Justicialist Party

The Justicialist Party (Spanish: Partido Justicialista [paɾˈtiðo xustisjaˈlista], PJ), also known as the Peronist Party (Spanish: Partido Peronista), is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism.

Founded by Juan Perón and his wife, First Lady Eva Perón, the party followed a left-wing agenda based on his policies. It is overall the largest party in Congress. Historically, the party's factual position was undermined by divisions that emerged in the 1990s and lasted until 2020; the PJ was rocked by a conflict between two Peronist tendencies, Kirchnerism, the main, left-wing populist faction, and Federal Peronism, which was located on the centre and centre-right of the political spectrum. The division ended with the failure of Federal Peronism to challenge the dominating Kirchnerist faction in 2019. Federal Peronism no longer constitutes an internal party faction. This was completed by Cristina Kirchner, the leader of Kirchnerism, being elected the leader of the party, and the creation of a separate dissident party — the Federal Consensus. Today, the party adheres to an ideology based on economic intervention, welfare-state policies, and economic independence from wealthier countries; it is located on the centre-left and left wing of the political spectrum.

Aside from Juan Perón, who governed Argentina on three occasions from 1946 to 1955 and later from 1973 to 1974, eleven presidents of Argentina have belonged to the Justicialist Party: Héctor Cámpora, Raúl Alberto Lastiri, Isabel Perón, Carlos Menem, Ramón Puerta, Adolfo Rodríguez Saá, Eduardo Camaño, Eduardo Duhalde, Néstor Kirchner, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Alberto Fernández. Justicialists have been the largest party in Congress almost consistently since 1987.