SOCIAL RIGHTS FOR ARGENTINA AS A PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC: THE COMMUNIST DRAFT CONSTITUTION AT THE 1957 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

Abstract

In Argentina's 1957 Constitutional Convention, the Communist caucus introduced a draft Constitution, designed to establish a federal parliamentary representative people’s democratic republic. The draft included organizational principles for the national economy and a broad set of rights, including social rights. This article analyzes the context in which the Convention took place, describing the severe political restrictions imposed by the military dictatorship then in power. It also examines the Communist Party’s actions and strategies in that context. Finally, the article analyzes the Communist draft Constitution, taking social rights as the main perspective. Studying this alternative vision of social constitutionalism offered at a constitutional reform process in Argentina provides elements for a deeper and more critical understanding of the social rights clause finally adopted in 1957.