The rise and fall of the argentine centre-left: the crisis of Frente Grande

Abstract

This article analyses the inner workings of the Frente Grande party at the height of its political and electoral development. It is based upon the assumption that parties are not singular actors, but diverse organizations with complex internal operations. From that perspective, in order to identify the causes of both its rapid growth and current crisis, the article examines the distribution of power, styles of leadership, and formal and informal rules of the Frente Grande. Starting from the conceptual frameworks recently suggested by the literature, this article explains the Frente´s institutionalisation attempts and the resilience of its leadership. An effort is also made to look at the impact a party´s original organizational characteristics have on its subsequent development.