1880 Adamantine presidential election

1880 Adamantine presidential election

October 9, 1880
228 members of the Electoral College 58 votes needed to win
Turnout	74.6%
Nominee Aleandro Fabiani Simone Fanelli Party Federal Democratic Party Conservative Civic Union Running mate Terenzio Morgillo Donatello Machir Electoral vote 71 51 Popular vote 156,377 131,611 Percentage 54.3% 45.7%
Presidential election results map. Blue denotes provinces won by Federal Democratic candidate Aleandro Fabiani, purple denotes provinces won by Conservative Civic Union candidate Simone Fanelli.
President before election Nicolás Avellaneda National Autonomist Party Elected President Julio Argentino Roca National Autonomist Party

The Adamantine presidential election of 1880 was held on October October 9 to chose the President of Adamantina. It was the first presidential election where the general public elected the electoral college that selected the chief executive. Aleandro Fabiani, of the Federal Democratic Party was victorious over Simone Fanelli of the Conservative Civic Union. Roughly 18.2% of the total population was eligible to vote, with approximately 74.6% of all those eligible voting in the election.

Background

The 1814 Adamantine constitution, established the parameters for holding federal election and outlined that only landowning male citizens may vote. The sale of land was heavily regulated by the government who prioritized the land to be sold to the wealthy cattle owners known as the Baroni Bovini. Throughout much of Adamantina's history the government was controlled exclusively by this powerful constituency. During the twelve year reign of Marciano Santel the cattle barons were expelled from the decision making process within the executive and were subject to a series of disruptions in their access to the labor pool. The Baroni sided with revolutionaries who rose up across the country near the end of the Adamantine-Gaullican War, who ultimately deposed the remnants of Santel's government.

Amone Lo Bello from San Loreto had lobbied the federal government for roughly six years to expand railroad access to the city of Casamassella to no avail. Bello who was a staunch opponent to the Baroni began buying up land to sell to landless urban men, as election laws required that a man own half an acre to be eligible to vote. The efforts to expand voting access became a popular endeavor among the wealthy industrialists of the country, who began elaborate campaigns to distribute roughly 250,000 plots of half acre lots of undesirable land to landless men. The Senate attempted to stop the sale of land through legislative and judicial means but were unsuccessful. The stunt by Bello effectively made roughly 250,000 men the majority vote within the provinces of Argenta, Rieti, Panzarella, Alcalina, Monfalcone and Campialti.

The coastal provincial governments feared that the land redistribution would diminish their dominance within the Chamber of Represeantives, causing many to turn on the Committee of the Temporary State of National Restoration and Baroni Bovini. The National Liberal Party fell apart during the political crisis, and those who had splintered away joined the Federal Democrats in calling the 1879 constitutional convention. Amendments were ratified on May 1 1879, which granted universal suffrage to all men above the age of 25. The amendments to the constitution also removed the provincial legislatures involvement in the selection of delegates to the electoral college. The 1880 election marked the first time in Adamantine history that a portion of the general population would have a say in the election of the president.