Herminio Iglesias

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Herminio Iglesias
National Deputy
In office
10 December 1985 – 10 December 1989
ConstituencyBuenos Aires
Mayor of Avellaneda
In office
25 May 1973 – 24 March 1976
PresidentTomás Noel Piatis
Preceded byJorge Fernández
Succeeded byOscar Aguad
Personal details
Born(1929-10-20)20 October 1929
Avellaneda, Argentina
Died16 February 2007(2007-02-16) (aged 77)
Political partyJusticialist Party
Herminio Iglesias

Herminio Iglesias (20 October 1929 – 16 February 2007) was an

intendente (mayor) of Avellaneda from 1973 to 1976, and later served as a National Deputy and councilman in Avellaneda. He is perhaps most remembered for his unsuccessful gubernatorial run in Buenos Aires Province
in 1983.

Youth

The son of

Galician immigrants, at the age of 13, Iglesias began to work in a factory
, where, at age 21, he was appointed as a union shop steward.

Political career

Henceforward a supporter of the

Jorge Videla
.

Cardboard coffin controversy

In 1983, Iglesias was the Peronist candidate for Governor of Buenos Aires Province. At a "victory rally" towards the end of the election campaign, his followers approached him with a cardboard coffin with the inscription "UCR" (representing their main opposition), which he set on fire. This episode was broadcast by national TV channels.[1] For many observers,[2] this act was perceived by public opinion as a recall of the country's recent violent past, and was decisive in the victory of the UCR in the general elections and in his own loss to UCR gubernatorial candidate Alejandro Armendáriz.[3] After this incident, he significantly lost his political prestige while quemar el cajón became political jargon for insensitive faux pas.[4]

Legislative branch

Between 1985 and 1989, Iglesias occupied a seat in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies. In the 1990s, he was a Councillor in the Municipality of Avellaneda. He lived his final years largely in seclusion, partly because of his health problems.

References

  1. ^ "Murió Herminio, el del cajón" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  2. ^ "El día que Herminio Iglesias quemó el cajón" (in Spanish). 28 October 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Falleció Herminio Iglesias" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  4. ^ "La quema del cajón radical, el episodio más recordado de Herminio Iglesias" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 September 2014.