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365 The political moment that it is my honor to preside over is one that I regard as significant for the future of our institutions insomuch as the electoral reform heralds an evolution in representative government, and in the environment and customs in which Argentine democracy is to develop. And so crucial do I consider the new state that the new practices will generate that I have deemed it necessary to speak to public reason and national sentiment in order to establish by an act of persuasion the responsibilities that will rest on the popular masses and, with a serious preference, on the thinking classes of society. The present manifesto is an exceptional act, but this makes it no less democratic, for, if it behooves the head of the executive to suggest ways ahead for the general politics of the country, I also feel obliged to outwardly express my thoughts and live in healthy contact with the collective soul of the nation. Only this way can so many noble desires be given a course. They are born and remain dispersed till patriotism condenses them and the leader guides them to their definitive formula. Hence the need to interpenetrate, People and Government, endeavoring for my part to bring to your intimate selves my vision and desires. In the simple language of confessed intentions, I want to persuade and at the same time convince myself, controlling my natural leanings. The statement I had the honor of making when I told the honorable Congress that between the Argentine people and their elected leader there is a communion of ideals will thus be put to the test of events. It is for the sake of this mutuality that we must set out on the road of reform with faith in the country, the institutions, and mankind. I promised a government of freedom, dialogue, and scrutiny. I am delivering . I do not, however, perceive the activity of the parties making 1 RoquE sáENz pEña Message on the Electoral Reform (Buenos Aires, February 29, 1912) Original title: “Mensaje sobre la reforma electoral.” Source: Roque Sáenz Peña, Escritos y discursos [Writings and speeches] (Buenos Aires: Peuser, 1915). 366 : roque Sáenz Peña my labors effective, committed as I am in the fight against routine and the interests that are defended. I am confident, nonetheless, that I was not wrong to undertake the policy I am carrying through, yet I must repeat once again that it is not the work of my inspiration, but the demands of the times that give to each government its own mission. The intention is far from my mind to file charges against the causes that have held up our political progress. It would not be fair, of course, to personalize errors that I have deemed collective, or to attribute them to certain governments, who living in their time and making their history have broken down powerful obstacles while maintaining the principle of authority, which must take precedence over improvements. I have, on other occasions, said that defensive governments cannot be reformist . This accounts for the delays. In the present period, when I am exercising my mandate without convulsions or threats, it would be unfair to attack my predecessors or dismiss their patriotism because it fell to their lot to lead in times of agitation that called for drastic measures imposed by the incipient nature of our democracy. They have all been factors in our greatness and have brought their intensive contributions to national development. Let us reap the benefits of so much effort and use the experiences attained for the good, without rashness or reproach. The transformation of a country is not the result of chance, but of many joint causes that bring closer, prepare, and establish solutions. Once caudillismo1 had disappeared, the Republic began to take shape and, through profound upheavals, the law prevailed over men, and the national concept emerged from the defeated anarchic ferment. The struggle was no less harsh for that: blood ceased to be spilled in the fields of rebellion, but it flowed in the cities, and elections witnessed bloody contests between the impassioned people and supporters of the ruling party.The absence of weapons was certainly a breakthrough, but it is not a final sign of victory for democracy. It is not enough. We need to destroy the surrogate agents of force: the crafty arts that make the vote and the effective rule of majorities an illusion. When they disappear, then...

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