# 1958 Argentine general election

The Argentine general election of 1958 was held on 23 February. Voters chose both the President and their legislators and with a turnout of 90.6% (the highest in Argentine electoral history).

## Background

The year 1955 cast a long shadow over these elections. President Juan Perón was violently overthrown in September of that year and the succeeding junta banned the Peronist Party and even the possession of Peronist mementoes or the very mention of the former leader or of the late Eva Perón. The junta did, however, convene a Civilian Advisory Board which, to the dismay of many conservatives, recommended against draconian measures or the reversal of most of Perón's reforms. They also called for a referendum ratifying the 1853 Constitution (which Perón had it heavily amended in 1949), while retaining Perón's Article 15, a section devoted to social reforms; the junta's leader, Gen. Pedro Aramburu, backed the panel's findings. An attempted countercoup against the junta, defeated on June 10, led to the execution of 27 plotters (including numerous civilians) and derailed Aramburu's hopes for the creation of a viable political alternative to the populist leader.
Seizing the opportunity, the Radical Civic Union (UCR)'s 1951 vice-presidential nominee, Arturo Frondizi secretly secured an agreement with the exiled Perón, by which the banned Peronists would be given a voice in exchange for their support. The pact, a mere rumor at the time, created a rift within the UCR at their party convention in November 1956, forcing Frondizi and his supporters to run on a splinter ("Intransigent") ticket and leaving more anti-Peronist UCR voters with Ricardo Balbín, the party's 1951 standard bearer. The two wings presented different candidates for the constituent assembly election called for July 28, 1957, with no clear winner, though the deadlocked assembly did ratify the Advisory Board's proposed constitutional changes.
Unmentionable by law, Perón became the central issue of the 1958 campaign. Argentina was abuzz with the staccato sounds of El-qué-te-dije (roughly translated to "You know who"), as he opposed Balbín, who accepted Pres. Aramburu's endorsement as the candidate of the ruling junta. Balbin, and his Radical Civic Union of the People, was dealt a "February surprise" when, four days before the election, the exiled leader publicly announced his endorsement of Frondizi. Blank votes (Peronist voters' choice during the assembly elections of 1957, which they narrowly "won") became Frondizi votes, making him the winner of the 1958 elections in Argentina.

## Candidates

* Intransigent Radical Civic Union (progressive): Former Deputy Arturo Frondizi of Corrientes Province
* Popular Radical Civic Union (centrist): Former Deputy Ricardo Balbín of Buenos Aires Province
* Christian Democratic Party (progressive): Lucas Ayarragaray
* Socialist Party: Former Senator Alfredo Palacios of the city of Buenos Aires
* Frondizi
* Balbín (left)
* Palacios

## Results
### President

| Presidential candidate | Vice Presidential candidate | Party | Party | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Electoral vote |
| Presidential candidate | Vice Presidential candidate | Party | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Arturo Frondizi | Alejandro Gómez | | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | 4,070,398 | 49.49 | 319 | 68.45 |
| Ricardo Balbín | Santiago del Castillo | | People's Radical Civic Union | 2,617,693 | 31.83 | 140 | 30.04 |
| Lucas Ayarragaray Jr. | Horacio Sueldo | | Christian Democratic Party | 285,650 | 3.47 | | |
| Alfredo Palacios | Carlos Sánchez Viamonte | | Socialist Party | 264,721 | 3.22 | | |
| Héctor González Iramain | Carlos Aguinaga | | Democratic Party | 145,935 | 1.77 | | |
| Reynaldo Pastor | Martín Aberg Cobo | | Conservative Democratic People's Party | 128,226 | 1.56 | | |
| Luciano Molinas | Horacio R, Thedy | | Democratic Progressive Party | 126,991 | 1.54 | | |
| Alejandro Leloir | Juan A, Bramuglia | | Popular Union | 80,712 | 0.98 | | |
| Ernesto Meabe | José Brouchou | | Liberal Party of Corrientes | 51,092 | 0.62 | 5 | 1.07 |
| Vicente Solano Lima | Alfredo Massi | | Conservative People's Party | 49,784 | 0.61 | | |
| | | | White Party | 40,820 | 0.50 | | |
| Juan Bautista Peña | Ana Zaefferer de Goyeneche | | Independent Civic Party | 39,157 | 0.48 | | |
| | | | Populist Popular Union | 32,119 | 0.39 | | |
| | | | Red and White Intransigent Radical Civic Union | 31,987 | 0.39 | | |
| Juan José Tartara | | | People's Party | 30,957 | 0.38 | | |
| | | | Conservative Party | 30,239 | 0.37 | | |
| | | | Traditional Blockist Radical Civic Union | 22,371 | 0.27 | | |
| | | | Chaco Alliance | 22,338 | 0.27 | | |
| | | | Labour Party | 20,358 | 0.25 | | |
| | | | Worker's Party | 16,876 | 0.21 | | |
| | | | Liberal Democratic Party | 16,611 | 0.20 | 2 | 0.43 |
| Basilio Serrano | Juan de Zan | | Federal Union | 12,996 | 0.16 | | |
| | | | Provincial Union | 10,722 | 0.13 | | |
| | | | People's Workers Party and Social Reconstruction | 10,378 | 0.13 | | |
| | | | Conservative Democratic Party | 10,328 | 0.13 | | |
| | | | Provincial Defense - White Flag | 9,296 | 0.11 | | |
| | | | Populist Party | 7,596 | 0.09 | | |
| | | | Renewal abd Intransigent Radical Civic Union | 7,581 | 0.09 | | |
| Alejandro Gancedo Jr. | | | Antipersonalist Radical Civic Union | 7,141 | 0.09 | | |
| | | | Blockist Radical Civic Union - Conservative People's Party | 6,120 | 0.07 | | |
| | | | People's Federal Labour Party | 4,427 | 0.05 | | |
| | | | Autonomist Democratic Party | 2,700 | 0.03 | | |
| | | | Blue and White Party | 2,593 | 0.03 | | |
| | | | Formosa Democratic Party | 2,364 | 0.03 | | |
| | | | National Labour Party | 2,170 | 0.03 | | |
| | | | Federal Agrarian Labour Party | 1,342 | 0.02 | | |
| Rafael Claudeville | | | Renewwal Party | 661 | 0.01 | | |
| | | | Social Workers Party | 608 | 0.01 | | |
| | | | Liberal Party of Misiones | 273 | 0.00 | | |
| | | | Communist Party | 42 | 0.00 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 8,224,373 | 100 | | |
| Positive votes | Positive votes | Positive votes | Positive votes | 8,224,373 | 90.76 | | |
| Blank votes | Blank votes | Blank votes | Blank votes | 814,802 | 8.99 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 22,724 | 0.25 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,061,899 | 100 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 10,002,327 | 90.60 | | |
| Sources: ||||||||

### Chamber of Deputies

Total seats :
| | Intransigent Radical Civic Union (UCRI) | 4,070,398 | 49.33 | 66 | 67 | 133 |
| | People's Radical Civic Union (UCRP) | 2,617,693 | 31.72 | 26 | 26 | 52 |
| | Christian Democratic Party (PDC) | 285,650 | 3.46 | — | — | — |
| | Socialist Party (PS) | 264,721 | 3.21 | — | — | — |
| | Democratic Party (PD) | 145,935 | 1.77 | — | — | — |
| | Democratic Progressive Party (PDP) | 126,991 | 1.54 | — | — | — |
| | Liberal Party of Corrientes (PLCo) | 51,092 | 0.62 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | Others | 688,893 | 8.35 | — | — | — |
| Total | Total | 8,251,373 | 100 | 93 | 93 | 187 |
| Positive votes | Positive votes | 8,251,373 | 90.79 | | | |
| Blank votes | Blank votes | 814,400 | 8.96 | | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 22,724 | 0.25 | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 9,088,497 | 100 | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 10,002,327 | 90.86 | | | |
| Source: |||||||

### Provincial Governors

Election of Provincial Governors :
| Elected positions: 22 provincial governors, 23 legislative bodies Presidential Appointment: Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires and Territorial Governor of Tierra del Fuego ||||
| Province | Elected | Party | Map |
| Buenos Aires | Oscar Alende | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Catamarca | Juan Manuel Salas | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Chaco | Anselmo Zoilo Duca | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Chubut | Jorge Galina | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Córdoba | Arturo Zanichelli | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Corrientes | Fernando Piragine Niveyro | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Entre Ríos | Raúl Lucio Uranga | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Formosa | Luis Gutnisky | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Jujuy | Horacio Guzmán | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| 1960: La Pampa | Ismael Amit | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| La Rioja | Herminio Torres Brizuela | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Mendoza | Ernesto Ueltschi | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| 1960: Misiones | César Napoleón Ayrault | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Neuquén | Ángel Edelman | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Río Negro | Edgardo Castello | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Salta | Bernardino Biella | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| San Juan | Américo García | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| San Luis | Alberto Domeniconi | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Santa Cruz | Mario Paradelo | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Santa Fe | Carlos Sylvestre Begnis | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Santiago del Estero | Eduardo Miguel | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Tucumán | Celestino Gelsi | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Federal Capital (Appointment) | Hernán M. Giralt | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |
| Tierra del Fuego (Appointment) | Ernesto Manuel Campos | Intransigent Radical Civic Union | |