A non-binding referendum on resolving the Beagle conflict was held 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 ...

on 25 November 1984.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p67 Voters were asked whether they approved of the government's negotiated settlement with

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, which would result in Argentina recognising the

Picton, Lennox and Nueva __NOTOC__ Picton, Lennox and Nueva () form a group of three islands (and their islets) at the extreme southern tip of South America, in the Chilean commune of Cabo de Hornos in Antártica Chilena Province, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Reg ...

islands as being Chilean territory. Although the plebiscite was not binding, President

Raul Alfonsin Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

declared that he would respect the outcome of the vote. The proposal was approved by 82.6% of voters, with a turnout of 70%.

Background

The ruling party, 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 ...

, called for a vote in favor of the settlement. The opposition, headed by the

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...

, boycotted the process, claiming that it distracted from economic problems. Some opponents, including

Herminio Iglesias Herminio Iglesias (20 October 1929 – 16 February 2007) was an Argentine politician and trade unionist. A member of the Justicialist Party, he was intendente (mayor) of Avellaneda from 1973 to 1976, and later served as a National Deputy and ...

, called for voters to participate in the referendum and vote against. In contrast, other leaders like

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...

came out in favour of the settlement. The right-wing, including military groups that ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983, were also against the settlement.

Results

By province

Aftermath

Despite the overwhelming support from voters, the Argentine National Congress only approved the treaty on 14 March 1985 by a vote of 23–22, with one abstention.Las relaciones con los países latinoamericanos, Las relaciones con Chile
Carlos Escudé and Andrés Cisneros

References

{{Raúl Alfonsín

1984 in Argentina Referendums in Argentina Presidency of Raúl Alfonsín November 1984 events in South America