Municipal Politics and Government in Buenos Aires, 1918-1930

Abstract

Urban growth has been one of the most striking characteristics of twentieth-century Latin American history and the focus of considerable scholarly interest (Morse, 1971, 1965). For the most part the main academic concentration has been on the social and economic aspects of this phenomenon. Political considerations have been confined to speculations on the potential radicalism of slum dwellers or the spontaneous self-governing institutions of new communities. Little attention has been paid to the role of municipal politics and government in national life.With these considerations in mind, the purpose of this paper is to trace the development of politics and the governmental process in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina between 1918 and 1930. This discussion will focus on a period when electoral reform opened up city politics for the first time to a large sector of the electorate and allowed, also for the first time, participation in municipal government of parties representing new social and economic groups.