The socialist unity table: a socialist alliance at the end of the last argentine dictatorship (1980-1983)

Abstract

In 1980, the situation of Argentine socialism showed an image of strong dispersion, with many parties that disputed the legitimacy of the socialist identity. This division was caused not only by the repression of the dictatorship that began in 1976, but also by the inertia of ruptures that the old socialist trunk had carried for decades. Faced with this panorama, in 1980 the efforts began to form the so-called Mesa de Unidad Socialista, led by the Partido Socialista Popular of Guillermo Estévez Boero, the Confederación Socialista Argentina and the Partido Socialista del Chaco. The objective of this article is to explore how this electoral alliance was possible, which was reflected in the presidential formula for the 1983 elections. We are interested in knowing the ideological and discursive similarities and differences between that parties and how the efforts developed resulted in the formation of the Mesa. The question will also allow us to better understand the functioning and relationships that the parties maintained during the last dictatorship. To do this, we will go mainly to the press and party documents.