local lobbyists of the multinational oil companies. Justo expressly sought to distance himself from Uriburu, who counted on a large group of supporters among the military officials but could not get the same support from the political parties, which quickly divided themselves after Yrigoyen's death, the focus of the antipathy against him. He rejected the vice-presidency that Uriburu offered him, and he only briefly accepted the command of the army, resigning soon after. In Buenos Aires Province, Uriburu did not manage to implement the corporate model with which he wished to replace the republican system, and this failure cost him the political career of his Interior Minister, Matías Sánchez Sorondo. Justo again rejected the offers of Uriburu to join the government and form a coalition. With the support of an alliance of the conservative National Democratic Party, the Independent Socialist Party, and the most anti-personalist faction of the Radical Party (then to be the Coalition of Parties for Democracy), he ran for president on the elections of 8 November 1931. With Yrigoyen's faction banned from the elections and its supporters using the strategy of "revolutionary abstention", Justo easily won against Lisandro de la Torre and Nicolás Repetto, although under suspicion of fraud. Julio Argentino Roca Jr., from the conservative faction, joined him as Vice-President. Presidency (1932–1938) Justo became president on 20 February 1932. In addition to political turmoil caused by the coup, he had to make progress on the problems relating to the Great Depression, which had put an end to commercial profits and the full employment enjoyed by the Yrigoyen and Alvear administrations. His first minister of the Treasury, Alberto Hueyo, took very restrictive measures against the economy. The independent socialist Antonio de Tomaso joined him in Agriculture. He reduced the public expense, and restricted the circulation of currency and applied harsh fiscal measures. An empréstito patriótico, or patriotic loan, was made, attempting to strengthen the financial coffers. The first of these measures was imposed on gasoline. It was meant to finance the newly created Dirección Nacional de Vialidad, or the National Office of Public Highways, which undertook the betterment of the highway network. The difficulties for Hueyo's program would finally convince Justo to adopt this model in his economic policy. In addition, he encouraged the project of the mayor of Buenos Aires, Mariano de Vedia y Mitre, who undertook an ambitious project of urban organization, opening the Diagonal