General elections were held in Argentina on 30 October 1983, marking the return of constitutional rule following the self-styled National Reorganization Process dictatorship installed in 1976. Voters fully chose the president, governors, mayors, and their respective national, province and town legislators, with a turnout of 85.6%.

Background The government of Isabel Perón faced several simultaneous crises in 1976. Guerrillas such as Montoneros and the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP) were out of control and caused hundreds of deaths each month. In turn, the army counter-attacked with undercover agents, the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance. The Rodrigazo caused an annual inflation rate above 600 percent and growing, which, coupled with union unrest, left the national industry in a virtual halt. Congresswoman Cristina Guzmán also accused Perón of stealing funds from a charity, but the Congress refused to proceed with an impeachment. All this led to the 1976 Argentine coup d'état, as most of society perceived the military as the only ones capable of fixing the crises.Burns, pp. 11–12

General Roberto Viola was deposed in 1981 by Leopoldo Galtieri, during a "palace coup", which strengthened the political clout of the Agentine Navy. Opposed by the other military factions and fearing to be deposed in a new coup, Galtieri planned an invasion of the Falkland Islands.Burns, 27 The 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands gave a huge popularity boost to the Junta, but it also caused a bank panic and undermined the attempts of minister Roberto Alemann to decrease inflation and stabilize the economy.Burns, p. 50 This boost turned into a massive decrease after the Argentine surrender in the Falklands War, even more because the local media distorted the events and the surrender came as a complete surprise to the population.Burns, p. 80

Six years of intermittent wage freezes, policies adverse to industry and restrictive measures like the Circular 1050 had left GDP per capita at its lowest level since 1968, and real wages lower by around 40%. Given these conditions, the return of some freedoms quickly led to a wave of strikes, including two general strikes led by Saúl Ubaldini of the CGT labor federation (then the largest in South America). Fanning antagonism on the part of hard-liners in the regime, this led Admiral Jorge Anaya (later court-martialed for gross malfeasance in the 1982 Falklands War) to announce his candidacy for president in August, becoming the first to do so; he proved to be highly unpopular and Bignone immediately thwarted the move.Todo Argentina: 1982

Amid growing calls for quicker elections, police brutally repressed a December 16, 1982, demonstration in Buenos Aires' central Plaza de Mayo, resulting in the death of one protester and Bignone's hopes for an indefinite postponement of elections. Devoting themselves to damage control, the regime began preparing for the transition by shredding evidence of their murder of between 15,000 and 30,000 dissidents (most of which were students, academics and labor union personnel uninvolved in the violence Argentina suffered from 1973 to 1976). Hoping to quiet demands that their whereabouts be known, in February 1983 Buenos Aires Police Chief Ramón Camps publicly recognized the crime and asserted that the "disappeared" were, in fact, dead. Provoking popular indignation, Camps' interview forced President Bignone to cease denying the tragedy and, on April 28, declare a blanket amnesty for those involved (including himself).Todo Argentina: 1983

Nominations Among the first prominent political figures to condemn the amnesty was the leader of the UCR's progressive wing, Raúl Alfonsín, who easily secured his party's nomination during its convention in July. Alfonsín chose as his running mate Víctor Martínez, a more conservative UCR figure from Córdoba Province. Their traditional opponents, the Justicialist Party, struggled to find candidates for not only the top of the ticket, but a number of the more important local races, as well. Following conferences that dragged on for two months after the UCR nominated Alfonsín, the Justicialists' left wing (the target of much of the repression before and after the 1976 coup) proved little match for the CGT's influence within the party. They nominated ideological opposites Ítalo Luder, who had served as acting president during Isabel Perón's September 1975 sick leave, for president, and former Chaco Province Governor Deolindo Bittel as his running mate; whereas Luder had authorized repression against the left in 1975, Bittel was a populist renowned for his defense of Habeas Corpus during the subsequent dictatorship.

Campaign issues Constrained by time, Alfonsín focused his strategy on accusing the Justicialists, who had refused to condemn Bignone's military amnesty, of enjoying the dictator's tacit support. Alfonsín enjoyed the valuable support of a number of Argentine intellectuals and artists, including playwright Carlos Gorostiza, who devised the UCR candidate's slogan, Ahora, Alfonsín ("Now is the Time for Alfonsín").Página/12: El marketing que acompañó al candidato

Luder, aware of intraparty tensions, limited his campaign ads and rhetoric largely to an evocation of the founder of the Justicialist Party, Juan Perón. Polls gave neither man an edge for the contest, which was scheduled for October 30. A few days before the elections (which had a record turnout), the Justicialist candidate for Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Herminio Iglesias, threw a (premature) "victory rally" in which a coffin draped in the UCR colors was burned before the television cameras.

The bonfire ignited the electorate's bitter memories of Isabel Perón's tenure and helped result in a solid victory for the UCR. The Peronists were given a majority in the Senate and 12 of 22 governorships. The UCR secured only seven governors, though the nation's largest province, Buenos Aires, would be governed by the UCR's Alejandro Armendáriz. Alfonsín persuaded Bignone after the elections to bring forward the inauguration to December 10, 1983.

Presidential candidates Radical Civic Union (centrist/social democrat): Former Deputy Raúl Alfonsín of Buenos Aires. Justicialist Party (populist): Former Senator Ítalo Luder of Santa Fe. Intransigent Party (socialist) : Former Governor Oscar Alende of Buenos Aires. Integration and Development Movement (developmentalist): Economist Rogelio Julio Frigerio of Buenos Aires.

Results The Alfonsín–Martínez ticket won the election with 52% of the vote against the 40% of the Luder–Bittel ticket. Alfonsín's 52% vote share would be broken by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's record of 54% in 2011.

President

Results by province Alfonsín/Martínez(UCR) Luder/Bittel(PJ) Alende/Viale(PI) Friegrio/Salonia(MID) Others Blank/Invalid TurnoutProvinceEl.Votes%El.Votes%El.Votes%El.Votes%El.Votes%El.Votes%Votes%Buenos Aires 144 2,878,858 51.41 79 2,364,585 42.23 65 181,488 3.24 – 47,004 0.84 – 356,099 2.28 – 127,607 2.77 5,759,215 87.69Buenos Aires City 54 1,269,352 64.26 37 540,389 27.36 15 88,480 4.48 2 14,480 0.73 – 62,556 3.17 – 33,422 1.66 2,008,679 85.78Catamarca 14 48,595 46.79 7 45,329 43.65 7 602 0.58 – 805 0.78 – 8,526 8.20 – 3,762 3.50 107,619 81.34Chaco 18 153,971 46.55 9 158,721 47.98 9 1,391 0.42 – 7,141 2.16 – 9,556 2.89 – 10,656 3.12 341,436 75.90Chubut 14 56,912 50.85 8 46,400 41.46 6 1,957 1.75 – 2,362 2.11 – 4,281 3.82 – 5,167 4.41 117,079 80.63Córdoba 40 791,470 56.22 23 561,954 39.92 17 12,245 0.87 – 13,078 0.93 – 29,089 2.06 – 33,381 2.32 1,441,217 88.35Corrientes 18 112,216 33.84 7 94,105 28.38 5 2,467 0.74 – 11,662 3.52 – 111,117 33.51 6Autonomist – Liberal Alliance 8,232 2.42 339,799 77.26Entre Ríos 22 251,811 49.53 12 224,778 44.21 10 7,558 1.49 – 7,949 1.56 – 16,301 3.21 – 11,769 2.26 520,166 83.70Formosa 14 45,065 37.20 5 54,660 45.12 7 560 0.46 – 16,680 13.77 2 4,188 3.46 – 5,369 4.24 126,522 75.92Jujuy 16 61,173 35.46 6 84,051 48.72 8 877 0.51 – 1,421 0.82 – 24,979 14.48 2Jujuy People's Movement 8,852 4.88 181,353 84.32La Pampa 14 50,753 41.38 6 50,138 40.88 6 1,922 1.57 – 3,294 2.69 – 16,540 13.48 2La Pampa Federalist Movement 5,350 4.18 127,997 89.52La Rioja 14 35,534 41.04 6 48,073 55.52 8 462 0.53 – 1,588 1.83 – 925 1.08 – 9,285 9.69 95,867 89.31Mendoza 24 368,484 57.81 15 233,035 36.56 9 6,073 0.95 – 7,233 1.13 – 22,566 3.55 – 11,680 1.80 649,071 86.63Misiones 18 118,676 49.56 9 114,454 47.79 9 738 0.31 – 3,885 1.62 – 1,717 0.72 – 11,359 4.53 250,829 80.15Neuquén 14 48,279 45.31 7 23,653 22.20 3 2,114 1.98 – 904 0.85 – 31,594 29.66 4Neuquén People's Movement 6,006 5.34 112,550 86.80Río Negro 14 84,226 53.57 8 62,801 39.94 6 2,868 1.82 – 2,616 1.66 – 4,725 3.01 – 10,447 6.23 167,683 85.84Salta 18 135,398 44.62 8 137,369 45.27 9 1,340 0.44 – 1,774 0.58 – 27,537 9.08 1Salta Renewal Party 7,677 2.47 311,095 80.07San Juan 16 98,916 40.23 7 75,368 30.65 5 2,152 0.88 – 2,940 1.20 – 66,505 27.04 4Blockist Party 4,724 1.89 250,605 86.40San Luis 14 58,723 48.58 8 50,095 41.44 6 549 0.45 – 4,434 3.67 – 7,075 5.86 – 4,138 3.31 125,014 84.99Santa Cruz 14 19,077 44.01 7 22,324 51.50 7 668 1.54 – 844 1.95 – 437 1.01 – 1,850 4.09 45,200 82.22Santa Fe 42 719,186 50.21 23 615,007 42.94 19 26,835 1.52 – 20,519 1.43 – 50,672 3.89 – 47,401 3.20 1,479,620 88.28Santiago del Estero 18 109,012 40.57 8 130,411 48.53 9 1,146 0.43 – 1,106 0.41 – 27,030 10.06 1Three Flags Party 8,794 3.17 277,499 69.89Tierra del Fuego 4 5,410 50.40 2 4,180 38.94 2 406 3.78 – 329 3.07 – 409 3.81 – 3,166 22.78 13,900 90.56Tucumán 22 203,462 41.55 10 253,522 51.78 12 2,756 0.56 – 3,378 0.69 – 26,539 5.42 – 10,514 2.10 500,171 81.67Total 600 7,724,559 51.75 317 5,995,402 40.16 259 347,654 2.33 2 177,426 1.19 2 682,471 4.57 20 422,674 2.75 15,350,186 85.61

Chamber of Deputies

Results by province ProvinceUCRPJOthers Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % SeatsBuenos Aires2,743,06449.3837 2,239,629 40.3231 571,969 10.302Buenos Aires City967,27549.4714 460,952 23.577 527,197 26.964Catamarca 43,008 41.81243,09641.893 16,764 16.300Chaco 151,976 45.963157,30247.574 21,372 6.460Chubut52,79147.753 44,991 40.692 12,784 11.560Córdoba773,65955.0611 549,929 39.147 81,524 5.800Corrientes101,34531.353 82,463 25.512 139,470 43.142Entre Ríos243,65248.245 218,044 43.174 43,338 8.580Formosa 44,129 36.55254,28044.963 22,326 18.490Jujuy 56,133 32.70282,73748.203 32,789 19.101La Pampa 48,870 40.00249,13340.222 24,171 19.781La Rioja 35,226 40.75247,41654.863 3,796 4.390Mendoza351,00155.266 225,488 35.504 58,676 9.240Misiones118,05549.364 113,615 47.503 7,514 3.140Neuquén40,92539.002 22,681 21.611 41,326 39.382Río Negro81,87952.643 60,952 39.182 12,721 8.180Salta 126,119 42.033135,23645.074 38,684 12.890San Juan91,87437.652 73,389 30.072 78,782 32.282San Luis53,92645.323 48,914 41.112 16,137 13.560Santa Cruz 18,957 43.70221,86550.413 2,554 5.890Santa Fe657,27246.4210 585,323 41.349 173,216 12.230Santiago del Estero 103,225 38.613127,38847.654 36,745 13.740Tierra del Fuego3,73035.991 3,654 35.261 2,979 28.750Tucumán 196,657 40.314249,13351.075 42,039 8.620 Total 7,104,748 47.97 129 5,697,610 38.47 111 2,008,873 13.56 14

Senate

Results by province Province PJ UCR MPN PB PACo PLCo MID PCP Buenos Aires 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Buenos Aires City 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Catamarca 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Chaco 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chubut 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Córdoba 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Corrientes 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Entre Ríos 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Formosa 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Jujuy 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 La Pampa 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 La Rioja 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mendoza 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Misiones 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Neuquén 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Río Negro 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Salta 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 San Juan 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 San Luis 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Santa Cruz 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Santiago del Estero 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tucumán 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 20 18 2 2 1 1 1 1

Provincial Governors