The Many and the Few: Political Participation in Republican Buenos Aires

by Hilda Sabato

This book analyzes the relationship between the many and the few in the formation of a republican polity. It studies the case of Buenos Aires in the 1860s and 1870s, when the inauguration of a new national order in Argentina entailed a radical change in the ways of power. By exploring the different forms of participation of the people in the public life of the city, it illuminates a frequently neglected side of the process of construction and legitimization of political power in nineteenth-century Latin American societies. It also provides new historical evidence on the origins of democracy in Argentina, and proposes an interpretation of that process that challenges prevailing views. The book focuses on two major the history of elections and electoral practices, and the creation and development of a public sphere. Its detailed, and often colorful, description of electoral procedures portrays a dynamic and competitive political life that contradicts traditional interpretations of the history of citizenship in Argentina. The author also argues that elections were not the only major element in the relationship between the many and the few, that these decades witnessed the formation of a public a space of mediation between civil society and the political realm, where different groups voiced their opinions and directly represented their claims. She studies three aspects of the life of the city that were symptoms of this the proliferation of associations, the expansion of the periodical press, and the development of a “culture of mobilization.” The book concludes by assessing how its conclusions offer new clues to the study of the Argentine political system, the history of Latin American democracies, and, more generally, the relations between the many and the few in modern societies.

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Sasha (bahareads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilda Sabato explores the conflicts and political bonds generated between the elite and regular people during the 1860s and 1870s. The people of Buenos Aires occupied a special space different from other Argentines in the political experiment of the 1860s and 70s. The Constitution allowed regular people a place in society. It allowed most people to vote and less the gap between many and few.

There were two key dimensions for political relations: Electoral practices and public mobilizations. Mobilization was "a key aspect in the complex relationship established between the political elite and larger sectors of the Buenos Aires population. And they were a central feature in the construction of the public sphere. By materializing the people, meetings and demonstrations operated as the visible incarnation of civil society and public opinion."

The public sphere of Buenos Aires turned into a space of mediation between civil society and the state. The public sphere was unmarred by rifts and tensions in society. Buenos Aires was de-united by the 1880s and the public sphere lost its former characteristic. The public's desire to be unified did not die out though. "The short-lived porteno experiment of the 1860s and 1870s left some original and long-lasting marks in the ways of our democracy."