In 1928 Hipo´lito lrigoyen was the most popular President that the Argentine people had elected. Two years later his popularity had evaporated and a few hundred military cadets ousted the government. The reasons go beyond this two-year period. Argentina, contrary to popular belief, did not have a democratic tradition. The nation had been ruled by the dominant economic interests up to 1916. In 1916, Hipo´lito Irigoyen was elected to his first term. The people expected him to provide them with a decent and honorable life. But in choosing the legal path of elections instead of revolution Irigoyen pre-empted any revolutionary social changes. In 1928, Irigoyen, at 76, surprised his opponents and won a second term. He was loved by the people as he had embodied their spirit. But lrigoyen considered his victory as a mandate from the people, not an election. As the ends justified the means, the government operated on the margin of legality. lrigoyen had abandoned the principles that he had fought to maintain for over thirty years. This could have been tolerated if lrigoyen had enacted some pervasive social measures to maintain his support. Instead he permitted the usurped power to remain idle. The governmental processes slowed to a snail's pace. Appointments were not made, contracts were not signed, payments were not made while the President was intent upon increasing his power for power alone. The governmental inactivity and usurpations caused a wave of political unrest which culminated in the military golpe de estado of September 6, 1930.