Liberal Party of Corrientes Liberal Party of Corrientes The Liberal Party of Corrientes () is a liberal conservative provincial political party in Corrientes Province, Argentina. Founded in 1856, it is the oldest political party in Argentina still active. The Party had its origins in the Federalist traditions of Corrientes and was founded on 15 December 1856 by Juan Eusebio Torrent. From its first activities it supported Bartolomé Mitre at the national level. José Pampín was elected Corrientes Governor in 1861, the first of 17 Liberal governors. Torrent was Mitre's vice-presidential candidate in 1874. The party's leading past figures include Juan Balestra, a government minister
Pact of San José de Flores in Buenos Aires (rather than in the capital, Paraná). The Buenos Aires government also enjoyed numerous alliances in the hinterland, including that of Santiago del Estero Province (led by Manuel Taboada), as well as among powerful Liberal Party governors in Salta, Corrientes, Tucumán and San Juan. The 1858 assassination of San Juan's Federalist governor, Nazario Benavídez, by Liberals inflamed tensions between the Confederation and the State of Buenos Aires. Relations deteriorated further with the signing of a free trade agreement between the Port of Rosario (the chief Confederate port) and the Port of Montevideo to the detriment of Buenos Aires.