Frepaso

The Front for a Country in Solidarity ( or ) was a center-left political coalition in Argentina. Its leading figures were José Octavio Bordón, Carlos "Chacho" Álvarez and Graciela Fernández Meijide.

History

The coalition was formed in 1994 out of the Broad Front (''Frente Grande''), which had been founded mainly by progressive members of the Peronist Justicialist Party who denounced the neoliberal policies and alleged corruption of the Carlos Menem administration; the Broad Front joined with other dissenting Peronists, the Unidad Socialista ( Popular and Democratic Socialist Party) and several other leftist parties and individuals.

Shortly after its foundation, the coalition contested the 1995 elections, with José Octavio Bordón running for president with Carlos "Chacho" Álvarez as running mate. While the coalition didn't win the election, the campaign was considered nonetheless very successful for a newly-formed alliance, as Bordón came second with 29,3% of the vote. Subsequently, Bordón proposed converting FrePaSo into a unified party, while Álvarez wanted a loose confederation of different parties. On May 17, 1995, Bordón and Álvarez announced the formation of a confederation, with a unified political platform and leadership, with the third largest block in the Argentine National Congress. The Intransigent Party and the Christian Democratic Party joined the coalition. Bordón later resigned after a leadership battle and returned to the Justicialist Party.

The FrePaSo campaigned for the 1999 elections in an alliance with the larger Radical Civic Union (UCR) and a few provincial parties, the Alliance for Work, Justice, and Education (known simply as the Alliance), which won the presidency for Fernando de la Rúa. Frepaso politician Aníbal Ibarra was elected Mayor of Buenos Aires in 2000 on the Alliance ticket. However, that same year vice president Chacho Álvarez resigned amidst public intra-party accusations of bribery in the Senate, followed shortly after by other leading members.

After the 2001 elections, FrePaSo became the joint third largest party in the federal Chamber of Deputies, with 17 of 257 deputies.

Following the December 2001 riots, the party disintegrated. Many members re-joined the Peronist movement within the centre-left Front for Victory faction of President Néstor Kirchner, with others supporting the ARI party of Elisa Carrió. Until 2007 the party nominally retained one senator, Vilma Ibarra, who sat as a lone 'Party for Victory' member but in practice supported the Front for Victory, for which she became a national deputy in 2007. Her brother Aníbal Ibarra was removed as Mayor of Buenos Aires in 2006 in the wake of the Cromañón nightclub fire.

Member parties

;Notes

See also

* Alliance for Work, Justice and Education (ALIANZA)
* Carlos ''Chacho'' Álvarez
* Darío Alessandro

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Front For A Country In Solidarity

Defunct political party alliances in Argentina
Political parties established in 1994
1994 establishments in Argentina
Political parties disestablished in 2001
2001 disestablishments in Argentina