Przypisy. Bibliogr. s. 267-271.

Throughout 40 years of uninterrupted democracy, Argentina has managed to set a global example by bringing leaders of the junta before civilian courts and beginning the process of accounting for the crimes committed during the military dictatorship (1976–1983). These successes notwithstanding, quantitative data available in democracy indices hint at a range of challenges present in the last four decades in the South American state. Particularly striking was the economic collapse along with the national bankruptcy and socio-political crisis of 2001. One of its longstanding consequences coupled with the inability of the political elites to respond satisfactorily to the people’s demands is sociopolitical polarization. Commonly referred to as la grieta (the crack), it amounts to the clash between supporters and opponents of Kirchnerism - the dominant Peronist political movement, associated with the presidencies of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The chapter aims to scrutinize the ways polarization affects the quality of democracy by increasing its fragility. It will consider how polarization contributed to the victory of Javier Milei in the 2023 presidential race, challenge the hypothesis that this event could herald the collapse of ingrained divisions among political elites, and outline the long-lasting consequences for democratic support in Argentina.