Una religión cívica para la Argentina finisecular: La construcción identitaria del primer Radicalismo en la provincia de Santa Fe, 1894-1904

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the constitutive processes of partisan political identity during the formative years of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) — a period, with some discontinuities, that extended between the armed uprisings of 1893 and 1905. In the broader registry of the Argentinean political culture of the turn of the century, our work focuses on strategies for constructing a set of myths, rituals and symbols derived from the Revolution — the celebra-tions and the figure of the fallen martyr, among other iconographic motifs. These practices and symbols gave body to a self-interpretation by the UCR, which was infused by the will to bestow an aura of sacredness to its political action. Our analysis focuses on a case study of the province of Santa Fe, as radical experience in this regional space presents physiognomies justifying it as a matrix from which we can investigate and interpret these processes and their impact on a broader scale. Following this direction, we argue that the work of constructing an identity carried out by radicals in Santa Fe responded to two needs after a political defeat, not only to add new supporters to the UCR, but also to unite the ranks. Furthermore, the construction of a memory presented a legacy that was susceptible to variations and reinterpretations, as they occurred with the reorganization of the Party after 1903.