Hipólito Yrigoyen
Leader of the Radical Civic Union and Argentina's first president chosen by universal suffrage, overthrown by a military coup in 1930.
Life
Radical Civic Union leader
Yrigoyen was a lawyer and teacher who followed his uncle Alem into the 1890 uprising and in 1891 helped found the Radical Civic Union (the Radical Party), which he then led for many years; he was known for his austerity, taciturnity and tight organization.
First president elected by universal suffrage
The Sáenz Peña Law of 1912 introduced universal male suffrage and the secret ballot, and in 1916 Yrigoyen was elected President. He carried out university reform (1918), broadened the political participation of the middle class, and kept Argentina neutral in World War I. But the "Tragic Week" of 1919 and the Patagonian strikes of 1921 were both bloodily suppressed.
1930 coup
He was re-elected in 1928, by then advanced in age and facing the world economic crisis. On September 6, 1930, General Uriburu overthrew him in a coup, the first of Argentina's many military coups of the 20th century. He died in 1933.
Legacy
Yrigoyen's presidency marked the arrival of the middle class on Argentina's political stage, and his overthrow opened half a century of military intervention in politics.
Did you know? He lived a reclusive life and almost never spoke in public, which earned him the nickname "the Armadillo" (El Peludo).
Key dates
- 1891Co-founds the Radical Civic Union
- 1916Elected President
- 1918Promotes university reform
- 1919Tragic Week
- 1928Re-elected
- 1930Overthrown in a coup
- 1933Died