# 1951 Argentine general election

General elections were held in Argentina on 11 November 1951. Voters chose both the President of Argentina and their legislators. This was the first election in the country to have enfranchised women at the national level. Turnout was around 88%.

## Background

President Juan Perón (1895–1974) had become President for the first time in June 1946. His popularity was riding high following five years of social reforms and a vigorous public works program, but he faced intensifying opposition during 1951. His decision to expropriate the conservative La Prensa (then the nation's second-most circulated daily), though lauded by the CGT labor union, damaged his standing elsewhere at home and his reputation in other countries, as did the climate of political liberties: the opposition UCR's nominee, Congressman Ricardo Balbín, had spent much of the previous year as a political prisoner. Economically, the year was an improvement over the 1949–50 recession and saw the completion of a number of landmark public works and the inaugural of Channel 13 (Public Television), the first regular broadcast station in Latin America; but growing inflation (50%, a record at the time) led to increasing strike activity.
The UCR and other parties in opposition, harassed and deprived of access to the media, boycotted a number of Congressional races and all Senate races as well. The vice president, Hortensio Quijano, had requested leave from the campaign due to failing health and, on August 22, the CGT organized a rally on Buenos Aires' massive Ninth of July Avenue in support of the influential first lady Eva Perón as her husband's running mate, though unbeknownst to the crowd, the popular Evita was, like Quijano, dying, and thus refused the acclamation. Quijano reluctantly stayed on; but his stepping aside did not prevent a September 28 coup attempt against Perón on the part of ultraconservative elements in the Army. Ultimately, these ill-considered attacks, the Peróns' popularity and their control of much of the media combined to give the Peronist Party a landslide in the election, the first at the national level in which the vote was extended to women.

## Candidates

* Peronist Party: President Juan Perón of Buenos Aires Province
* Radical Civic Union: Congressman Ricardo Balbín of Buenos Aires Province
* Incumbent President Juan Perón
* Balbín (left) and running mate Arturo Frondizi

## Results
### President

| Presidential candidate | Vice Presidential candidate | Party | Party | Votes | % |
| Juan Domingo Perón | Hortensio Quijano | | Peronist Party (PP) | 4,745,168 | 63.51 |
| Ricardo Balbín | Arturo Frondizi | | Radical Civic Union (UCR) | 2,415,750 | 32.33 |
| Reynaldo Pastor | Vicente Solano Lima | | National Democratic Party (PDN) | 174,399 | 2.33 |
| Rodolfo Ghioldi | Alcira de la Peña | | Communist Party (PC) | 71,318 | 0.95 |
| Alfredo Palacios | Américo Ghioldi | | Socialist Party (PS) | 54,920 | 0.74 |
| Genaro Giacobini | Jorge Francisco Rivero | | Public Health Party | 5,512 | 0.07 |
| Luciano Molinas | Juan A. Díaz Arana | | Democratic Progressive Party (PDP) | 2,634 | 0.04 |
| José Fernando Penelón | Beniamino A. Semiza | | Labour Gathering Party (CO) | 1,233 | 0.02 |
| No candidates | No candidates | | Nationalist Civic Union | 163 | 0.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 7,471,097 | 100 |
| Positive votes | Positive votes | Positive votes | Positive votes | 7,471,097 | 98.38 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 110,123 | 1.45 |
| Tally sheet differences | Tally sheet differences | Tally sheet differences | Tally sheet differences | 12,928 | 0.17 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,594,148 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 8,613,998 | 88.16 |
| Sources: ||||||

### Chamber of Deputies

Non-voting delegates :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | 1952-1955 | 1952-1958 | Total | 1952-1955 | 1952-1958 | Total |
| | Peronist Party (PP) | 4,330,886 | 62.21 | 67 | 68 | 135 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| | Radical Civic Union (UCR) | 2,397,262 | 33.27 | 7 | 7 | 14 | — | — | — |
| | National Democratic Party (PDN) | 175,991 | 2.45 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| | Socialist Party (PS) | 74,126 | 1.03 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| | Communist Party (PCA) | 70,877 | 0.98 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| | Democratic Progressive Party (PDP) | 2,717 | 0.04 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| | Labour Gathering Party (CO) | 1,276 | 0.02 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| | Nationalist Civic Union | 90 | 0.01 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total | Total | 7,205,312 | 100 | 74 | 75 | 149 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| Positive votes | Positive votes | 7,205,312 | 97.63 | | | | | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 175,120 | 2.37 | | | | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 7,377,322 | 100 | | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 8,360,993 | 88.23 | | | | | | |
| Source: ||||||||||

### Senate

| Party | Party | % | Seats 1952-1955 | Seats 1952-1958 | Total seats |
| | Peronist Party (PP) | | 15 | 15 | 30 |
| | Radical Civic Union (UCR) | | — | — | — |
| | National Democratic Party (PDN) | | — | — | — |
| | Socialist Party (PS) | | — | — | — |
| | Communist Party (PCA) | | — | — | — |
| | Democratic Progressive Party (PDP) | | — | — | — |
| Total | Total | | 15 | 15 | 30 |
| Positive votes | Positive votes | | | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 100 | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | | | | |

### Provincial Governors

Election of Provincial Governors :
| Elected positions: 14 governors, 14 legislative bodies Presidential appointment: 9 territorial governors, Mayor of the city of Buenos Aires |||||
| Date | Province | Elected | Winner | Runner-up |
| 11 November | Buenos Aires | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Carlos Aloé (Partido Peronista) (62,99 %) | Crisólogo Larralde (Unión Cívica Radical) (33,30 %) |
| 11 November | Catamarca | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Armando Casas Nóblega (Partido Peronista) (76,66 %) | Ramón Edgardo Acuña (Unión Cívica Radical) (21,58 %) |
| 11 November | Córdoba | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Raúl Lucini (Partido Peronista) (51,98 %) | Arturo Umberto Illia (Unión Cívica Radical) (43,08 %) |
| 11 November | Corrientes | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Raúl Benito Castillo (Partido Peronista) (64,36 %) | Héctor Lomónaco (Unión Cívica Radical) (26,70 %) |
| 11 November | Entre Ríos | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Felipe Texier (Partido Peronista) (63,07 %) | Fermín J. Garay (Unión Cívica Radical) (32,68 %) |
| 11 November | Jujuy | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Jorge Villafañe (Partido Peronista) (79,29 %) | Horacio Guzmán (Unión Cívica Radical) (15,01 %) |
| 11 November | La Rioja | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Juan Melis (Partido Peronista) (73,97 %) | Herminio Torres Brizuela (Unión Cívica Radical) (26,03 %) |
| 11 November | Mendoza | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Carlos Horacio Evans (Partido Peronista) (66,89 %) | Leopoldo Suárez (Unión Cívica Radical) (21,22 %) |
| 11 November | Salta | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Ricardo Joaquín Durand (Partido Peronista) (76,37 %) | Ricardo E. Aráoz (Unión Cívica Radical) (23,34 %) |
| 11 November | San Juan | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Rinaldo Viviani (Partido Peronista) (78,67 %) | Juan Pascual Pringles (Unión Cívica Radical) (16,57 %) |
| 11 November | San Luis | Governor Provincial legislatures | Víctor Endeiza (Partido Peronista) (71,16 %) | Julio Domeniconi (Unión Cívica Radical) (15,83 %) |
| 11 November | Santa Fe | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Luis Cárcamo (Partido Peronista) (64,92 %) | Alfredo Julio Grassi (Unión Cívica Radical) (33,08 %) |
| 11 November | Santiago del Estero | Governor Provincial legislatures | Francisco González (Partido Peronista) (78,72 %) | Hugo Catella (Unión Cívica Radical) (14,06 %) |
| 11 November | Tucumán | Governor Vice Governor Provincial legislatures | Luis Cruz (Partido Peronista) (70,70 %) | Celestino Gelsi (Unión Cívica Radical) (27,40 %) |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Todo Argentina
* 1 2 Confirmación electoral de la voluntad justicialista del pueblo argentino (PDF). Buenos Aires: Ministry of Interior. 1952.
* ↑ Cantón, Darío (1968). Materiales para el estudio de la sociología política en la Argentina (PDF). Vol. Tomo I. Buenos Aires: Centro de Investigaciones Sociales - Torcuato di Tella Institute. pp. 141–142.
* ↑ Historia Electoral Argentina (1912-2007) (PDF). Ministry of Interior - Subsecretaría de Asuntos Políticos y Electorales. December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2014.