Professor Díaz Molina’s political history of the caretaker administration of Argentine President José Figueroa Alcorta (1906-1910) offers the scholar a wealth of often superfluous detail and a dearth of analysis. The interpretive thrust of the volume, the third in the author’s history of the Argentine oligarchy, follows the conclusions of Carlos Melo’s 1964 study of the period, that is, that Figueroa Alcorta represented “la corriente modernista del conservadorismo” opposed to the politically bankrupt Julio A. Roca-Marcelino Ugarte wing of the Partido Autonomista Nacional. Figueroa Alcorta’s political reforms and activities, which included numerous provincial interventions and the closure of the Roca-dominated Congress in 1908, paved the way for the great electoral reform, the Saenz Peña Law, of 1912.
Fulsome in his praise for the politics of Figueroa Alcorta, and extensive in his coverage of the political battles waged by contending parties and factions in the provinces, Díaz Molina unfortunately ignores the considerable social unrest that convulsed Argentina in these years. Labor demonstrations and strikes are facilely blamed on foreign agitators. Perhaps the author’s perspective is best revealed by his treatment of the important Ley de Defensa Social of 1910—it is described, without comment, in one paragraph. Far greater attention is lavished on the most minute details, including the menu of a centennial banquet given by the Infanta Isabel de Borbón.
Despite its considerable bias, the monograph, because of its detail, does capture some of the essence of political cleavages within conservative ranks. Díaz Molina also paints, sometimes vividly, an engaging picture of the style of life at the top of the socioeconomic ladder. For the most part, however, the work is quite disappointing.
