Libertad o Muerte! Pt. XXV - 1854
The election campaigns began in early september 1853 with both the Union Liberal and the Partido Federalista searching for their own profiles and topics for the campaigns. In the forefront of the election campaigns it became clear, that Prime Minister San Martín would not candidate again for office. While the Federalistas send Carlos Antonio Lopez into the race for prime minister the Union Liberal was once again indecisive about their candidate. The more conservative right wing supported the venerated former Governor Verdana while the left wing supported the young and visionary Juan Bautista Alberdi.
In November it became known to the public that secretary of commerce Bartolomé Mitre was involved in a big corruption scandal. He was incriminated to have spent a large sum to finance his brothers in law iron mine in Copiapo. Money that was originally intended for the buildup of additional factories in the Buenos Aires region. One week later Mitre resigned from Office.
During the whole month of November Alberdi travelled from one city to the next via railroad and thus managed to attend two to four different meetings and conventions per day where he spoke to the assembled masses to gain their support. This effort paid off on the national convention of the Union Liberal in early December where he was announced as his parties candidate for the office of Prime Minister.
The Movimento Progresivo recognized that they wouldn't be able to win a single seat in the upcoming election which led to a big internal crisis. The more radical left wing decided to keep the party going even if it should be a pointless effort while the more moderate right wing led by Gabriel Garramuno left the party and merged with the Union Liberal in late December.
With the coming of the new year the Federalistas began their campaigns and therefore their attacks on the Liberales in ernest. They harshly attacked the liberal ideas on a large scale, focussing on the governments taxation and market regulation policies. They focused their campaign mainly on the rural populace, farmers and mine workers, who seemed to be those who hadn't gained anything from the government policies.
The big cities seemed to be already won by the Liberales and so Alberdi spent most of his time campaigning in the countryside. With his charismatic personality and enthralling speeches he made every effort to explain the rural population that every Platinean was now in a better situation than four years ago. He stated that progress, modernization and industralisation would mean better living conditions for everybody not only for city dwellers. And that progress would only be possible with the Union Liberal in power and certainly not with a backwards looking conservative as Prime Minister.
On election day Alberdi's liberal visions beat Lopez' conservative social system. The Liberales maintained their majority in Congress with 99 seats, the exact amount they had won four years earlier. But the Federalistas more than trippled their seats by winning 72 seats in Congress, 50 seats more than in the last election. They won the four seats previously held by the PPP and 46 seats who were created due to Population growth. Whether the PPP nor the Movimento Progresivo were able to win a single seat.
While the Federalistas mainly won the rural districts the Liberales won in the big cities and in rural areas with beginning industrialisation, and in the new states of Patagonia Oriental and Tierra del Fuego.
It became obvious that the landslide success of the Liberales in the last elections was mainly so glaring due to the euphoria in the aftermath of the liberal revolution and that the political realignments now had came into being, giving the Liberales a much smaller majority in Congress.
On the first of July King Juan I. opened the new building which would from now on house the Cortez and then inaugurated Juan Bautista Alberdi as second Prime Minister of the Platinean Kingdom. The ceremony was held outside the new building in front of a huge crowd who cheered their new Prime Minister.
The election campaigns began in early september 1853 with both the Union Liberal and the Partido Federalista searching for their own profiles and topics for the campaigns. In the forefront of the election campaigns it became clear, that Prime Minister San Martín would not candidate again for office. While the Federalistas send Carlos Antonio Lopez into the race for prime minister the Union Liberal was once again indecisive about their candidate. The more conservative right wing supported the venerated former Governor Verdana while the left wing supported the young and visionary Juan Bautista Alberdi.
In November it became known to the public that secretary of commerce Bartolomé Mitre was involved in a big corruption scandal. He was incriminated to have spent a large sum to finance his brothers in law iron mine in Copiapo. Money that was originally intended for the buildup of additional factories in the Buenos Aires region. One week later Mitre resigned from Office.
During the whole month of November Alberdi travelled from one city to the next via railroad and thus managed to attend two to four different meetings and conventions per day where he spoke to the assembled masses to gain their support. This effort paid off on the national convention of the Union Liberal in early December where he was announced as his parties candidate for the office of Prime Minister.
The Movimento Progresivo recognized that they wouldn't be able to win a single seat in the upcoming election which led to a big internal crisis. The more radical left wing decided to keep the party going even if it should be a pointless effort while the more moderate right wing led by Gabriel Garramuno left the party and merged with the Union Liberal in late December.
With the coming of the new year the Federalistas began their campaigns and therefore their attacks on the Liberales in ernest. They harshly attacked the liberal ideas on a large scale, focussing on the governments taxation and market regulation policies. They focused their campaign mainly on the rural populace, farmers and mine workers, who seemed to be those who hadn't gained anything from the government policies.
The attendees of the national convention of the Union Liberal cheering to their freshly appointed candidate for the office of Prime Minister Juan Bautista Alberdi.
The big cities seemed to be already won by the Liberales and so Alberdi spent most of his time campaigning in the countryside. With his charismatic personality and enthralling speeches he made every effort to explain the rural population that every Platinean was now in a better situation than four years ago. He stated that progress, modernization and industralisation would mean better living conditions for everybody not only for city dwellers. And that progress would only be possible with the Union Liberal in power and certainly not with a backwards looking conservative as Prime Minister.
Alberdi during one of his many speeches while campaigning in the platinean countryside
On election day Alberdi's liberal visions beat Lopez' conservative social system. The Liberales maintained their majority in Congress with 99 seats, the exact amount they had won four years earlier. But the Federalistas more than trippled their seats by winning 72 seats in Congress, 50 seats more than in the last election. They won the four seats previously held by the PPP and 46 seats who were created due to Population growth. Whether the PPP nor the Movimento Progresivo were able to win a single seat.
While the Federalistas mainly won the rural districts the Liberales won in the big cities and in rural areas with beginning industrialisation, and in the new states of Patagonia Oriental and Tierra del Fuego.
It became obvious that the landslide success of the Liberales in the last elections was mainly so glaring due to the euphoria in the aftermath of the liberal revolution and that the political realignments now had came into being, giving the Liberales a much smaller majority in Congress.
On the first of July King Juan I. opened the new building which would from now on house the Cortez and then inaugurated Juan Bautista Alberdi as second Prime Minister of the Platinean Kingdom. The ceremony was held outside the new building in front of a huge crowd who cheered their new Prime Minister.
The new congressional building which houses the Cortez