The revolution of July 1890 and Juárez Celman's resignation initiated a period of uncertainty in Argentine politics. By August 1890, a decade of unchallenged domination by the PAN had ended; the political scene became fragmented and the set of rules which had governed politics in the preceding four years no longer applied. Historians have tended to oversimplify the political panorama of the post-Juárez Celman days. It has been erroneously assumed that the restoration of Roca's authority within the country immediately followed Juárez Celman's departure and that the emergence of the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) was, therefore, a reaction against an all-powerful PAN. This interpretation has led to misunderstandings about the circumstance in which the UCR emerged, and about the nature of the party, its aims, and methods.

An alternative explanation of the events that took place between Juárez Celman's resignation (August 1890) and the election of Luis Sáenz Peña (April 1892) is offered in this chapter. The first section is devoted to the difficulties faced by the members of the Unión Cívica (UC) in their attempts to organize a political party during the months after Juárez Celman's departure. Originally organized as a temporary coalition, as a smokescreen for the planing of the revolution of 1890, the party had no solid foundations. Its internal conflicts, the framented political scene after Juárez Celman's downfall, and the uncertainty of the new situation made party organization a difficult task.