Desandando caminos. Reequilibrio de fuerzas y alternancia en el sistema partidario argentino, 2015-2019

Abstract

Objective/context: This article focuses on the Argentine party system during the cycle 2015-2019. Its main aim is to assess what has changed and what continues in this time period regarding the most established descriptions of this system. Methodology: The descriptive analysis lies on quantitative data. We use electoral results, census and opinion surveys data, and nationalization and fragmentation scores of the party system in three arenas of competition: presidential, legislative and the provincial one. Conclusions: The main finding of the analysis shows a rebalancing of forces in the competition for the presidency, with two increasingly nationalized political coalitions dominating the stage, concentrating electoral support, and with expectations of victory. The consolidation of these two national coalitions, one Peronist and the other non Peronist, has led to a strengthening of political spaces as meaningful entities for the electorate. However, provincial party systems have circumvented this trend, reinforcing their autonomy with regards to the national system. Originality: By including data of electoral behaviour, institutional power distribution, and at the same time figures of party-society linkages, this article offers a perspective that integrates two approaches on the Argentine party system that appeared until now dissociated. At the same time, the article addresses a recent period that had not yet been systematically studied. The data allows us to offer a novel interpretation regarding the current trends of the Argentine party system.

Keywords

• argentina
• party system
• peronism
• cambiemos
• kirchnerismo