The victory of Carlos Menem in the Peronist party's internal process to choose its presidential candidate allows understanding how a selection guided by democratic principles - which, according to projections by some "renovadores" had to derive in the definitive displacement of the party's traditional elements - ended in their restoration. Therefore, we reconstruct the progressive advance of Menem in the province of Buenos Aires - the Peronist stronghold - between January 1986 and July 1988. We summarize the performance obtained in the elections to choose authorities and candidates for governmental positions. We also approach the reasons for this electoral advancement, emphasizing political actors and political practices regarding: (a) concerted co-opting of leadership that resulted in the construction of a political foundation capable of mobilizing the adhesion of the grassroots members; (b) instrumental use of formal aspects inherent in the electoral process; and (c) the pre-election campaign, which portrayed a representation of the "Menemism" as the authentic Peronism - popular, personalistic, in contact with the masses, able to claim their myths - which had a positive impact on membership in times of deep social and political crisis. That crisis was attributed to the national government, to which the governor of the province of Buenos Aires - the main opponent - was considered too close.
Argentina; Peronism; Menemism; PJ; Province of Buenos Aires