Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa | |
---|---|
Chief of Government of Buenos Aires | |
In office 7 August 1996 – 10 December 1999 | |
Deputy | Enrique Olivera |
Preceded by | Jorge Domínguez (appointed intendant) |
Succeeded by | Enrique Olivera |
National Senator | |
In office 10 December 1993 – 7 August 1996 | |
Constituency | City of Buenos Aires |
In office 10 December 1983 – 10 December 1987 | |
Constituency | City of Buenos Aires |
In office 25 May 1973 – 24 March 1976 | |
Constituency | City of Buenos Aires |
National Deputy | |
In office 10 December 1991 – 10 December 1993 | |
Constituency | City of Buenos Aires |
Personal details | |
Born | Alliance | 15 September 1937
Spouse | |
Children | 3, including Antonio |
Alma mater | National University of Córdoba |
Signature | |
Fernando de la Rúa (Spanish pronunciation:
De la Rúa was the first
In 1999,
Early life
Fernando de la Rúa was the son of Eleonora Bruno and Antonio De la Rúa; he was born in the city of
He was elected senator in the
The
Mayor of Buenos Aires
The constitutional amendment gave autonomy to the city of Buenos Aires, allowing it to sanction local laws and elect
De la Rúa worked on the expansion of the Buenos Aires Underground. The first stations of the extended Line D, Olleros and José Hernández, were opened in 1997,[12][13] Juramento was opened in 1999,[14] and Congreso de Tucumán in 2000.[15] He also started the works to extend the Line B.[16] Carlos Menem started to transfer the control and financing of the underground system to the city, but the 2001 economic crisis halted the process.[17]
The former mayor Domínguez intended to expand the
Presidential elections
The Pact of Olivos diminished the electoral strength of the UCR, leading to the rise of the
Carlos Menem dismissed De la Rúa as a "boring" candidate. De la Rúa exploited that description in television advertisements, embracing it and setting a comparison with the glitzy style of Menem and the perceived political corruption of his administration. He also compared himself with the Peronist candidate Eduardo Duhalde. He promised to solve the economic crisis with fiscal austerity and higher tax controls, hoping it would lower interest rates, bring more foreign investments, and reduce unemployment. He also promised to keep the convertibility plan established by Menem that pegged the Argentine peso one-to-one with the United States dollar.[23]
The 1999 presidential election was held on 24 October. De la Rúa defeated Duhalde by 48.4% to 38.3%, well ahead of the threshold to avoid a second round run-off election. Domingo Cavallo, Menem's former minister of economy, finished the race in third place. De la Rúa was inaugurated President of Argentina on 10 December 1999. He took office with a favorability rating of 75%. Unlike Menem, whose initial cabinet was composed of trusted friends, De la Rúa's cabinet included five people with international degrees and four economists.[24]
Presidency
He was President of Argentina from 10 December 1999 to 21 December 2001.
Domestic policy
In the first days of his presidency, De la Rúa sent a bill to the Congress to request a federal intervention in the province of Corrientes. The province had a high level of debt, and organizations of piqueteros blocked roads to make demonstrations. There were two interim governors disputing power. The bill was immediately approved.[25] The intervenor selected for the task was Ramón Mestre.[26]
The Peronist unions opposed De la Rúa and held seven general strikes against him. He sent a bill known as the labour flexibility law to deregulate labor conditions, attempting to reduce the political influence of unions, to the Congress. This project was opposed by the PJ and was changed from the original draft. It was finally approved but Álvarez said several legislators were bribed to support the bill. Álvarez asked for the removal of the labor minister Alberto Flamarique , but De la Rúa instead promoted him to be his personal secretary.[27] Álvarez resigned the following day and the political scandal divided the coalition. Several deputies who initially supported De la Rúa switched to the opposition. Alfonsín tried to prevent a breakup of the UCR. Some months later, it was proposed that Álvarez return to the De la Rúa government as the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers. Álvarez initially supported the idea[28] but De la Rúa opposed it.[29] Cavallo was also proposed for the office before he was appointed Minister of Economy.[30] De la Rúa intended to include the Frepaso in the new cabinet but to exclude Álvarez himself because he still resented the latter's resignation. The negotiations failed and the new cabinet included no Frepaso politicians, but the Alliance was still working as a coalition in the Congress. It also included several radical politicians from Alfonsín's internal faction. The new Chief of Cabinet was Chrystian Colombo, who mediated between Alfonsín and the president.[31]
The PJ won the 2001 midterm election by 40% to 24%, giving it a majority in both chambers of the Congress. However, the abstention rate and several forms of protest votes combined reached 41%, the highest in Argentine history, as a consequence of the popular discontent with the two main parties. Even the few candidates of the Alliance who won at their districts, such as the radical Rodolfo Terragno in Buenos Aires, did so with political platforms against De la Rúa's administration.[32]
Foreign policy
The first year of De la Rúa's presidency coincided with the last year of Bill Clinton's presidency of the United States. Ricardo López Murphy, Minister of Defense at the time, met William Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense, in a summit of ministers that took place in Brazil in 2000. Both countries agreed to share classified information and to hold joint operations against terrorism.[33]
Although Argentina maintained neutrality as for the conflict itself
Economic policy
De la Rúa's first Minister of Economy was the progressive
De la Rúa appointed Cavallo, who had served under Menem and had established the convertibility plan. He was supported by the PJ, Carlos Álvarez, and the financial groups, but he was rejected by the rest of the UCR.[42] The government announced it would retain the convertibility plan and that there would be no devaluation or sovereign default.[43] Cavallo proposed several bills; De la Rúa sent them to the Congress and they were approved. The "superpowers law" authorized the chief of government to modify the national budget without the intervention of the Congress. There was a new tax on bank operations and more products attracted value-added tax. The wages of national customs workers were increased and some industries benefited from tax exemptions.[44] The Megacanje was a negotiation to delay the payment of foreign debt in exchange for higher interest rates.[45] However, internal debt was still a problem because the provinces, especially Buenos Aires, were nearing default.[46] This led to conflicts between Cavallo and the provincial governors.[47] Congress approved a bill for a "Zero deficit" policy to prevent further increases of debt and to work only with money from tax revenue.[48] There was a banking panic in November; the government reacted by introducing the "corralito", which prevented people from withdrawing cash from banks. It was initially a temporary measure.[49] The IMF refused to send the monthly payment for the line of credit approved at the beginning of the year because the government had not stuck to the "zero deficit" policy.[50]
Riots and resignation
The crisis worsened and by 19 December 2001, riots and looting broke out at several points in the country. De la Rúa announced in a cadena nacional (national network broadcast) that he had established a state of emergency.[51] The riots continued; his speech was followed by increased protests, the cacerolazos, which caused 27 deaths and thousands of injuries.[52] Cavallo resigned at midnight the same day, and the rest of the cabinet followed suit.[53]
There was increased looting on 20 December, both in Buenos Aires and the Conurbano. The cacerolazos continued; large groups of people started demonstrations calling for the government's resignation. The unions—first the CTA and then the CGT—began general strikes against the state of emergency. Most of the UCR withdrew their support for De la Rúa, so he asked the PJ to create a government coalition. The PJ refused, and De la Rúa resigned from government. His last administrative action was to lift the state of emergency.[52] He gave his resignation to Congress at 19:45 local time on 20 December 2001, and left the Casa Rosada in a helicopter as protesters were blocked streets around offices.[54] He had presided for two years, half of his allotted term of office.[51]
Because Vice President Carlos Álvarez had already resigned, the Congress convened to appoint a new president. Adolfo Rodríguez Saá, governor of San Luis Province, was in office for two months while calling for new presidential elections. Renewed demonstrations forced him to resign as well, and Eduardo Duhalde was appointed as the new president. He was able to complete De la Rúa's term of office.[55]
Later life and death
De la Rúa retired from political life after his resignation. The scandal over the labor flexibility law was renewed in 2003 when a former Senate worker, Mario Pontaquarto, claimed to be a witness of the case who delivered $5,000,000 to the legislators. De la Rúa was indicted alongside seven politicians from both the UCR and the PJ. In 2013, they were all cleared of charges by a unanimous resolution, and Pontaquarto was removed from the witness protection program.[56]
De la Rúa was also indicted for the police repression which took place during the crisis; he was tried by judge Claudio Bonadio, who in 2009 declared him innocent. The Supreme Court overturned Bonadio's ruling and ordered him to further investigate the matter.[57] De la Rúa and Cavallo were indicted for illegally benefiting the banks that took part in the Megacanje. They were declared innocent on 6 October 2014.[45]
He died of heart failure on 9 July 2019 at age 81.[58] He received a state funeral in Congress before a private burial the following day.[59]
Public image
De la Rúa started to work in politics from a very young age. He was nicknamed "Chupete" (Spanish: "Pacifier") because of this; the nickname was still employed when he grew up. During Carlos Menem's administration he was perceived as a serious and formal politician, in stark contrast with Menem's style. De la Rúa took advantage of this perception during the electoral campaign of 1999.[60] When he became president and the economic crisis worsened, he was perceived as a weak and tired man who was unable to react to the crisis. He was perceived as a man without leadership skills who could not make use of his presidential authority.[61] De la Rúa thought that the parody of him by the television comedian Freddy Villarreal helped to establish that image.[62][63] He sought to change his image by appearing on the television comedy show El show de Videomatch, but his appearance on the program backfired. He confused the names of the show and that of the host Marcelo Tinelli's wife. After De la Rúa's participation ended, Tinelli began to close the program; De la Rúa could be seen seeking an exit from the set in the background.[62] The aforementioned popular image of De la Rúa was further magnified when he was hospitalized for peripheral artery disease caused by high blood cholesterol. Although it is a standard, simple medical intervention, the medic told the press De la Rúa suffered from arteriosclerosis, which is usually linked with a lack of speed and reflexes.[64][dubious ]
Honours
- Slovakia: Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross (2001)[65]
- Portugal: Key of Honor to the City of Lisbon on 15 November 2001[66]
References
- ^ "De la Rúa, la promesa frustrada de una Argentina aburrida". The New York Times. 10 July 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ José Claudio Escribano (23 July 2002). "Sereno y distante, De la Rúa cuenta por qué se fue" [Calm and focused, De la Rúa tells why he left]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ Jorge Rouillon (30 October 1999). "Palmero: "Será un presidente brillante"" [Palmero: "He will be a brilliant president"]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ "Falleció el abogado Sánchez Sorondo" [The lawyer Sánchez Sorondo has died]. La Nación (in Spanish). 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Smith, p. 136
- ^ a b Sebastián D. Penelli (6 January 2016). "Operaron a De la Rúa por una grave enfermedad" [De la Rua was operated because of a grave illness] (in Spanish). Ámbito Financiero. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "Falleció el senador Vaca, del PJ" [Senator Vaca, of the PJ, has died]. La Nación (in Spanish). 21 January 1998. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ a b Reato, p. 73
- ^ Romero, pp. 286–287
- ^ Graciela Guadalupe (1 July 1996). "De la Rúa en toda la Capital" [De la Rua in all the Capital]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Mariana García (30 December 1996). "De la Rúa crea más comunas" [De la Rúa creates more communes]. Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ "Habilitan la estación de subte Olleros" [The Olleros subway station is open]. La Nación (in Spanish). 31 May 1997. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ Willy G. Bouillon (14 November 1997). "Una multitud esperó el subte en la nueva estación José Hernández" [A multitude awaited the subway at the new station José Hernández]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "El subte por fin llegó a Juramento" [The subway finally arrived to Juramento]. La Nación (in Spanish). 22 June 1999. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ Andrés Villalonga (28 April 2000). "La línea D del subte llegó a Núñez" [The line D of the subway arrived to Nuñez]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "La línea B tiene dos nuevas estaciones" [Line B has two new stations]. La Nación (in Spanish). 10 August 2003. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Ordenan bajar el cospel del subte" [It is ordered to reduce the price of the subway's ticket]. Clarín (in Spanish). 7 June 2000. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ Martín Rodríguez Yebra (19 September 1997). "Inauguran el primer tramo de las bicisendas" [The first bikeway path is opened]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ Romero, p. 295
- ^ Florencia Carbone (30 November 1998). "De la Rúa es el candidato de la Alianza para las elecciones del ´99" [De la Rúa is the candidate of the Alliance for the `99 elections]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ a b Reato, p. 75
- ^ Reato, p. 76
- ^ Clifford Krauss (26 September 1999). "Vote for Me, Declares Argentine, I'm Boring". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ Reato, p. 77
- ^ "El Gobierno decidió la intervención a Corrientes" [The government decided the intervention of Corrientes]. Clarín (in Spanish). 16 December 1999. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ Florencia Carbone (17 December 1999). "Mestre es el interventor designado en Corrientes" [Mestre is the interventor appointed in Corrientes]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ Reato, pp. 117–118
- ^ Reato, pp. 94–96
- ^ Reato, p. 105
- ^ Reato, p. 104
- ^ Reato, pp. 105–107
- ^ Reato, p. 85
- ^ Convenio militar con los EE.UU. Archived 2 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ Anthony Boadle (20 August 2001). "Argentina, IMF Talking About Plan for Future". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ^ Reato, pp. 137–138
- ^ Reato, p. 140
- ^ Gallo, Daniel (22 November 2001). "La Argentina enviará tropas a Afganistán" [Argentina will send troops to Afghanistan]. La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ Reato, pp. 99–100
- ^ Reato, pp. 101–103
- ^ Reato, pp. 98–99
- ^ Reato, p. 103
- ^ Reato, p. 97
- ^ Reato, p. 96
- ^ Reato, pp. 128–129
- ^ a b Reato, p. 130
- ^ Reato, p. 132
- ^ Reato, pp. 132–133
- ^ Reato, p. 136
- ^ Reato, p. 145
- ^ Reato, p. 144
- ^ a b Clifford Kraus (21 December 2001). "Argentine leader, his nation frayed, abruptly resigns". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ a b Larry Rohter (22 December 2001). "Interim Presidency Decided in Argentina but Doubts Linger". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ Clifford Kraus (21 December 2001). "Past Economic Cures Are Now Fuel for a Crisis". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "Trauma of Argentine 'great crisis' lives on 20 years later". The Sun. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Larry Rohter (2 January 2002). "New Argentine President Takes Office". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ Reato, pp. 121–122
- ^ "Argentina: Murder Charges Against Ex-President Restored". The New York Times. 8 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ Murió Fernando de la Rúa: de la militancia al poder, con una breve y conflictiva gestión Archived 9 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ "Ceremonia privada en el funeral de De la Rúa". Diario de Cuyo (in Spanish). 11 July 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ Reato, p. 79
- ^ "Little sympathy for Argentine president". BBC News. 17 March 2001. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ a b Reato, p. 80
- ^ "De la Rúa acusó a Tinelli por su caída" [De la Rúa accused Tinelli for his fall]. La Nación (in Spanish). 18 December 2003. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ Reato, pp. 81–82
- ^ Slovak republic website, State honours Archived 13 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine : 1st Class in 2001 (click on "Holders of the Order of the 1st Class White Double Cross" to see the holders' table)
- ^ "O chefe de estado argentino, Fernando de La Rua, reencontrou-se hoje com o ex-presidente português Mário Soares (...)" (in Portuguese). Angop. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
Bibliography
- Reato, Ceferino (2015). Doce noches [Twelve nights] (in Spanish). Argentina: Sudamericana. ISBN 978-950-07-5203-9.
- Romero, Luis Alberto (2001). Breve historia contemporánea de la Argentina. Argentina: Fondo de cultura económica. ISBN 978-950-557-393-6.
- Smith, Wayne (1983). Juan Peron and the Reshaping of Argentina. United States: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-3464-7.
External links
- Biography and tenure by CIDOB (in Spanish)