The recovery of Argentine democracy in 1983 brought with it the novelty of a non-Peronist candidate's triumph without any proscription being involved. In spite of political instability, trade unions had become increasingly important in the years leading up to 1983. When the military government fell, they were key actors providing resources, selecting candidates and organising the Peronist Party. The electoral defeat gave rise to the emergence of an internal movement, soon referred to as the Renovation.

Marcela Ferrari and Virginia Mellado's book – based on a conference organised at the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero – seeks to explain the Peronist Party's process of internal restructuring in which the renovadores (renovators) were the dynamic axis. The book deals with the internal life of the party in nine of the 24 Argentine electoral districts. These case studies were not chosen according to the size of their electorates or the relative modernisation of their economic and social structures, thus avoiding classic issues in the historiography of the Peronist Party.

The selection of papers included in this book and their place in the table of contents take into account when each electoral district adopted the rule of direct vote for representatives and candidates – a central demand of the renovadora faction. Inspired by La invención del peronismo en el interior del país (Universidad Nacional del Litoral, 2003), in which the editors Darío Macor and César Tcach select several works on the origins of Peronism outside the main cities, Ferrari and Mellado's book pays attention not only to the city and province of Buenos Aires but also to provincial politics in the country's interior.

Therefore, the case studies selected are very diverse. This is a significant benefit for the reader because the book unveils the contrasts between cases and also contributes to a more complex historical reconstruction of each area. Indeed, the multiplicity of cases helps to explain the emergence and development of a group of politicians who would continue to be actively involved in the provincial and national arena for years to come. The articles are presented according to when local branches of the Peronist Party adopted the direct vote in their internal elections. Thus, the book focuses on the events which occurred in Mendoza, Misiones, San Juan, Jujuy, Santa Fe, Córdoba, the city of Buenos Aires, Santa Cruz and finally the province of Buenos Aires. These essays are written by Mellado, Norma Álvarez, Cintia Rodrigo, Adriana Kindgard, Marcelino Maina, Gabriela Closa, Osvaldo Luoni, Aixa Bona and Juan Vilaboa, and Ferrari respectively. Written by scholars specialised in their area of case study, this book is a significant contribution to the historical reconstruction of the renovador movement at the provincial level. The variety of cases provided also illustrates the main purpose of this book and sheds light on the peculiarities of a progressive political trend that grew to be dominant in party congresses and elections outside the Justicialist framework. In addition, this book provides an insight into several agreements and confrontations, and deals with the significant renewal of aesthetical and political discourse.

It is important to point out that tensions between the trade-union movement and politicians, which are explained in the book as a consequence of the 1983 electoral defeat and a key factor in understanding the later dispute between ‘orthodox’ and ‘renovator’ activists, have been present throughout the history of the Peronist Party. Before and during the period addressed by this book, deindustrialisation and unemployment led to a decrease in the relative importance of the unions. This book explains how this process led to the generalised adoption of the direct vote, the displacement of the Peronist old guard and the emergence of a new leadership, along with an eventual merging of politicians from both sectors.

As we know, what began with a surprising defeat in 1983 ended with an equally striking ‘strange defeat’, to paraphrase historian Marc Bloch. Antonio Cafiero, the most prominent leader of the Renovation, who at that time had already become the leader of the Peronist Party and the governor of the country's main district, was defeated in the primary elections by Carlos Menem, who would become the next president.

In a nutshell, this book is a valuable contribution to the topic and to contemporary history, and will become a reference for Argentine historiography.