The Socialist Party ( es, Partido Socialista, PS) is a
centre-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
political party in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Founded in 1896, it is one of the oldest still-active parties in Argentina, alongside the
Radical Civic Union.
The party has been an opponent of
Kirchnerism
Kirchnerism ( es, Kirchnerismo ) is an Argentine political movement based on populist ideals formed by the supporters of Néstor Kirchner and his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who consecutively served as Presidents of Argentina. Althoug ...
and
Mauricio Macri.
History
Early history
The history of
socialism in Argentina began in the 1890s, when a group of people, notably
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 ...
, expressed the need for a greater social focus. The PS itself was founded in 1896, led by Justo and
Nicolás Repetto
Nicolás Repetto (21 October 1871 – 29 November 1965) was an Argentine physician and leader of the Socialist Party of Argentina.
Biography
Nicolás Repetto was born in Buenos Aires in 1871 and enrolled at the prestigious Colegio Nacional de Bu ...
, thus becoming the first
mass 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 ideological or pol ...
in the country. The party affiliated itself with the
Second International. Between 1924 and 1940 it was a member of the
Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International (LSI; german: Sozialistische Arbeiter-Internationale, label= German, SAI) was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a ...
.
Through its life, the party suffered from various splits: the International Socialist Party (which became the
Communist Party of Argentina
The Communist Party of Argentina ( es, Partido Comunista de la Argentina, also simply known as "PC") is a communist party in Argentina. The party now forms part of the Frente de Todos, the ruling coalition supporting President Alberto Ferná ...
) and the
Independent Socialist Party were the most notable. The most important of those was in the 1960s, when the party divided itself in half, giving birth to the more radical
Argentine Socialist Party
The Argentine Socialist Party was a socialist political party in Argentina formed after the third division of the Socialist Party.
History
Origin
When democracy was restored (though peronism became illegal) in 1958, a Socialist Party congres ...
(''Partido Socialista Argentino'', PSA), and the more moderate
Democratic Socialist Party (''Partido Socialista Democrático'', PSD). In 1966, two factions departed the PSA: ''Vanguardia Comunista'' and ''Partido Socialista de Vanguardia''. In 1972, the remaining of the PSA together with other leftist groups formed the
Popular Socialist Party (''Partido Socialista Popular'', PSP). The PSP and PSD were rejoined in 2002, forming the Socialist Party.
Among the socialist leaders of Argentina, the most remarkable are
Alfredo Palacios
Alfredo Lorenzo Palacios (August 10, 1880 – April 20, 1965) was an Argentine socialist politician.
Palacios was born in Buenos Aires, and studied law at University of Buenos Aires, after graduation he became a lawyer and taught at the unive ...
, who was the first socialist parliamentarian in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with t ...
(1904) and a
Senator in the 1960s;
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 ...
, doctor, philosopher, writer and leader of the party until his death in 1928;
Alicia Moreau de Justo
Alicia Moreau de Justo (October 11, 1885 – May 12, 1986) was an Argentine physician, politician, pacifist and human rights activist. She was a leading figure in feminism and socialism in Argentina. Since the beginning of the 20th century, she ...
(1895–1986), Justo's wife, who was for years the editor of the Socialist newspaper ''La Vanguardia'';
Guillermo Estévez Boero
Guillermo Estévez Boero (28 December 1930 – 3 February 2000) was an Argentine student activist, lawyer and Socialist politician.
Estévez Boero was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, and studied law at the National University of the Littoral ...
, founder of the Popular Socialist Party; and
Alfredo Bravo, a teacher,
unionist,
human rights militant and respected legislator in the last two decades of the 20th century (died 2003).
The Socialist Party of Argentina maintains an electoral stronghold in the province of
Santa Fe, and particularly in
Rosario, where mayors have been socialists since 1989. Former two-term mayor
Hermes Binner slowly became acknowledged as a reference character for the party. In the
2005 parliamentary elections a Socialist-Radical alliance led by Binner won 5 seats in the national
Lower House, and in the elections of 2007, Binner, leading a broad, centre-leftist political coalition (the
Progressive, Civic and Social Front
The Progressive, Civic and Social Front (, FPCyS) is a center-left political coalition in Santa Fe Province, Argentina.
History
It was first formed in Santa Fe Province in 2006, but was adapted in other provinces for the 2013 legislative ele ...
), became the first Socialist to be elected governor of an Argentine province.
Present day
In the
2011 general election, Binner was the Socialist candidate and achieved 2nd place with 16.8% of votes. Despite this number being well below the 54.1% achieved by Peronist leader
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President ...
, the Socialist Party considered the results of the election as significant and a sign of renewed interest by a sector of the population. In May 2012, Binner became the Socialist Party's president.
For the
2015 general election, the PS entered in coalition with other centre-left and left-wing parties to form the
Progresistas
Progresistas ( es, Progressives) was a center-left political coalition in Argentina, led by Margarita Stolbizer. It was composed of Generation for a National Encounter, the Freemen of the South Movement, the Socialist Party and the Authentic Soc ...
(''Progressives'') front, which endorsed
Margarita Stolbizer
Margarita Stolbizer (born 17 March 1955) is an Argentine lawyer and politician. Originally a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), she founded her own party, Generation for a National Encounter (GEN) in 2007. She has been a member of the Cha ...
for the presidency. Stolbizer landed 5th in the election with just over 2.5% of the vote, failing to pass the threshold for the run-off. During the same elections, Socialist
Miguel Lifschitz was elected
Governor of Santa Fe
The Governor of Santa Fe ( es, Gobernador de la Provincia de Santa Fe) is a citizen of Santa Fe Province, in Argentina, holding the office of governor for the corresponding period. Currently the governor of Santa Fe is Omar Perotti, of the Justici ...
, succeeding
Antonio Bonfatti
Antonio Bonfatti (born December 1, 1950) is an Argentine physician and politician from the Socialist Party, who was Governor of Santa Fe. From 2016 to 2021, he was president of the Socialist Party.
Life and times
Bonfatti was born in Rosario in ...
(also of the PS).
In April 2016, Bonfatti was chosen to succeed Binner as national president of the party.
Following the
2017 legislative election, the party was left with a single national deputy, Luis Contigiani, and no representatives in the
Senate. In 2018, Contigiani left the Socialist Party's bloc in the Chamber of Deputies after being criticized by his party for refusing to vote in favor of a bill that would legalize
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...
in the country.
In the
2019 general election, PS didn't elect any deputies; however, Socialist politician
Enrique Estévez was elected to the Chamber of Deputies on the list of the
Progressive, Civic and Social Front
The Progressive, Civic and Social Front (, FPCyS) is a center-left political coalition in Santa Fe Province, Argentina.
History
It was first formed in Santa Fe Province in 2006, but was adapted in other provinces for the 2013 legislative ele ...
, and thus the Socialist Party regained its representation in the Congress.
In 2021, former ''
intendente
An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...
'' (mayor) of
Rosario,
Mónica Fein
Mónica Haydée Fein (born 3 June 1957) is an Argentine biochemist and Socialist Party politician who was ''intendente'' (mayor) of Rosario from 2011 to 2019. She has been a National Deputy since 2021, and previously held the same position from ...
, was elected president of the Socialist Party.
[
]
Electoral performance
President
See also
* Comité de Propaganda Gremial
* Centro de Estudios Carlos Marx
References
Further reading
* Jeremy Adelman, "Socialism and Democracy in Argentina in the Age of the Second International," ''Hispanic American Historical Review,'' vol. 72, no. 2 (May 1992), pp. 211–238
In JSTOR
{{Argentine political parties
Second International
Members of the Labour and Socialist International
Full member parties of the Socialist International
Socialist parties in Argentina
Social democratic parties in Argentina
Political parties established in 1896
Progressive Alliance
1896 establishments in Argentina