The Civic Union was a short-lived

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in Argentina, founded on April 13, 1890 out of the

Civic Union of the Youth The Civic Union of the Youth (in Spanish, ''Unión Cívica de la Juventud'') was a youth-oriented Argentine political party founded on September 1, 1889 and dissolved on April 13, 1890 with the establishment of the Civic Union. Soon afterward its ...

. That same year it led the

Revolution of the Park The Revolution of the Park (''Revolución del Parque''), also known as the Revolution of '90, was an uprising against the national government of Argentina that took place on July 26, 1890, and started with the takeover of the Buenos Aires Artille ...

that forced President

Miguel Juárez Celman --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

resignation, but shortly after dissolved itself in two branches, the

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the So ...

and the National Civic Union, each following one of the Civic Union's foremost leaders,

Leandro Alem Leandro Nicéforo Alem (born Leandro Alén; 11 March 1841 – 1 July 1896) was an Argentine politician, founder and leader of the Radical Civic Union. He was the uncle and political teacher of Hipólito Yrigoyen. He was also an active Freema ...

and

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 ...

. Since 1880, the exercise of power was concentrated in an

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

that controlled access to candidacies. For this reason, the Civic Union emerged, which proposed to regenerate political life by promoting citizen participation in public space and demanding respect for the constitution and political freedoms.

History

On April 13, 1890, supporters of the

established the Civic Union in a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Frontón.

Leandro N. Alem Leandro Nicéforo Alem (born Leandro Alén; 11 March 1841 – 1 July 1896) was an Argentine politician, founder and leader of the Radical Civic Union. He was the uncle and political teacher of Hipólito Yrigoyen. He was also an active Freemaso ...

was elected president and leaders were drawn from all tendencies within the anti-government movement, including

Francisco A. Barroetaveña Francisco Antonio Barroetaveña (1856–1933) was an Argentine lawyer and politician, founder of the Civic Youth Union, the Civic Union, and co-founder of the Radical Civic Union. Biography Born in Gualeguay, Entre Ríos, Barroetaveña owed ...

José Manuel Estrada José Manuel Estrada (born in Buenos Aires el 13 July 1842; died in Asunción, Paraguay, 17 September 1894) was an Argentine lawyer, writer, politician, eminent speaker and representative of Catholic thought. Biography José Manuel Estrada, w ...

Pedro Goyena Pedro Goyena (July 24, 1843, Buenos Aires – May 17, 1892) was an Argentine jurist, politician and writer. Pedro Goyena, along with other thinkers and politicians, followers of the ''Catholic Thinking'', as José Manuel Estrada and Emilio La ...

Aristóbulo del Valle Aristóbulo del Valle (15 March 1845 – 29 January 1896) was a lawyer and politician born in Dolores, . He was, together with Leandro Alem, one of the founders of the Radical Civic Union. Del Valle studied in the Faculty of Law of ...

, Bernardo de Irigoyen,

Juan B. Justo Juan Bautista Justo (June 28, 1865, in Buenos Aires – January 8, 1928, in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine physician, journalist, politician, and writer. After finishing medical school he joined the Civic Union of the Youth, later participating i ...

Lisandro de la Torre Lisandro de la Torre (6 December 1868 – 5 January 1939) was an Argentine politician, born in Rosario, Santa Fe. He was considered as a model of ethics in politics. He was a national deputy and senator, a prominent polemicist, and founder o ...

, and influential ex-president and general

. The same year, supporters of the Civic Union, led by Leandro Alem and Bartolomé Mitre, instigated the

, an armed uprising that ousted president

Juárez Celman Juárez refers to a number of places and things, most of which are named after Benito Juárez, former President of Mexico. Juárez or Juarez may refer to: Places Mexico * Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, a large city on the border with the United States ...

and replaced him with vice president

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 ...

. The Civic Union established a presidential ticket with Bartolomé Mitre and Bernardo de Irigoyen. However,

Julio Argentino 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 ...

, undisputed leader of the pro-government

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 ...

, made a deal with Mitre to form a "national unity" ticket headed by Mitre. After learning of the arrangement on April 16, Leandro Alem opposed it emphatically, splitting the Civic Union and forcing Mitre to abandon his candidacy. On June 26, 1891, Alem's supporters formally founded the

. In response, Mitre's followers formed the National Civic Union. Members of the latter became known as the ''Civics'', while those of the former became known as the ''Radicals''.

References

{{Former political parties in Argentina Radical Civic Union Defunct political parties in Argentina Political parties established in 1890 1890 establishments in Argentina Political parties with year of disestablishment missing

History

See also

References