Institutionalization of New Political Parties in Argentina. The case of Propuesta Republicana Party

CRISTIAN ALTAVILLA

Institutionalization and De-Institutionalization of Parties

Rowman and Littlefield

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2018; p. 69 - 88

Since the return of democracy to Argentina in 1983, an increasing number of (new) political parties have emerged in the national political arena. This paper takes as a case study the evolution and performance of the newest of these political parties: Propuesta Republicana (PRO). So far, PRO has shown a performance and a degree of institutionalization similar to the most important new political parties created in the last three decades: strong personalization and an organizational expansion to a reduced area of performance (broadly, to metropolitan areas). Other new political parties have failed in succeed in two challenges: in the process of institutionalization and in expanding their party organization nationwide (Altavilla 2014). Most of them have failed to extend their existence in time, being reduced to the very minimum, or disappearing entirely. However, unlike any of those new parties, PRO has won the presidential office in the election of November, 2015. Despite its similarities, PRO managed to do what other similar parties could not, making this case a potentially unique case for the analysis. The question that arises is whether party institutionalization had anything to do with this electoral victory ? and if so, to what degree has PRO institutionalized?