This book has argued that the PJ's capacity to adapt to the opportunities and constraints of the neoliberal era was critical to its survival as a major political force. The following chapter takes the argument a step further, making the case that the Peronist adaptation contributed in an important way to the performance and stability of Argentine democracy. Argentine democracy was surprisingly successful during the 1990s. Core democratic institutions such as free elections, the protection of civil liberties, and civilian control over the military became firmly established. Indeed, these institutions proved sufficiently robust to survive a hyperinflationary crisis, radical economic reform, and the abuses of the Menem government.

One of the keys to understanding this outcome lies in the transformation and survival of Peronism. The socioeconomic crisis of the 1980s and 1990s posed a fundamental threat to established parties and party systems in Latin America. This was particularly the case in what Roberts (1997a, 1998b) calls labor-mobilizing party systems, or party systems in which established labor-mobilizing parties are central actors. Where labor-mobilizing parties failed to adapt to the challenges posed by socioeconomic crisis and neoliberalism, as in Peru and Venezuela, party systems collapsed (Roberts 1997a). In theory, the collapse of established parties should lead to the emergence and consolidation of newer, more representative parties. In such a case, party decline would simply result in a realignment of the party system. In contemporary Latin America, however, the failure of established parties has more frequently led to party system fragmentation or decomposition.