Abstract
On February 24, 1946, Juan Domingo Perón was elected President of Argentina, Backed mainly by a recently-organized labor party, Perón had defeated the Democratic Union, a coalition of that nation's traditional political parties—the Conservatives, Radicals, Socialists, and Communists. Although the campaign had been marred by frequent violence, most of it directed against the anti-Peron forces, the election itself was free from irregularities, a fact acknowleged by both sides. The official results of the voting gave Perón the presidency, by a slim margin, and a majority of supporters in both houses of the legislature. More significantly, the voters granted approval to Perón's stated intention, the building of a New Argentina.