Hipólito Yrigoyen
Encyclopedia
Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Irigoyen Alem (iˈpolito iɾiˈɣoʝen; July 12, 1852 – July 3, 1933) was twice President of Argentina
(from 1916 to 1922, and again from 1928 to 1930). His activism became the prime impetus behind the obtainment of universal (male) suffrage
in Argentina in 1912. Known as “the father of the poor,” Yrigoyen presided over a rise in the standard of living of Argentina's working class together with the passage of a number of progressive social reforms, including improvements in factory conditions, regulation of working hours, compulsory pensions, and the introduction of a universally accessible public education system.
, and worked as a school teacher before entering politics. In 1891 he co-founded the Radical Civic Union
(Unión Cívica Radical), together with his uncle, Leandro Alem
. Yrigoyen (he signed that way to distinguish himself from Bernardo de Irigoyen
's political ideas) was popularly known as "el peludo" (the hairy armadillo
) due to his introverted character and aversion to being seen in public. Following Alem's suicide
in 1896, Hipólito Yrigoyen assumed sole leadership of the Radical Civic Union. It adopted a policy of intransigency, a position of total opposition to the regime known as "The Agreement". Established by electoral fraud
, this was an agreed formula among the political parties of that time for alternating in power
.
The Radical Civic Union took up arms in 1893 and again in 1905
. Later, however, Yrigoyen adopted a policy of nonviolence, pursuing instead the strategy of "revolutionary abstention", a total boycott
of all polls until 1912, when President Roque Sáenz Peña
was forced to agree to the passage of the Sáenz Peña Law
, which established secret, universal, and compulsory male suffrage
.
. He frequently found himself hemmed in, however, as the Senate was appointed by the legislatures of the provinces
, most of which were controlled by the opposition. Several times, Yrigoyen resorted to federal intervention
of numerous provinces by declaring a state of emergency
, removing willful governors, and deepening the confrontation with the landed establishment. Pro-Yrigoyen political supporters were known as "personalistas", a blunt suggestion that they were sycophant
s of Yrigoyen, anti-Yrigoyen elements were known as "anti-personalistas".
Yrigoyen was popular, however, among middle and working class voters, who felt integrated for the first time in political process, and the Argentinian economy prospered under his leadership. Yrigoyen preserved Argentine neutrality during World War I
, which turned out to be a boon, owing to higher beef prices and the opening up of many new markets to Argentina's primary exports (meat and cereals). Yrigoyen also promoted energy independence
for the rapidly growing country, obtaining Congressional support for the establishment of the YPF state oil concern, and appointing as its first director General Enrique Mosconi
, the most prominent advocate for industrialization in the Argentine military at the time. Generous credit and subsidies were also extended to small farmers, while Yrigoyen settled wage disputes in favour of the unions.
Following four years of recession caused by war-related shortages of credit and supplies, the Argentine economy experienced significant economic growth, expanding by over 40% from 1917 to 1922. Argentina was known as "the granary of the world", its gross domestic product per capita placing it among the wealthiest nations on earth. Iriyogen also expanded the bureaucracy and increased public spending to support his urban constituents following an economic crisis in 1919, although the rise in urban living standards was gained at the cost of higher inflation, which adversely affected the export economy. Constitutionally barred from re-election, Yrigoyen was succeeded by Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear
.
President for the second time. In December of that year, U.S. President-elect Herbert Hoover
visited Argentina on a goodwill tour
, meeting with President Yrigoyen on policies regarding trade and tariffs. Radical anarchist elements attempted to assassinate Hoover by attempting to place a bomb near his rail car, but the bomber was arrested before he could complete his work. President Yrigoyen accompanied Hoover thereafter as a personal guarantee of safety until he left the country.
In his late seventies, he found himself surrounded by aides who censored his access to news reports, hiding from him the reality of the effects of the Great Depression
, which hit towards the end of 1929. On December 24 of this year he survived an assassination attempt.
Fascist and conservative sectors of the army plotted openly for a regime change, as did Standard Oil of New Jersey, who opposed both the president's efforts to curb oil smuggling from Salta Province
to Bolivia
, as well as the existence of YPF, itself. On September 6, 1930, Yrigoyen was deposed in a military coup led by General José Félix Uriburu
. This was the first military coup since the adoption of the Argentine constitution
.
. He died in Buenos Aires
in 1933.
Hipólito Yrigoyen was buried in La Recoleta Cemetery
in Buenos Aires
.
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
(from 1916 to 1922, and again from 1928 to 1930). His activism became the prime impetus behind the obtainment of universal (male) suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
in Argentina in 1912. Known as “the father of the poor,” Yrigoyen presided over a rise in the standard of living of Argentina's working class together with the passage of a number of progressive social reforms, including improvements in factory conditions, regulation of working hours, compulsory pensions, and the introduction of a universally accessible public education system.
Freedom activist
He was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, and worked as a school teacher before entering politics. In 1891 he co-founded the Radical Civic Union
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
(Unión Cívica Radical), together with his uncle, Leandro Alem
Leandro Alem
Leandro Nicéforo Alem was an Argentine politician, born in Buenos Aires, a founder and leader of the Radical Civic Union. Alem was the uncle and political teacher of Hipólito Yrigoyen. His father, was the chief of Rosas' political police, the Mazorca. He was executed after the battle of Caseros...
. Yrigoyen (he signed that way to distinguish himself from Bernardo de Irigoyen
Bernardo de Irigoyen
Bernardo de Irigoyen was an Argentine lawyer, diplomat and politician.-Biography:Born in Buenos Aires, Irigoyen enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires and earned a juris doctor in 1843...
's political ideas) was popularly known as "el peludo" (the hairy armadillo
Big Hairy Armadillo
Chaetophractus villosus, commonly called the Big Hairy Armadillo is one of the largest and most numerous armadillos in South America. It lives from sea level to altitudes of up to 1,300 meters across the southern portion of South America and can be found in grasslands, forests, savannahs, and has...
) due to his introverted character and aversion to being seen in public. Following Alem's suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in 1896, Hipólito Yrigoyen assumed sole leadership of the Radical Civic Union. It adopted a policy of intransigency, a position of total opposition to the regime known as "The Agreement". Established by electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
, this was an agreed formula among the political parties of that time for alternating in power
Argentine presidential elections, 1862-1910
Argentina held nine presidential elections between 1862 and 1910, every six years.-Background:These elections were all indirectly decided in the electoral college, and not reflective of popular vote...
.
The Radical Civic Union took up arms in 1893 and again in 1905
Argentine Revolution of 1905
The Argentine Revolution of 1905 also known as the Radical Revolution of 1905 was a civil-military uprising organized by the Radical Civic Union and headed by Hipólito Yrigoyen against the oligarchic dominance known as the Roquismo led by Julio Argentino Roca and his National Autonomist...
. Later, however, Yrigoyen adopted a policy of nonviolence, pursuing instead the strategy of "revolutionary abstention", a total boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of all polls until 1912, when President Roque Sáenz Peña
Roque Sáenz Peña
Roque Sáenz Peña Lahitte was President of Argentina from 12 October 1910 to 9 August 1914, when he died in office...
was forced to agree to the passage of the Sáenz Peña Law
Sáenz Peña Law
The Sáenz Peña Law was Law 8871 of Argentina, sanctioned by the National Congress on 10 February 1912, which established the universal, secret and mandatory male suffrage though the creation of an electoral list...
, which established secret, universal, and compulsory male suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
.
First presidency (1916–1922)
Yrigoyen was elected President of Argentina in 1916Argentine presidential election, 1916
The Argentine general election of 1916 was held on 2 April. Voters elected the President, legislators, and local officials. The first free presidential elections in the nation's history, they had a turnout of 62.7% and produced the following official results:...
. He frequently found himself hemmed in, however, as the Senate was appointed by the legislatures of the provinces
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
, most of which were controlled by the opposition. Several times, Yrigoyen resorted to federal intervention
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
of numerous provinces by declaring a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
, removing willful governors, and deepening the confrontation with the landed establishment. Pro-Yrigoyen political supporters were known as "personalistas", a blunt suggestion that they were sycophant
Sycophant
Sycophancy means:# Obsequious flattery; servility.# The character or characteristic of a sycophant.Alternative phrases are often used such as:-Etymology:...
s of Yrigoyen, anti-Yrigoyen elements were known as "anti-personalistas".
Yrigoyen was popular, however, among middle and working class voters, who felt integrated for the first time in political process, and the Argentinian economy prospered under his leadership. Yrigoyen preserved Argentine neutrality during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, which turned out to be a boon, owing to higher beef prices and the opening up of many new markets to Argentina's primary exports (meat and cereals). Yrigoyen also promoted energy independence
Energy independence
The following articles relate to the topic of energy independence:* Energy resilience* Energy security* North American energy independence* Swedish Commission on Oil Independence* United States energy independence...
for the rapidly growing country, obtaining Congressional support for the establishment of the YPF state oil concern, and appointing as its first director General Enrique Mosconi
Enrique Mosconi
Enrique Carlos Alberto Mosconi was an Argentine military engineer, who is best known as the pioneer and organizer of petroleum surveyance and exploitation in Argentina....
, the most prominent advocate for industrialization in the Argentine military at the time. Generous credit and subsidies were also extended to small farmers, while Yrigoyen settled wage disputes in favour of the unions.
Following four years of recession caused by war-related shortages of credit and supplies, the Argentine economy experienced significant economic growth, expanding by over 40% from 1917 to 1922. Argentina was known as "the granary of the world", its gross domestic product per capita placing it among the wealthiest nations on earth. Iriyogen also expanded the bureaucracy and increased public spending to support his urban constituents following an economic crisis in 1919, although the rise in urban living standards was gained at the cost of higher inflation, which adversely affected the export economy. Constitutionally barred from re-election, Yrigoyen was succeeded by Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear
Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear
Máximo Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear Pacheco , better known as Marcelo T. de Alvear was an Argentine politician and President of Argentina from October 12, 1922 to October 12, 1928.-Biography:...
.
Second presidency (1928–1930)
On the expiration of Alvear's term in 1928, Yrigoyen was overwhelmingly electedArgentine presidential election, 1928
The Argentine general election of 1928 was held on 1 April. With a turnout of 80.9%, it produced the following official results:-President: a) Parties nominating the Leopoldo Melo-Vicente Gallo ticket...
President for the second time. In December of that year, U.S. President-elect Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
visited Argentina on a goodwill tour
Goodwill tour
A goodwill tour is a term used to indicate a tour by someone or something famous to a series of places, with the purpose of expressing benevolent interest or concern for a group of people or a region, improving or maintaining a relationship between parties, and exhibiting the item or person to...
, meeting with President Yrigoyen on policies regarding trade and tariffs. Radical anarchist elements attempted to assassinate Hoover by attempting to place a bomb near his rail car, but the bomber was arrested before he could complete his work. President Yrigoyen accompanied Hoover thereafter as a personal guarantee of safety until he left the country.
In his late seventies, he found himself surrounded by aides who censored his access to news reports, hiding from him the reality of the effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression in Latin America
The Great Depression which followed the US stock market crash of 1929 badly affected the countries of Latin America. Before the global Great Depression of the 1930s, links between the United States economy and Latin American economies had been established through US investment in Latin America and...
, which hit towards the end of 1929. On December 24 of this year he survived an assassination attempt.
Fascist and conservative sectors of the army plotted openly for a regime change, as did Standard Oil of New Jersey, who opposed both the president's efforts to curb oil smuggling from Salta Province
Salta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
to Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, as well as the existence of YPF, itself. On September 6, 1930, Yrigoyen was deposed in a military coup led by General José Félix Uriburu
José Félix Uriburu
General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu was the first de facto President of Argentina, achieved through a military coup, from September 6, 1930 to February 20, 1932.-Biography:...
. This was the first military coup since the adoption of the Argentine constitution
Constitution of Argentina
The constitution of Argentina is one of the primary sources of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a Constitutional Assembly gathered in Santa Fe, and the doctrinal basis was taken in part from the United States Constitution...
.
Twilight years
After his overthrow, Yrigoyen was placed under house arrest and confined several times to Isla Martín GarcíaIsla Martín García
Isla Martín García is an Argentine island off the Río de la Plata coast of Uruguay. The enclave island is within the boundaries of Uruguayan waters; in 1973 both countries reached an agreement establishing Martín García as an Argentine territory and also as a nature reserve.The island of has a...
. He died in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in 1933.
Hipólito Yrigoyen was buried in La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery
La Recoleta Cemetery is a famous cemetery located in the exclusive Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, Raúl Alfonsín, and several presidents of Argentina.- History :...
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
Sources
See also
- El ApóstolEl ApóstolEl Apóstol was a 1917 Argentine animated film utilizing cutout animation, and the world's first animated feature film...
, a 1917 satirical film featuring Hipólito Yrigoyen (also the world's oldest animated feature film) - History of Argentina (The Radicals in Power, 1916-1930)History of Argentina (The Radicals in Power, 1916-1930)The period spanning from 1916 to 1930 in Argentina is known as the Radical Phase , as it began with the election of the Radical Civic Union candidate Hipólito Yrigoyen, ending the conservative Generation of '80's domination on politics...