Squaring the circle: The consolidation of incumbency advantage in the Argentine provincial elections of 2019

ABSTRACT The Argentine provincial elections in 2019 consolidated the control governors had over their own territories. Despite a profound economic crisis, provincial politics reinforced patterns of continuity rather than change. This was possible thanks to a series of institutional reforms enacted since the 1980s designed to protect governors and their parties, and whose lock-in effects are still in force. In some districts, power-concentrating reforms such as removing gubernatorial term limits and electoral laws with majoritarian effects solidified governors’ powers. In other provinces, power-sharing reforms that established term limits and enacted proportional representation electoral systems provide fertile ground for the emergence of new political parties. In both districts, the strategic use of the prerogative of choosing the date of provincial elections helped create provincial safe-havens. This article delves into the foundations of provincial incumbency advantage and sheds light on the institutional mechanisms that set it in motion.