The advent of Peronism in Argentina led Bittel to run on Juan Perón's Labor Party ticket for mayor of Villa Ángela in 1946. The young candidate was elected, though the results were annulled by the then-conservative Chaco authorities. Following Chaco's 1951 designation as a province, voters in 1953 elected the Peronist ticket of Governor Felipe Gallardo and his running mate, "Chacho" Bittel. The September 1955 coup d'état against Perón brought an end to the Gallardo-Bittel tenure, as well as to the province's designation as "Provincia Presidente Perón."