Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Workers’ Leftist Front takes three seats in Lower House

The Workers’ Leftist Front (FIT) secured historic victories yesterday, winning its first three seats in the Lower House of Congress and securing spots for provincial lawmakers. In Salta, the front finished second in the Lower House election and put in a strong showing in Buenos Aires City and in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, […]

Left Voice

October 28, 2013
Facebook Twitter Share

The Workers’ Leftist Front (FIT) secured historic victories yesterday, winning its first three seats in the Lower House of Congress and securing spots for provincial lawmakers.

In Salta, the front finished second in the Lower House election and put in a strong showing in Buenos Aires City and in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Córdoba and Jujuy. At press time, with over 78 percent of the vote counted, results indicated the party had expanded its presence across the country, taking five percent of the national vote — one percent higher than in the primaries on August 11.

FIT’s best showing was in Salta, where the party won an historic second-place finish, with candidate Pablo López earning a congressional seat with 28 percent of the vote.

In Mendoza, FIT’s Nicolas del Caño won a seat as the front finished third with 14 percent of the national congressional vote. The party also won a seat in Buenos Aires province, as candidate Néstor Pitrola won a seat, and in Buenos Aires City’s legislature, with Marcelo Ramal taking five percent.

However, there was disappointment as party leader Jorge Altamira failed to win in the National Congress for Buenos Aires City, as competition from Autodeterminación y Libertad Party leader Luis Zamora divided the leftist vote. FIT won fourth place with 96,000 votes against Zamora’s party’s 64,000. It was bittersweet result for Altamira, who tried to get the popular leftist leader to align himself with his party prior to the general election, with Zamora (himself once a Lower House lawmaker) refusing.

Historically, the country’s far-left parties have been held back by their divisions, but FIT has flourished since its creation two years ago, when the Labour Party, the Socialists Workers’ Party and the Leftist Socialists joined together to stand for elected office.

In the first 2011 primaries election, just after the front’s formation, they secured 2.2 percent of the vote, allowing them to pass the 1.5 percent threshold needed to compete in the congressional elections. But in the end, they were unable to get their candidates to congress. In yesterday’s vote, the Workers’ Leftist Front finally broke the glass ceiling, winning five percent of the national vote, expanding their national presencem and, for the first time, winning seats in Congress.

The front’s first goal was to gain seats in Congress. It will seek to form a party bloc, despite now being a small one, composed of just a few lawmakers.

FIT provincial candidate Miryam Bregman said that those candidates who won seats would “democratically” share the duties with other list candidates who didn’t manage to win a position.

Herald staff

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Archive

The Unknown Paths of the Late Marx

An interview with Marcello Musto about the last decade of Marx's life.

Marcello Musto

February 27, 2022

The Critical Left in Cuba

Frank García Hernández discusses the political and economic situation in Cuba and the path out of the current crisis.

Frank García Hernández

February 27, 2022

Nancy Fraser and Counterhegemony

A presentation from the Fourth International Marxist Feminist Conference.

Josefina L. Martínez

February 27, 2022

Who is Anasse Kazib?

Meet the Trotskyist railway worker running for president of France.

Left Voice

February 27, 2022

MOST RECENT

A square in Argentina is full of protesters holding red banners

48 Years After the Military Coup, Tens of Thousands in Argentina Take to the Streets Against Denialism and the Far Right

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina on March 24 to demand justice for the victims of the state and the military dictatorship of 1976. This year, the annual march had renewed significance, defying the far-right government’s denialism and attacks against the working class and poor.

Madeleine Freeman

March 25, 2024

The Convulsive Interregnum of the International Situation

The capitalist world is in a "permacrisis" — a prolonged period of instability which may lead to catastrophic events. The ongoing struggles for hegemony could lead to open military conflicts.

Claudia Cinatti

March 22, 2024

Berlin’s Mayor Loves Antisemites

Kai Wegner denounces the “antisemitism” of left-wing Jews — while he embraces the most high-profile antisemitic conspiracy theorist in the world.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 22, 2024

What “The Daily” Gets Right and Wrong about Oregon’s Move to Recriminalize Drugs

A doctor at an overdose-prevention center responds to The Daily, a podcast produced by the New York Times, on the recriminalization of drugs in Oregon. What are the true causes of the addiction crisis, and how can we solve it?

Mike Pappas

March 22, 2024