The Argentine legislative elections of 1930 were held on 2 March. Voters chose their legislators, with a turnout of 75%.

Background

The

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

, as in much of the rest of the world, abruptly clouded Argentina's political, as well as economic, landscape.

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 ...

, who was overwhelmingly returned to the Presidency in 1928, advanced a progressive agenda during his first year in office, establishing a Ministry of Health, securing trade pacts with the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

that promoted

import substitution industrialization Import substitution industrialization (ISI) is a trade and economic policy that advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production.''A Comprehensive Dictionary of Economics'' p.88, ed. Nelson Brian 2009. It is based on the premise that ...

, and increasing investments in education, the sciences, and the state oil concern,

YPF YPF S.A. (, formerly ; English: "Fiscal Oilfields") is a vertically integrated, majority state-owned Argentine energy company, engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, and the transportation, refining, and marketing of gas and petr ...

. This latter policy made his administration a target of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

, which had growing interests in the country's energy sector.Wirth, John. ''The Oil Business in Latin America''. Beard Books, 2001 Yrigoyen's second term inherited considerable domestic opposition, as well, from his 1916—22 administration, when policy differences with the conservative wing of the UCR provoked his removal of 18 governors by decree.Unión Cívica Radical (Capital Federal) Evolución del radicalismo Parte I (1893-1928)
This opposition had never achieved unity, however, and were no match for Yrigoyen's popularity. The collapse that followed the 1929 crash proved to be real challenge for Yrigoyen. Scorned by much of the media for his age and alleged

senility Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affec ...

, the president reacted quickly to the crisis. He loosened credit, moved to delay farm evictions, and intervened against massive

capital flight Capital flight, in economics, occurs when assets or money rapidly flow out of a country, due to an event of economic consequence or as the result of a political event such as regime change or economic globalization. Such events could be an increas ...

by rescinding the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...

in Argentina, thereby stymying the movement of gold overseas (around 200 million dollars' worth had been removed from local banks after the crash via this mechanism).''Todo Argentina'': 1930
These measures helped maintain the populist leader's base of support, as did possibly the December 24, 1929, attempt on his life, and only added to its opposition by the financial sector. The results of the legislative elections, held on March 2, 1930, reflected some erosion in Yrigoyen's base, as the UCR lost 19% off its 1928 landslide vote totals. Turnout remained high, however, and the UCR added six seats to their already commanding majority in the Lower House. Winning in 10 of 14 districts renewing seats, the UCR lost in the

City of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...

, where a schism in the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

resulted in victory for the more conservative group, the Independent Socialists. Right-wing opposition also won in Córdoba Province, where

Julio Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the Generation ...

's Democratic Party made gains. Having lost at the ballot box, Yrigoyen's opponents in both domestic politics and foreign corporate boardrooms redoubled their efforts, marshaling news editorials, provincial legislatures and, ultimately, elements in the

Argentine military The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, in es, Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina, are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force, there are ...

against the aging leader. An August 9 resolution in the Lower House, signed by 44 conservatives, called for Yrigoyen's resignation, and following numerous clashes and acts of

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

, Generals

José Félix Uriburu Lieutenant General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu (20 July 186829 April 1932) was the President of the Provisional Government of Argentina, ousting the successor to President Hipólito Yrigoyen by means of a military coup and declaring ...

and

Agustín Justo Agustín is a Spanish given name and sometimes a surname. It is related to Augustín. People with the name include: Given name * Agustín (footballer), Spanish footballer * Agustín Calleri (born 1976), Argentine tennis player * Agustín Cár ...

took power in a September 6 coup d'état.Rock, David. ''Authoritarian Argentina''. University of California Press, 1995.

Results

References

{{Argentine elections

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

1930 elections in South America 1930 in Argentina