first term from 1916 to 1922 and his second ...

for the introduction of legislation providing for universal male suffrage and the secret ballot. The president struggled over the bill with a still-conservative Congress, and on 10 February 1912, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

narrowly passed Law 8871. Providing for free and fair elections, as well as for the country's first uniform system of voter registration, the

Sáenz Peña Law The Sáenz Peña Law () was Law 8871 of Argentina, sanctioned by the National Congress on 10 February 1912, which established the universal, secret and compulsory male suffrage though the creation of an electoral list (''Padrón Electoral''). It w ...

brought the prolonged "vote song" to an end.Todo Argentina: 1912

Results

President

Results by Province

Chamber of Deputies

National Autonomist Party The National Autonomist Party ( es, Partido Autonomista Nacional; PAN) was the ruling political party of Argentina from 1874 to 1916. In 1880, Julio Argentino Roca assumed the presidency under the motto "peace and administration". History The ...

and its allies won all 63 seats in the election.

Notes

References

* * * {{Argentine elections 1910 elections in South America 1910 in Argentina

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

Elections in Argentina