Similar practices and dissimilar tradictions of "Ortodoxos" and "Renovadores" in the face of the frustrated 1985 internal party of the Justicialist party in TandilTHE JUSTICIALIST PARTY IN TANDIL

Abstract

In August 1985, the Partido Justicialista (PJ) of the province of Buenos Aires had called for internal elections to renew its authorities. However, due to open conflict with the lists presented to complete, the call was annulled by decision of the National Justicialist Council      a few days before the elections. This event, which has received little attention in the literature on Peronism in the 1980s, was pivotal in understanding the reasons behind the schism within the PJ of Buenos Aires in the November legislative election of that same year. In this article, we aim to highlight this event and analyze the political traditions and practices employed by Peronists to face of the internal party crisis in Tandil. Previous to the cancellation of the election, the "ortodoxos" and "renovadores” factions of the local Justicialist Party mobilized and undertook measures to claim and dispute the representation of the party affiliates. In this paper, we seek to examine what distinguished them in regards to their approaches to their pollical practices in Tandil during a period of heightened party activity, such as the 1985 internal election.