Background
Raúl Alfonsín Foulkes was born on 12 March, 1927 in Chascomús, Argentina.
government official politician president
Raúl Alfonsín Foulkes was born on 12 March, 1927 in Chascomús, Argentina.
Alfonsin graduated from the military academy at age 18 but decided against a military career. He obtained a law degree and almost immediately entered politics, first at the local and provincial level.
Leader of the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR), the century-old party that represents democratic reformist views in Argentina, he took office under extremely difficult conditions. His victory was widely hailed by Argentinians anxious for a return of political freedom.
In 1963 he was elected to the national Congress, in the same election that brought UCR candidate Arturo Umberto Illia* to the presidency.
At the 1972 UCR convention, Ricardo Balbin* was the overwhelming choice for the party’s presidential nomination in the 1973 elections. Alfonsin’s bid for nomination was soundly defeated. Balbin in turn was overwhelmed by Juan Domingo Perón’s stand-in. Héctor José Cámpora, and the nation then underwent three years of Peronist rule followed by nearly eight years of military rule. Argentina suffered enormous economic and human rights problems during these years. Political party activity was banned completely by the military who used extremely repressive measures to eliminate guerrillas then operating in Argentina.
Alfonsin strengthened his position among Radicals and civilians alike during the years of military rule. In speaking out against governmental economic and human rights policies, he was co-founder and co-president of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights, the most outspoken Argentine organization to criticize the kidnappings, arrests, tortures, and desaparecidos.
After the disastrous Malvinas invasion, the Argentine military made plans to return politics to the civilians. With Balbin’s death in 1981, Alfonsin was clearly the leader of the Radical Party. He was named its presidential candidate by a wide margin, on a platform for democracy, morality and social justice, and educational and health reforms. He also was critical of the free market economy and of the harmful effect of the penetration of the multinational corporation into the economy. Alfonsin was elected president by an absolute majority, defeating the Peronists for the first time in a freely contested national election.
During the first year and a half of his presidency, Alfonsin moved slowly. He revoked an amnesty which the military had granted itself, and he instituted an investigation of human rights abuses under military rule. Trials for those considered responsible, even including the preceding military presidents, were be¬gun. Alfonsin also tried to deal with Argentina’s economic problems, initially by a price freeze and later through an austerity program begun under the prodding of the International Monetary Fund. Peronist-controlled labor resented some of the sacrifices asked of it and demonstrated against the Alfonsin policies.
Internationally, Alfonsin settled Argentina’s longstanding boundary dispute with Chile and began circumspect talks aimed at resolving the Malvinas issue. He also took steps to assert civilian control over the military, such as limiting the number of general officers and reducing the military share of the budget. By June 1986 perhaps his biggest accomplishment was that he had survived, was still in office, and remained committed to democracy.
Alfonsin emphasized the UCR’s traditions of individual liberty, populism, and anti-elitism. His views sometimes brought him into conflict with national UCR leaders, whom he considered overly conservative and out of touch with the people. In 1972 he formed a dissident group within the Radical Party, the Movement for Renovation and Change, to push for social reform policies and modernization of the UCR.
