Argentine legislative election, 2009
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Legislative elections were 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 ...
for half the 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 ...
and a third (24) of the seats in 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 ...
on 28 June 2009, as well as for the legislature of 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 ...
and other municipalities.Argentina adopts early congressional election
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, 27 March 2009.


Background

The elections were due to have been held on 25 October 2009. In March 2009, the Mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, moved to bring forward the date of elections to the Buenos Aires City Legislature to June 28, saying that it would increase transparency and democratic quality. Opposition figures criticised the decision, suggesting Macri was attempting to consolidate his power in the city, and building the career of his deputy,
Gabriela Michetti Marta Gabriela Michetti Illia (; born 28 May 1965) is an Argentine politician and was Vice President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019 during Mauricio Macri's administration. Before her, the only woman to serve as vice president was Isabel Perón. ...
, expected to head the list for Macri's coalition in the election. Similar changes to the election date had been introduced in the provinces of Santa Fe and Catamarca (March 2009). Despite the criticism by politicians from Government ranks that Macri had abused the process by unilaterally changing the election date, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced that she too would be introducing legislation to move the date of national elections forward by four months, to June 28. Despite great debate and the defections of some
Peronist Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...
legislators, the proposal passed its Congressional stages quickly and the date was successfully changed. The Government claimed it would allow politicians to leave behind campaigning priorities and focus on tackling the ongoing local effect of the international financial crisis. Equally controversial was a decision by Front for Victory leader Néstor Kirchner (the current President's husband and predecessor) to advance stand-in candidates - prominent local lawmakers (notably
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
Governor
Daniel Scioli Daniel Osvaldo Scioli (, ; born 13 January 1957) is an Argentine politician, sportsman, and businessman. He was Vice President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007 and Governor of Buenos Aires Province from 2011 to 2015. From 2020 to 2022 he was Argen ...
, as well as 15
Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
-area mayors) who, after the election, would be likely to cede their new seats to down-ticket names. The elections resulted in a setback for the governing, center-left Front for Victory and its allies, which lost their absolute majorities in both houses of Congress. Former President Néstor Kirchner stood as head of his
party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
in the important
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
. Kirchner's list was defeated, however, by the center-right Republican Proposal (PRO) list headed by businessman
Francisco de Narváez Francisco de Narváez Steuer (born 22 September 1953 in Bogotá), known as El Colorado or Pancho, is a Colombian-born naturalized Argentine businessman, politician who ran for governor of Buenos Aires Province on the Republican Proposal, Unión PR ...
; the loss in Buenos Aires Province, though narrow, is significant as the province has been considered a
Peronist Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...
stronghold and had helped maintain Kirchnerism as the dominant force in Argentine politics since 2003. Buenos Aires Vice Mayor
Gabriela Michetti Marta Gabriela Michetti Illia (; born 28 May 1965) is an Argentine politician and was Vice President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019 during Mauricio Macri's administration. Before her, the only woman to serve as vice president was Isabel Perón. ...
stood as head of the PRO list for the Lower House, and defeated four other prominent parties; the evening's surprise in Buenos Aires, however, was that of filmmaker
Fernando Solanas Fernando Ezequiel "Pino" Solanas (16 February 1936 – 6 November 2020) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter, and politician. His films include; '' La hora de los hornos (The Hour of the Furnaces)'' (1968), '' Tangos: el exilio de Gardel'' ...
' left-wing
Proyecto Sur Proyecto Sur ( en, Project South) is a progressive political party established in 2007 in Argentina. It was founded and would be led by film maker Pino Solanas, who ran on the Proyecto Sur ticket for president in 2007 and for Mayor of Buenos A ...
, which obtained second place.''Clarín'' Infografía
/ref> The Kirchners' leading opposition on the center-left, the Civic Coalition, also made significant gains – particularly in the Senate, where they gained 7 seats. The Front for Victory had already lost 16
Lower House A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
members and 4 Senators on the heels of the
2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector The 2008 Argentine agrarian strike refers to the conflict between the Argentine national government and the 4 entities that represented the agriculture sector. The crisis began in March 2008 with four agricultural sector employers organizations tak ...
over a proposed rise in export tariffs. The crisis was defused by Vice President
Julio Cobos Julio César Cleto Cobos (; born 30 April 1955) is an Argentine politician who was the Vice President of Argentina in the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from 2007 to 2011. He started his political career as member of ...
' surprise, tie-breaking vote against them on July 16, 2008; but fallout from the controversy led to the President's distancing from Cobos (who successfully supported his own party list in his native Mendoza Province), a sharp drop in presidential approval ratings, and the aforementioned congressional defections. One especially successful ex-Kirchnerist was Santa Fe Province Senator Carlos Reutemann, who after the agrarian conflict formed Santa Fe Federal. His new party narrowly bested local
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 ...
leader Rubén Giustiniani, who would garner one of Santa Fe's three Senate seats.''El Litoral''
/ref> The Front for Victory retained a plurality in both houses, however (they will, with two allies, be one seat short of an absolute majority in the Senate).


Results


Chamber of Deputies


Results by province


Senate


Results by province


References


External links

{{CFK 2009 elections in Argentina Elections in Argentina Presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner