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Between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning ofthe twentieth century individuals and organized movementsresorted to petitioning in Argentina to channel their demands,express their discontent, or seek solutions for specific problems.Petitioning, particularly when it had a collective dimension,opened the door to a range of practices including meetings,demonstrations, and the circulation of petitions beyond the locallevel. A wide range of organizations (i.e. charities, workers unions,liberal and socialist clubs, neighbours’ associations, feministcentres, Catholic groups) made frequent use of this practice toinfluence parliamentary procedures and debates. Furthermore,the right to petition (enshrined in the 1853 National Constitution)enabled those who were not enfranchised (such as women andforeigners) political agency and a participation in national politics.This article explores the involvement of women in parliamentarypolitics by studying a number of petitions submitted to Congressbetween the 1880s and the 1910s. It focuses primarily oncollective petitioning paying particular attention to the way thatpublic petitions become the centre of organized campaigns (localor national) and intertwined with parliamentary lobbying.
