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Parties
Traditional party politics have been shaken up by the rise of
Frepaso (Front for the Country in Solidarity) since 1994. The long-established
Radical Civil Union (UCR) in particular has had to adapt to
Frepaso's fast-rising popularity: Frepaso pushed the UCR candidate
into third place in the 1995 presidential polls. In 1997, Frepaso
and UCR overcame their differences to form the Alliance, a coalition
that is successfully challenging the Peronists' lock on power.
The Peronists (PJ, Partido Justicialista)
The Partido Justicialista still looks to its founder and hero, Juan
Domingo Peron, for inspiration. Traditionally populist and
pro-labor, the party relies on trade union links to this day.
However, under Menem (1989-99), Peronist governments pursued
economic liberalization and deregulation. The party's elite still
has more than its fair share of charismatic politicians, but many
Peronists have taken a low profile since the 1999 polls.
The Radical Civic Union (UCR, Unión
Civica Radical)
The centrist UCR has typically represented middle-class interests,
favoring clean elections and individual rights. The party did well
out of the 1999 polls, despite having suffered declines in support
in the mid-1990s. De la Rua leads the party.
The
Front for National
Solidarity (Frepaso, Frente País Solidario)
A five-party coalition, Frepaso unites an eclectic mix of former,
disenchanted Peronists (who left when Menem `subverted" the
constitution in 1994 for what they saw as his own political ends)
and center-left politicians anxious for greater social equality and
cleaner government. Frepaso came late to accepting the basic tenets
of economic policy, including peso convertibility, and still has to
reassure financial markets from time to time of its commitment to
the economic orthodoxy. The Frepaso candidate won the Buenos Aires
mayoral race in May 2000, partly compensating for the party having
done badly out of the carve-up of ministerial posts in the new
government.
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