Businessmen and political power. The Partido del Pueblo in Santa Fe (Argentina), towards the end of the 19th century

This article analyses the ways in which economic and political interests intertwined and amalgamated inside the ruling party in the province of Santa Fe, known as the "People's Party" (Partido del Pueblo) towards the end of the 19th century. The research is centred on a public scandal in the 1890s triggered by formal accusations of corruption and incompetence at the Banco Provincial de Santa Fe. From this case study, we explore economic networks and the exchange of favours between politicians and businessmen in the public sphere, and how they became manifest in state action and electoral politics.