1862–1910 Argentine presidential elections

The elder statesman ran for the presidency again, though the seasoned Alsina outmaneuvered him by fielding Nicolás Avellaneda, a moderate lawyer from remote Tucumán Province.

Enjoying the support of the agricultural elites - as well as of the London financial powerhouse, Barings Bank - Roca daringly fielded his brother-in-law, Córdoba Province Governor Miguel Juárez Celman, as the PAN candidate for president.

A number of distinguished candidates appeared, including Buenos Aires Governor Dardo Rocha and Foreign Minister Bernardo de Irigoyen.

[7] An 1888 massacre of a May Day gathering and an unprecedented financial crisis led to the formation of the first meaningful opposition to develop as reform movements in urban areas, culminating in the Revolution of the Park that forced Juárez Celman's 1890 resignation.

Roca foiled this move by persuading former Supreme Court Chief Justice Luis Sáenz Peña (Roque's father) to run - forcing the young reformist to withdraw.

The UCR's appeal, for its part, helped lead President Carlos Pellegrini (who replaced the besieged Juárez Celman) to declare a state of siege a week before the April 10, 1892, elections.

[9] Riding high after another term of prosperity and important diplomatic accomplishments such as the May 1902 Pact with neighboring Chile over a border dispute and Foreign Minister Luis Drago's settlement of imminent war between the German Empire and Venezuela, President Roca enlisted Congressman Manuel Quintana as the PAN standard bearer.

Moderate opposition to the PAN had greatly eroded its majorities in Congress, the very day the president died, and within months, Bartolomé Mitre and Carlos Pellegrini were dead, as well.

[11] Other prominent conservatives, such as La Nación publisher Emilio Mitre and Buenos Aires Governor Marcelino Ugarte, presented token candidacies.

He promptly began negotiations with UCR leader Hipólito Yrigoyen for the introduction of legislation providing for universal male suffrage and the secret ballot.

Providing for free and fair elections, as well as for the country's first uniform system of voter registration, the Sáenz Peña Law brought the prolonged "outspoken vote" to an end.

Only a conditional supporter of national unity himself, Bartolomé Mitre instituted the fraudulent "sung vote" as a means of preventing the election of secessionists to high office.
Inheriting the system of hand-picking successors from Mitre, Julio Roca found it useful to extending his rule by proxy.
The UCR in a 1901 demonstration. Their persevering activism for free and fair elections helped result in the landmark Sáenz Peña Law of 1912.