Fernando de la Rua
Fernando de la Rúa(
listen) (Córdoba; 15 September 1937-Loma Verde; 9 July 2019) was an Argentine lawyer, professor and politician, president of the Argentine Nation between 1999 and 2001, first Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires between 1996 and 1999, national senator for the Federal Capital in the periods 1973-1976, 1983-1989 and 1992-1996, national deputy for the Federal Capital in 1991-1992, and chairman of the National Committee of the Civic Union between 1997 and 1999.
De la Rúa took office as president on December 10, 1999, after winning the presidential elections supported by the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education, known simply as "The Alliance"; coalition between the UCR and the center-left formation and Peronist sectors FREPASO. De la Rúa announced his government program through a "Letter to the Argentines", where he promised to maintain the prevailing monetary system since 1991 under the Austral Convertibility Law, which established parity between the Argentine peso and the US dollar, to fight against "the corruption inherent to the concentration of power and the weakness of controls", to generate an "export culture" with greater added value, to deepen in Mercosur, to have an investment rate of no less than 30% financed with own resources and place education as the "central axis of transformation".
Already in government, however, the worsening of the economic crisis that began in 1998, the growing demonstration of the unsustainability of convertibility in the long term, and the procyclical economic measures taken at the beginning of his government, led his government to depend each more and more of the taking of foreign debt —mainly by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)— in order to sustain the fixed exchange rate; these measures led to a rapid and persistent deterioration of the economy and social indicators. During the early period of his presidency, the federal intervention in the province of Corrientes at the end of 1999 stood out —which had strong repression in which two people were killed and fifty others injured— and the announcement of the first economic plan that included the the famous Tablita de Machinea and a notorious scandal over possible bribes in the National Senate to obtain the approval of the Labor Reform Law —which led to the resignation of its vice president, Carlos Álvarez, in October 2000. Later in his government, the two major international financial operations known as "Blindaje" and "Megacanje" stood out, the appointment as Economy Minister of Domingo Cavallo —who had held the same position during the Carlos Menem government and contributed to the Law of convertibility of the Austral - and the "Decree of Necessity and Urgency" - which was proposed by the then Minister of Labor Patricia Bullrich, which reduced pensions and salaries of the public administration (including teachers) by 13% generalizing a piquetero movement of unemployed people against the government's measures.
The situation in the country worsened visibly in 2001, worsening the economic and social crisis, until it became a political and institutional crisis. The political plane ended up deteriorating with the overwhelming defeat of "La Alianza" in the midterm legislative elections of that same year, in which a huge proportion of the electorate cast blank or annulled votes. On December 2, an unpopular government provision, known as "Corralito," which restricted the withdrawal of cash from banks and which was designed by Minister Cavallo, ended up causing a generalized social outburst, with demonstrations, blockades of routes and streets, attacks on banks and looting of supermarkets in the main cities of the country. On December 19, De la Rúa announced the state of siege on television and immediately after finishing the announcement, thousands of people took to the streets with the slogan "Let them all go." The following day the popular demonstrations continued and were repressed by the security forces with a balance of thirty-nine fatalities in different parts of the country. That afternoon De la Rúa submitted his resignation to the Presidency, opening a two-week period of high political instability and social chaos, during which four officials were in charge of the Executive Branch, two of them with the title of President of the Nation (Adolfo Rodríguez Saá and Eduardo Duhalde).
De la Rúa withdrew from politics and avoided issuing public statements after his resignation. He continued to be a controversial figure for his role in the 2001 economic crisis, as well as for the police repression during the subsequent social outbreak, which caused more than thirty deaths, and eventual acts of corruption during his government, which led him to being included in various legal cases against him, in none of which he was convicted. He died on July 9, 2019, at the age of 81.
Early Years
Childhood
Fernando de la Rúa was born on September 15, 1937, in the city of Córdoba, capital of the province of the same name, into an upper-middle-class family. The De la Rúa family was closely linked to the Argentine politics in more than one province and several of its members had previously joined the Radical Civic Union. His father, Antonio de la Rúa Catani (1905-1979), was of Galician descent and came from Santiago del Estero, having settled in the province of Córdoba to study law; he was a radical militant from a very young age, even becoming a legislator and functionary during the government of Amadeo Sabattini. His mother, Eleonora Felisa Bruno Boeri (1908-1999), was the daughter of Italian immigrants. De la Rúa had a brother, Jorge de la Rúa, five years his junior, who would work as a civil servant during the governorship of Eduardo Angeloz and later as secretary and minister during his brother's presidency. A cousin of his, Tomas Rodríguez de la Rúa, was a candidate for governor of Jujuy for a radical sub-motto in the 1999 elections, on the same ballot that contained him as a presidential candidate.
Training
De la Rúa attended the Olmos Elementary School, and completed his secondary studies at the General Paz Military High School, maintaining very high averages of 9.53 in the first year and 9.92 in the last year, which allowed him to be standard-bearer. He manifested his initial political inclinations in that period as an opponent of the government of Juan Domingo Perón and the justicialist movement, on which he wrote satires under the pseudonym "Lauchín". Those who knew him in his adolescence described him as an extroverted and smiling person, with a personality very different from the serious and moderate profile that he would maintain throughout his political career. He joined radicalism when he came of age, in 1955, instigated by his maternal uncle Víctor Arraigada, around the time of the September 1955 coup that overthrew Perón and established a military dictatorship, which outlawed Justicialism. De la Rúa remained linked to the most anti-Peronist and right-wing sectors of the UCR, and when the party split in 1957 he remained in the Unión Cívica Radical del Pueblo (UCRP), staying that way until it once again obtained the title "Unión Cívica Radical » in June 1972. In addition to his radical affiliation, from his childhood De la Rúa was fervently Catholic and was active in religious groups such as the Catholic Youth Movement and the Catholic Youth of Córdoba.
Although he initially intended to study medicine, he eventually resolved to become a lawyer, largely at the urging of his father. He completed his degree quickly and received a medal of honor from the National University of Córdoba in 1958, at the early age of twenty-one. He briefly practiced his profession from a law firm installed in his family's home at Obispo Trejo 636, Nueva Córdoba, but later he abandoned it to start working as a teacher at the university.
Early Political Activity
Beginnings in public service
In 1960, when he was around twenty-three years old, De la Rúa traveled to Italy to do a scholarship in procedural law, remaining in that country for months, during which he learned Italian and German. During this trip he kept in the company of Juan Carlos Palmero, son of Juan Palmero, who would later be Minister of Government of the President of the Nation Arturo Umberto Illia (1963-1966). Through this friendship, De la Rúa entered public service for the first time as a member of Palmero's team of advisers and as an official of the Illia government. De la Rúa was the youngest figure in the government (he was twenty-six years old at the time) and his appearance was markedly youthful, which earned him the nickname "Pacifier", although some sources cite that he obtained that nickname much later, when moment of being elected senator for the first time. Despite his origins in Córdoba, De la Rúa developed his entire subsequent political career in the City of Buenos Aires, of which he would be elected legislative representative four times. About his experience in this period, De la Rúa declared:
Going to the Illia government allowed me to see the power from its center in Buenos Aires. The perspective was totally different from what I could have from Córdoba.Fernando de la Rúa.
His first term as a civil servant ended abruptly with the coup d'état of June 28, 1966, which established a permanent military dictatorship, which outlawed political activity. During this interval, in 1970, De la Rúa married Inés Pertiné, with whom he had three children: Agustina, Antonio and Fernando de la Rúa. His and his wife's inheritance, coupled with his distinguished practice of law, enabled him to amass considerable wealth.
Arrival to the Senate
In 1973, with the democratic opening that led to the legalization of Peronism and the call for free elections, De la Rúa (who belonged to the UCR sector linked to Ricardo Balbín) ran as the radicalismo candidate for second national senator representing the Federal Capital. The ruling dictatorship had established a second round or ballot system for the election of both executive positions (president and governors) and senators, establishing for the first time the figure of two senators for the majority and one for the minority. A senatorial list had to obtain an absolute majority of votes (50% plus one) to keep the two seats by majority, while the remaining seat would correspond to the list that followed in votes. In the event that the list with the most votes does not achieve a majority, the two candidates leading the two most voted senatorial lists would be considered virtually elected, and a second round would be held between the second candidates from both lists, with the second senator being elected. obtain more votes. Although De la Rúa had by then a meritorious performance within his party, his candidacy corresponded rather to the refusal of figures of greater weight of Balbinism to present themselves, believing that they had few expectations of defeating Peronism.
The first round of the elections took place on March 11, 1973. The list of the Justicialist Liberation Front (FREJULI), which was postulating Héctor José Cámpora as its presidential candidate (due to a legal stratagem used by the dictatorship to prevent the candidacy of Perón himself), was victorious at the national level. thus elected both as senators. FREJULI had surpassed the UCR by more than ten points, in the midst of the atomization of the Buenos Aires election in several non-Peronist parties that had their greatest deployment in the capital, but remained far from what was required to obtain the two senators for most. In this way, it corresponded to hold a second round between De la Rúa, who seconded the radical list, and Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo.
During the months of March and April, the Buenos Aires campaign was completely polarized between De la Rúa and Sánchez Sorondo. The latter did not belong to Peronism, but to the Popular Conservative Party, a right-wing force led by Vice President-elect Vicente Solano Lima within FREJULI, and had agreed to the senatorial candidacy largely because the city was one of the most elusive districts. to Peronism in the country, together with the province of Córdoba. At that time, the Federal Capital was a non-autonomous district that had a designated mayor, so the senatorship was one of the most representative elected positions in the district, and the only one that was settled in the second round, while several provinces held gubernatorial tiebreakers.. The vast majority of the defeated lists supported De la Rúa, while other sectors abstained.
Sánchez Sorondo was a very conservative nationalist figure, who made numerous missteps by issuing outrageous statements during the first round campaign, notably the example of an interview in which he questioned "the vices of the democratic system". At a clear disadvantage before a younger candidate, who in turn was supported by almost all the parties opposed to Peronism, Sánchez Sorondo limited his proselytizing activity and followed the guidelines of the superior command of the Justicialismo, avoiding distancing himself too much from the national current. La Rúa, for his part, carried out a vigorous campaign, focusing on questions of defense of democracy and the search for a strong opposition to the incoming government. He gave interviews in which he defended the protection of press freedom, university autonomy and individual rights, calling for the immediate repeal of all repressive laws of the de facto government. On FREJULI's landslide victory in the presidential elections, declared that although he considered that the non-Peronist forces had been conditioned by the repressive actions of the outgoing dictatorship, the radicalismo should in turn carry out a deep self-criticism regarding their performance, and that this self-criticism "will not be silent, nor underground, but sonorous", affirming that "greatness also exists in defeats". De la Rúa avoided directly attacking his competitor, stating that: "I prefer that Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo be judged by the people at the polls".
The second electoral round took place on Sunday, April 15. In thirteen of the fourteen districts that held the second round that day, FREJULI won twelve, while in Neuquén the dissident Peronist Movimiento Popular Neuquino of Felipe Sapag prevailed. In this context, De la Rúa obtained a wide and surprising victory with 934,831 votes (54.13%) against the 791,560 (45.87%) achieved by Sánchez Sorondo, constituting the only victory of a party not related to Peronism in the election day.
Buenos Aires radicalism profusely celebrated the result, ending with a press conference during which De la Rúa thanked the radical militancy for supporting him and the citizens who voted for him without being radicals, stating: «Today Buenos Aires has proven to be the capital of liberation, and we are the change". Although he acknowledged defeat, Sánchez Sorondo accused De la Rúa and the UCR in a later analysis of having "served a new trial of the Democratic Union", in reference to the confluence of disparate forces with the sole purpose of defeating Peronism.
September 1973 Vice Presidential Run
The victory in the Federal Capital left De la Rúa very well positioned within radicalism in particular and the non-Peronist political spectrum in general. The Radical Youth celebrated the night of April 15 with the chant "¡Balbín, De la Rúa, the fight continues!" elections, highlighting the newspaper La Nación, which headlined "A star is born", while the newspaper La Prensa published a harshly anti-Peronist analysis entitled "Buenos Aires has said NO", which stated:
The surprising result of the second round of the elections in the city of Buenos Aires has an exceptional significance for the changes it introduces in the political circumstances that affect the country. Against all the prognoses, in a climate of disappointment 93,071 votes, sum of individual wills not founded on any pact and from all areas of the city, have given the triumph to the Radical Civic Union, in a sudden demonstration of civic capacity, which allows to trust in better days for Argentine democracy.Diario La Prensa18 April 1973
Cámpora's resignation on July 29 led to the call for new presidential elections for September, which would not have any proscription, with Perón being able to present himself as a FREJULI candidate. The Radical Civic Union defined its position regarding the new elections in August, resolving to reintroduce Ricardo Balbín as his presidential candidate, after attempts to get him to run as Perón's running mate in a binomial of "national unity" failed. The National Convention was held on August 11., with Balbín being unanimously proclaimed a candidate. Initially, a consensus was sought between the National Line, the majority internal faction headed by Balbín, and the Movement for Renewal and Change led by Raúl Alfonsín to present a formula that represented the two factions. However, Alfonsinism put as a condition the intervention of the radical committees of the Federal Capital, Entre Ríos, Santa Fe and Tucumán, which was rejected by the party leadership. De la Rúa was postulated as a vice-presidential candidate in the Convention, counting on the precedent of his electoral victory.
Given the abstention of Alfonsinism after the failure of consensus, De la Rúa only had Luis León, senator for Chaco, as a rival. In the first round of voting at the National Convention, De la Rúa obtained 81 votes (43.09%) against 72 for León (38.29%) and 35 abstentions (18.62%), very far from what is required to be proclaimed candidate. In the second instance, with the definitive absence of the conventional Alfonsinistas, De la Rúa obtained 102 votes (64.15%) over 57 from León (35.85%), thus proclaiming the Balbín - De la Rúa formula De la Rúa accompanied Balbín during the proselytizing campaign, giving speeches in which he defended the values of democracy and development, describing himself as a "representative of the youth" and maintaining the concepts of "change" and "national liberation" that radicalism had used for the March elections.
The elections took place on September 23 with an overwhelming victory for FREJULI, resulting in Perón being elected for a third non-consecutive term with 61.85% of the votes over Balbín's 24.42%, a difference of 37.43 points that has not been surpassed again in Argentine electoral history. The presence of De la Rúa in the formula did not increase the possibilities of radicalism too much, obtaining 557,121 votes (31.46%) in the Federal Capital, and 374,295 (33.32%) in his native province of Córdoba. In general, however, the radical formula obtained a net increase of 368,114 votes and received more than twice as many votes as the third party with the most votes, the Alianza Popular Federalista, with 12.19% of the votes.
Senator for the Federal Capital (1973-1976)
De la Rúa served his first term as a national senator representing the Federal Capital from May 25, 1973 until the coup d'état of March 24, 1976, which implied the dissolution of Congress. At the time of his swearing in, he promised to support laws that were "of a popular nature", while assuring that he would seek to represent "democratic control" over the ruling party. On May 27, two days after taking office, he voted in favor of the release of political prisoners, fulfilling one of his main campaign promises. During his first term as senator he was one of the main leaders of the radical opposition to the successive and brief Peronist administrations, ending with the government of María Estela Martínez de Perón (1974-1976). Of note in his parliamentary management is the drafting and defense of the Presidential Headlessness Law, which was approved on July 11, 1975 after an intense debate and which in 2001 would be used to replace him as president after his resignation. In his defense of the project on July 8 De la Rúa drew a critical overview of the situation of the Martínez de Perón government, accusing the government of isolating itself and questioning the economic situation of the country after the recent Rodrigazo. The law maintained the established order of presidential succession but replaced the call for new direct elections with a call to the Legislative Assembly (senators and representatives) who should choose a new president from among the legislators and governors, thus guaranteeing that the presidency could only be held by someone who had previously agreed to a elected position.
Like almost all officials elected in 1973, his tenure as senator ended abruptly with the coup of March 24, 1976, which overthrew Martínez de Perón and dissolved Congress.
Restoration of democracy
Presidential candidacy of 1983
After the defeat of the Malvinas War and the collapse of the ruling Military Junta, a process of political liberalization began that led to a new transition to democracy. In this way, the Radical Civic Union began to reorganize politically with the call for internal elections. After Balbín's death in September 1981, the UCR was chaired by the former Balbinista governor of Entre Ríos, Carlos Raúl Contín, and De la Rúa was one of the main references of the National Line, thus being profiled as one of the main contenders for the Radical nomination for the impending presidential elections. The other prominent pre-candidates would be Raúl Alfonsín, leader of the social democratic Movement for Renewal and Change (MRC), and Luis León, of the leftist and Americanist Yrigoyenista Affirmation Movement (MAY). De la Rúa's running mate was former vice president Carlos Humberto Perette. The internal elections were carried out in parts to choose delegates from the Radical National Convention, which would be in charge of proclaiming the party's presidential formula through its 95 delegates on August 14. The primaries began on Sunday, June 12, 1983, with inmates in the province of Formosa and Chubut. The internal from Formosa resulted in an almost unanimous victory for Alfonsinismo, which obtained 90.06% of the votes. In Chubut there was another Alfonsinista triumph, although this time the National Line obtained the representation of the minority with 36.18% of the votes.
The weather did not improve in the De la Rúa sector. On June 26, internal elections took place in La Rioja, Neuquén, Misiones, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz and in the National Territory of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands. With Alfonsinism on the rise, Alfonsín prevailed over De la Rúa in six of the eight districts by various margins, De la Rúa prevailing only in La Rioja and León in San Luis. A week later, on July 3, a new primary took place, this time in four districts, with Alfonsín prevailing in most of them. behind the province of Buenos Aires.
With a narrow victory in the Federal Capital, until then a bastion of the National Line whose weight was decisive for Balbín to defeat Alfonsín in the 1973 primary, and more victories in other districts, Alfosinismo obtained a majority in the National Convention with more than 50% of the delegates, guaranteeing, de facto, an absolute pre-eminence to the MRC to proclaim the presidential binomial. On July 17, the primaries took place in the Buenos Aires district, the most populous province in the country that was home to 38% of the national electorate and a similar percentage of the radical affiliation. In these elections, Alfosinism achieved a resounding victory, to the point that the National Line could not even exceed the 25% of the votes required to achieve representation by the minority of the province in the Convention. Although four primaries were still missing (Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca and Jujuy), the result in practice made the difference irreversible.
On July 18, after confirming the defeat in Buenos Aires, De la Rúa and Perette gave a press conference in which they announced that they were declining their candidacy. De la Rúa justified his position by admitting that continuing his campaign would imply "denying reality" regarding Alfonsín's imminent victory, and that the progress of the internship could increase the friction between Alfonsinismo and Balbinismo and jeopardize the chances of victory (perceived as increasing) of radicalism ahead of the presidential elections. Much of the political arc of radicalism praised De la Rúa's position, which he described as "unpublished", and Alfonsín himself declared that he was willing to negotiate the nomination of lists with him, in accordance with his new attitude. At the time of De la Rúa's withdrawal, Alfonsín had obtained 86.21% of the votes, against 13.48% for De la Rúa and 0.31% for León. The next day, when Alfonsín was asked if he considered the possibility of an Alfonsín-De la Rúa ticket, he flatly rejected the idea, ironically suggesting that De la Rúa was a "good senator."
Senator and congressman (1983-1996)
After his first presidential race failed, De la Rúa ran again for the position he had held before the dictatorship: national senator for the Federal Capital. The return to the 1853 constitution led to the senators being elected again by the provincial legislatures, while the two senators for the Federal Capital were appointed by a 54-member Electoral College, which was popularly elected. The senator for the minority, present in the previous elections, would not be restored until 1994. De la Rúa attended accompanied by Juan Trilla, also linked to Balbinism. In parallel with Alfonsín's wide victory in the presidential elections, the De la Rúa-Trilla senatorial binomial obtained an overwhelming victory in the Federal Capital with 61.36% of the votes and 36 of the 54 seats in the Electoral College against 26 07% of the justicialist list headed by Carlos Ruckauf, guaranteeing that radicalism would stay with the two Buenos Aires senators. De la Rúa took over from him on December 10, 1983.
During his second term in the Senate, De la Rúa was a prominent legislator, serving as president of the Upper House Constitutional Affairs Committee. Among the first and most prominent projects drafted by De la Rúa is Law No. 23,098 of habeas corpus, known as the "De la Rúa Law", which regulated judicial control in the specific case of limitations to the freedom of movement in the case of being declared a state of siege in the country. It was sanctioned on September 19, 1983 and promulgated by the executive branch on October 28. At the end of the same year, he presented a project by which a pension would be granted to mothers who have five or more children, and another by which the right to receive a pension for his wife's work would be extended to the husband. Both projects were approved, the first on September 24, 1984 and the second only on August 22, 1985. While the first finally expired in deputies, the second became law after being approved by the chamber on September 25, 1985. He also promoted a project to establish the voting rights of Argentine citizens residing abroad, receiving the approval of the Senate on August 31, 1988 but again failing in the Chamber of Deputies. Some radicals believe that He was the one who drafted the Full Stop Law and the Law of Due Obedience sanctioned on June 4, 1987, during the government of the radical Raúl Alfonsín, which established that the crimes committed by members of the Armed Forces whose rank was below colonel during State Terrorism and the military dictatorship were not punishable.
In the midst of the debate on the 1987 divorce law, an initiative supported by 62% of society according to polls, De la Rúa initially declared himself in favor of it, although he promoted numerous modifications, demanding a greater power on the part of judges to prevent a divorce when it "implies negative consequences for the spouse or children". De la Rúa defended these modifications in the name of "humanizing" the process, also suggesting the need for them to pass five years for a person to be able to remarry. Finally, he voted against the project presented, although it was nevertheless approved in the Senate with 26 votes in favor and 14 against. In 1988, linked to the problems faced by groups of retirees, he achieved the approval of Law No. 23,592 on Discriminatory Acts, of his authorship, which demanded compensation for discriminatory acts based on race, religion, nationality, ideology, sex, position, etc. economic, social condition or physical characteristics. Considered advanced for its time, this law was the subject of debate in the 2010s because it was taken into account that it did not criminalize discrimination in a strict sense and it was believed that it was actually approved in in a hurry due to the country's need to adapt to the San José de Costa Rica Pact, after the failure of an attempt by the executive to promote a similar law in 1984.
His seat in the Senate had to be renewed in 1989, due to the provisions of the democratic transition that established shortened terms for positions that were renewed in stages, since at that time the full term of a senator was nine years. De la Rúa ran for re-election for a second term, having as main competitors Eduardo Vaca, from the Popular Unity Justicialista Front (FREJUPO) and María Julia Alsogaray, from the Unión del Centro Democrático (UCeDé) within the Center Alliance (AC). The campaign slogan used during his television advertisements was “De la Rúa, a serious senator.” The elections were held early on May 14, 1989, at the same time as the presidential elections. While the FREJUPO list of deputies outvoted the radical list, and the presidential candidate Eduardo Angeloz only won in the Federal Capital due to the pact between the UCR and the Independent Federalist Confederation, De la Rúa alone was the candidate with the most votes with 39.89% of the votes over Vaca's 32.60% and Alsogaray's 19.62%. However, in the Electoral College, radicalism tied with justicialismo with 19 seats each, against 11 for the UCeDé, 3 for the IFC and 2 for the United Left. Finally, an agreement between the Alianza de Centro and FREJUPO After the elections, which consecrated Carlos Menem as president, he added a majority of 30 seats and consecrated Vaca as senator.
After completing his term as senator, De la Rúa maintained the presidency of the Capital Committee of the Radical Civic Union. In April 1990, Menem offered him a position on the Supreme Court of Justice, which De la Rúa rejected, considering that it was subordinate to the ruling party. After two years out of national public office, he presented himself as a candidate for national deputy for Federal Capital in the 1991 elections, leading the radical list. The radical payroll obtained a comfortable victory over the justicialismo, with 40.35% of the votes over the 29.02% of the Justicialist Front for Production and Stability, headed by Jorge Argüello. In this way, De la Rúa took office as deputy on December 10, 1991, occupying the presidency of the Radical Civic Union bloc (composed then of 84 deputies) in the lower house. His period as a deputy was actually very short, since he quickly ran as a candidate for senator in the elections scheduled to take place on June 28, 1992, seven months later, to renew the seat of Juan Trilla. De la Rúa intended to remain in the Chamber of Deputies, but was convinced by the radical leadership to present his candidacy because he was the party figure with the greatest vote intention.
De la Rúa's main opponent would be the founder and dean of the University of Belgrano Avelino Porto, candidate for a great Menemist coalition between the PJ, the UCeDé and the Intransigent Party (PI). With a liberal-conservative cut, Porto carried out a vigorous campaign using elements that emulated, according to various analysts, US electoral campaigns, and avoided making references to justicialismo during the campaign. Although he intended to attract voters from a particularly anti-Peronist district, Porto's style eroded the original vote base of Buenos Aires justicialismo, at the same time that his coalition with the PJ eroded the support of much of the non-Peronist electorate.. In the same way, the debate around the possible re-election of Menem revolved around the campaign, considering that a Menem victory in the country's capital could play in favor of the re-election side, since it would help the ruling party reach the two-thirds required to initiate a constitutional reform. In this context, De la Rúa (who was a staunch opponent of presidential re-election) obtained an overwhelming victory with 50.01% of the votes and an absolute majority of 29 voters against 31.67% of Porto, which obtained 18 voters. The recently founded Frente País Solidario (FREPASO) obtained 7.47% of the votes and the Movement for Dignity and Independence (MODIN) 5.62%, both forces entering the electoral college with 4 and 3 votes.. De la Rúa thus managed to return to the Senate on December 10, after only one year in the Chamber of Deputies.
During his third term in the Senate, De la Rúa was a member of the Economy commission. His legislative room for maneuver was considerably reduced, since at that time the chamber was made up of 32 Justicialist senators and only 8 Radicals (with the rest of the seats distributed among provincial parties). In 1993, he presented a bill to require the incorporation of a minimum of Braille writing in public documents and a bill for the Organic Law of the Municipality of Buenos Aires, which expired during the commission stage. A similar fate had a bill of 1994 aimed at controlling private contributions to the financing of political parties, and another to the creation of a "free and supportive health system". Most of his parliamentary history after his second election is restricted to a series of draft resolutions.
Constitutional reform of 1994
During the 1990s, De la Rúa maintained a strong opposition to the government of Carlos Menem, and was strongly opposed to the president's seeking re-election in 1995, something until then prohibited by the 1853 constitution. The legitimacy of This constitution had been in doubt since 1957, when the overthrow of the Peronist government repealed the 1949 constitution and reinstated that of 1853 through a constituent convention elected in non-free elections, with Peronism outlawed and prevented from presenting itself, and which did not come to session. completely for lack of quorum. The possibility of convoking a new constituent assembly under a broad political consensus was considered during a large part of the 1980s and early 1990s. Finally, given the possibility that Menem would resort to a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice to access a second candidacy, Alfonsín, then president of the National Committee of the UCR, chose to negotiate with the government the radical support (necessary to reach two thirds of Congress) for a constitutional reform that would allow a single consecutive re-election for the president, shortening the term four-year term, and accepting a series of demands for radicalism. De la Rúa flatly rejected this agreement, known as the Pact of Olivos, stating that "he would have cut off his hand" rather than sign it, and harshly criticized Alfonsín for this decision. The elections for constituent conventions were held in 1994, and De la Rúa was not a candidate.
Head of Government of the City of Buenos Aires (1996-1999)
1996 Election
Among the main demands of radicalism to support the constitutional reform was the autonomy of the Federal Capital, then a non-autonomous district with a mayor appointed by the current president of the Nation and a Deliberative Council as the only elected body. Being the city of Buenos Aires since democratization one of the main electoral strongholds of the UCR, it was then under the administration of Oscar Camilión, leader of the Integration and Development Movement, and later by the Justicialista Jorge Domínguez, both linked to Menemism. Under the new municipal regime, the mayor would be renamed "Head of Government" and would be directly elected by the citizens of Buenos Aires, and the Deliberative Council would become an autonomous legislative power with powers similar to those of a provincial legislature. After briefly feinting with the idea of appearing in the radical presidential primaries of 1994, De la Rúa opted to contest the nascent head of government, having to compete as a pre-candidate of the "Participation Movement" in the radical internal elections against the alfonsinista Facundo Suárez Lastra, mayor during Alfonsín's government. The primaries took place on March 20, 1995 with a resounding victory for De la Rúa, with 70% of the votes. De la Rúa was thus proclaimed as a radical candidate for Head of Government, with former national deputy Enrique Olivera as running mate and vice-chief candidate. Facing the elections, the De la Rúa-Olivera formula set up a collector with four other minority parties: the Progressive Developmental Front of Retirees, Intermediate Generation, Solidarity and the Social Democratic Party.
The Buenos Aires elections for the autonomous authorities took place more than a year later, on June 30, 1996. De la Rúa's candidacy for the head of government took place in a context that was extremely unfavorable for radicalism, in frank decline after a landslide defeat in the 1995 elections, in which its presidential candidate, Río Negro Governor Horacio Massaccesi, placed third behind the recently founded FREPASO. On October 8 of that year, the UCR suffered a new setback when it lost the elections for the senatorial renewal, with FREPASO prevailing and taking away a large part of the opposition vote in favor of Graciela Fernández Meijide, a former militant of the Christian Democracy and member of CONADEP. Fernández Meijide presented herself as the first FREPASO candidate for the Statutory Legislature, which was to draft the constitution or statute of the new autonomous district and whose election would take place at the same time as the election for Head of Government. FREPASO nominated the socialist Norberto La Porta as a candidate, while the Menem mayor Jorge Domínguez presented himself to continue in charge of the city for the Justicialista Party, facing the dissent of Gustavo Béliz, from the New Leadership force. Faced with this scenario, the ruling party appeared worn out by the division and the difficult economic situation of the country, and the competition centered between De la Rúa and La Porta.
As in previous elections, De la Rúa maintained a speech with strong emphasis on denouncing the prevailing political corruption, both in the Menem government and in the Domínguez mayor's office, whom he defined as a "mayor of facto» almost two years after the constitutional reform was carried out without the autonomous institutions having been normalized. He committed himself mainly to strengthening institutional transparency and seeking to reduce the city's debt. De la Rúa and La Porta expressed certain coincidences before the campaign and promised to cooperate so that Domínguez would transfer command to the elected Head of Government if he lost the elections as quickly as possible, regardless of who won. Backed by the strong radical apparatus present in the city and with a favorable record for his career as a legislator and opponent of Justicialismo, De la Rúa led all the vote intention polls for comfortable margins and obtained a comfortable victory with 39.89% of the votes, triumphing in all districts of the capital, against 26.50% for La Porta and only 18.62% for Domínguez, who was located in a distant third place. In addition to representing a strong deterioration for the Menem government, the election revealed the personal popularity of both De la Rúa and Fernánd ez Meijide, since there was a massive ballot cut in favor of both, to the point that while De la Rúa prevailed throughout the city in the executive election, Fernández Meijide achieved the same in the legislative category, granting FREPASO the first minority in the Statutory Legislature.
Decentralization
During the municipal management, bodies such as the city government union, the consumer ombudsman, the general directorate of hygiene and food safety and the regulatory body for services were created[citation required ]. During his period, the Constitution of the City of Buenos Aires was sanctioned.
At the beginning of 1998, the Buenos Aires Legislature approved the Urban Coexistence Code which, among other measures, eliminated police edicts and imposed the concept of "tolerance" towards demonstrations of various kinds such as cross-dressing and the offer of sex on public roads, which sparked many protests from neighbors and the opposition.
Underground expansion
The works for the extension of Line D towards Belgrano had already been restarted by Jorge Domínguez in 1996.
Shortly after, on November 13, 1997, "José Hernández" and on June 21, 1999, the "Juramento" station began to provide services, in the heart of Belgrano. The works for the extension of Line D culminated in the Núñez neighborhood, with the new terminal called "Congreso de Tucumán", which was enabled on April 27, 2000.
Meanwhile, in November 1999, construction began on the "Tronador" and "De Los Incas - Parque Chas" of Line B. At the same time, the Buenos Aires government begins to manage the construction of the brand new Line H [citation required](Retiro - Nueva Pompeya), although its construction would only begin during the administration of Aníbal Ibarra.[citation required]
In between, on April 21, 1999, the still president Carlos Menem signed Decree PEN No. 393/99 in favor of transferring the exercise of inspection and control of the subways in favor of the city. Although the Legislature of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires approved a law adhering to the aforementioned national decree, the subsequent socio-economic crisis of 2001 caused the effective transfer of said functions to be diluted over time.
Transit
In 1994, as part of the highway concession contracts, the intention was announced to extend the Pan-American highway within the Federal Capital by means of an elevated viaduct up to Av. Congreso, taking advantage of the remaining land of what was going to be the Central Highway AU-3 (see Urban Highway Plan of 1976). However, the residents are strongly opposed and the mayor Jorge Domínguez, instead proposes the construction of a quick access avenue, covering almost the entire vacant space between Holmberg and Donado streets. However, no consensus is reached and the plan remains on hold.
Only during the administration of Fernando De la Rúa, in response to the demand of the residents, was the project for the fast avenue modified again, incorporating a side street for neighborhood traffic (separated from the fast road) and other modifications that tended to favor green spaces.[citation required] The residents were satisfied and the construction of the work was carried out between 1997 and 1998, constituting the current Roberto Goyeneche avenue.
Another work that De la Rúa restarts is that of the AU-7 Western Highway. This work, which contemplated uniting the Villa Soldati and Villa Pueyrredón neighborhoods, had begun in 1980 with some viaducts in the Lacarra avenue sector (Almirante Brown Park), however its execution had been suspended in 1982, leaving these structures abandoned. In 1998, work resumed, albeit in a cut version of the project, going only from Avenida Dellepiane to the Riachuelo. In 2000 the first stretch from Av. Dellepiane to Av. Roca was inaugurated and in 2002 the work was completed up to the Riachuelo, receiving at that time the name of Autopista Cámpora.
In September 1997, in the face of repeated demands from Buenos Aires cyclists, De la Rúa also inaugurated the first 7.12-kilometer section of what would later become the Bicycle Path Network of the City of Buenos Aires. This first section started from Av. Libertador and Carlos Casares, in front of the Japanese Garden, then ran parallel to Figueroa Alcorta avenue and ended at the corner of Av. Libertador and García del Río.
This new bicycle path had the entire route duly signposted so that pedestrians did not usurp the path of bicycles. In addition, at the intersections with the avenues, indicator signs were placed for motorists and special traffic lights were installed for cyclists.[citation required]
Public space
One of the first measures of the De la Rúa administration was to annul, in 1997, the controversial concessions of the dance restaurant "Ski Ranch" (Costanera Norte) and the Campo de Golf-Velódromo for having found serious breaches in the contracts.[citation required]
The "Ski Ranch," which occupied the land of the traditional Espigón Dorrego, was demolished by the commune and a public park was built in its place. The Government's initiative was to recover the coastal promenade.
De la Rúa immediately signed a decree forcing almost all concessionaires to appear at the Ministry of Finance to analyze each particular contract.
The main effect of this measure was felt on Avenida Intendente Güiraldes, a traditional promenade on the Buenos Aires coast, where numerous gastronomic establishments were located under concession by the Municipality of Buenos Aires in the 1970s. The gastronomic walk was very popular for several years, with a very varied offer for all social classes.
However, its decline began in the 1990s and deepened when Fernando De la Rúa made the decision to close several stores, because the concessions were mostly expired or presented inconsistencies. Most of the restaurants were demolished and made part of the public promenade. Ultimately only a few restaurants survived.
At the end of 1999, the promenade added a new attraction: the Tierra Santa theme park. With Hellenic, Roman, Jewish, Egyptian and Babylonian style buildings, visitors could tour the different moments in the life of Christ and interact with actors characterized as characters of the time. The new attraction was built on land that was available from the Parque Norte Spa.
Another place recovered during De la Rúa's administration was the Costanera Sur (Puerto Madero) and the Laguna de los Coipos, an 11-hectare water mirror located in the Ecological Reserve. The tasks had consisted of the removal of 50,000 cubic meters of mud, weeding, removal of solid waste and deepening of the land.
The work included, in a second stage, the reconstruction of the lower sidewalk of the boulevard that passes next to the Laguna los Coipos.
Within the urban fabric, it should be noted that, although during the administration of Jorge Domínguez the Paseo del Rosedal was fenced off for its protection, it was during the administration of De la Rúa that the controversial tradition of lattice plazas became popular and historical monuments, to prevent them from being vandalized.
Cabinet
.svg){kind=small} Fernando De la Rúa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Owner | Period |
| Secretariat of Government | Juan Octavio Gauna Enrique Mathov | 7 August 1996 - 12 March 1998 12 March 1998 - 10 December 1999 |
| Ministry of Finance and Finance | Adalberto Rodríguez Giavarini Eduardo Delle Ville | 7 August 1996 - 26 May 1998 26 May 1998 - 10 December 1999 |
| Production and Services Secretariat | Nicolas Gallo | 7 August 1996 - 24 March 1999 |
| Secretariat of Works and Services and Transport and Transit | Hugo Clausse | 24 March 1999 - 10 December 1999 |
| Ministry of Urban Planning and Environment | Enrique César Fazio Enrique Garcia Espil | 7 August 1996 - 18 July 1997 18 July 1997 - 28 February 1999 |
| Ministry of Urban Planning | Enrique Garcia Espil | 1 March 1999 - 10 December 1999 |
| Ministry of Industry, Trade, Tourism and Employment | Rafael Kohanoff | 2 July 1998 - 29 April 1999 |
| Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour | Rafael Kohanoff | 29 April 1999 - 10 December 1999 |
| Ministry of Culture | Maria Sáenz Quesada Darío Lopérfido | 7 August 1996 - 28 April 1998 28 April 1998 - 10 December 1999 |
| Ministry of Education | Horacio Sanguinetti Mario Giannoni | 7 August 1996 - 15 November 1997 15 November 1997 - 10 December 1999 |
| Secretariat for Social Action | Rafael Kohanoff Cecilia Felgueras | 7 August 1996 - 7 September 1998 7 September 1998 - 10 December 1999 |
| Ministry of Health | Hector Lombard | 7 August 1996 - 10 December 1999 |
| Ministry of Tourism | Hernán Lombardi | 29 April 1999 - 10 December 1999 |
| Environment and Regional Development Secretariat | Norberto La Porta | 1 March 1999 - 10 December 1999 |
Fernando De la Rúa | ||
| Portfolio | Owner | Period |
| Under-Secretary-General | Antonio Ostuni | 7 August 1996 - 10 December 1999 |
| Undersecretariat for Legal and Technical | Germán Voss Jorge Barbagelata | 7 August 1996 - 7 September 1998 7 September 1998 - 10 December 1999 |
| Assistant Secretary for Cabinet Coordination | Luis Gregorich | 7 August 1996 - 10 December 1999 |
Presidency (1999-2001)
Road to the presidency
The year after he took office as head of government, in August 1997, the Alianza por el Trabajo, la Justicia y la Educación was formed, with various political parties from the center and the moderate left, the main ones being the Unión Cívica Radical and the Solidarity Country Front (Frepaso). The main objective of the Alliance was to form common lists in as many districts as possible for the legislative elections of that same year, and also to dispute power with Justicialism in the 1999 presidential elections. A good part of these aspirations were fulfilled when, with joint lists in 14 districts (including the Capital and the Province of Buenos Aires) in October 1997 the UCR and Frepaso triumphed with 45 percent of the votes throughout the country, causing the first national electoral defeat of the Justicialista Party since 1985.
As a result of the agreements between the two majority parties of the opposition coalition until then, the presidential candidacy for the 1999 elections would be defined in open internal elections between a UCR candidate and a Frepaso candidate. After gaining the support of the majority of the Radical Party —especially the key endorsement of former President Raúl Alfonsín— De la Rúa became president of the UCR National Committee in 1997 and then, months later, a presidential candidate for his party.. El Frepaso opposed Graciela Fernández Meijide, who had a record from the previous election of having defeated the justicialismo in the province of Buenos Aires (until then a strongly Duhaldista district).
Fernando De la Rúa achieved victory in the open internal election in November 1998, reaching 62% of the votes against 38% for Frepaso throughout the country. Enshrined Fernando de la Rúa as a presidential candidate, the Frepaso leader, Carlos Álvarez, decided to accompany him as a vice-presidential candidate to strengthen the unity of the coalition.
Fernando De la Rúa, candidate of the Alliance, was elected president in the elections of October 24, 1999, and the Justicialistas lost their majority in the Chamber of Deputies. The Alliance and its formula De la Rúa-Álvarez obtained 48.5% of the votes, against 38.09% of the Peronist binomial Eduardo Duhalde-Ramón Ortega. In third place, with 10.09% of the votes, was the former Minister of Economy Domingo Cavallo.
One of the successes of the electoral campaign was De la Rúa's television advertising campaign, in which he would utter the phrase "They say I'm boring..." with which he would relate it later. Said advertising sought to contrast the presidential candidate with the frivolity that the public perceived in the Menem government. The electoral campaign was in charge of Ramiro Agulla, David Ratto (Raúl Alfonsín's publicist in the 1983 elections) and Antonio de la Rúa, the latter son of Fernando De la Rúa himself. The president's son would lead the " Grupo Sushi", an environment that influenced the decisions of Fernando De la Rúa.
Economic policy
De la Rúa's victory was due to the strong public rejection of the figure of Carlos Menem, as well as the deterioration of the country's economic situation, which in 1999 ended with a drop in GDP of around 3.4 points percent over the previous year. Unemployment was close to 14 percent, after reaching a record 18.6% a few years earlier, and poverty was 30% although still lower than it was before the he took over. The country had serious problems in education and health, and the political leadership had a bad public image. In addition, the Peronist government left a high fiscal deficit, with a red of more than one billion pesos, an external debt of the order of 150,000 million annually with maturities of almost 25,000 million in the next year. Economic instability caused constant changes in the Ministry of Economy, passing through José Luis Machinea (1999 - March 2001), Ricardo López Murphy (March-April 2001) and finally Domingo Cavallo, who had already been Minister of Economy between 1991 and 1996 and who had promoted the Convertibility Law.
Due to this, Machinea took severe adjustment measures in order to clean up its finances. At the beginning of 2000, a Tax Reform Law was approved, which, among other issues, increased the non-taxable minimum of Income Tax and it generalized the application of VAT. To this were added salary cuts and dismissals of state employees, among whom were teachers, security forces, administrative and judicial. The economy continued to contract and unemployment rose. To reduce the pressure of foreign debt, the government negotiated a rescue package of about 40,000 million dollars, known as Financial Shielding. However, it was not enough to reactivate the economy and in March 2001 Machinea decided to tender his resignation.
Machinea was replaced in office by Ricardo López Murphy, who lasted just 16 days in office after carrying out a new adjustment in public spending with cuts in state salaries that was not accompanied by the Radical Civic Union. De la Rúa's last Economy Minister was Domingo Cavallo, who had already held that position during the Menem presidency. His first measures were the creation of the check tax and the 13% cut in social security assets and the salary of state employees.The economic situation worsened rapidly with increases in unemployment, poverty and country risk. In November, a restructuring of the external debt began, known as the "Megacanje". Mistrust in the financial system led to strong withdrawals of bank deposits. To stop them, the Minister of Economy imposed restrictions on the withdrawal of funds, a measure that received the name of "corralito". These events led to the crisis of December 2001 in Argentina.
Managed by José Luis Machinea
The first transcendental measure before the end of 1999 was the approval of the Tax Reform Law, which provided for an increase in income tax, deductions from pensions greater than 3,100 pesos, generalizing the application of VAT, among other modifications that implied a increase in almost all internal taxes. The tax increase was part of a package that generally sought to improve the economy, as well as address outstanding debts such as the Teacher Incentive Fund, but this was nevertheless insufficient to resolve the deterioration of the public finances. Throughout the year 2000 the government sought to control public spending, lower internal interest rates and maintain monetary and financial stability. De la Rúa took severe adjustment measures: he ordered a salary cut between 8 and 20% for public employees, teachers, security forces and judicial employees that affected more than 140,000 people, cuts in the budget of National Universities and the dismissal of 10,000 employees, as part of an adjustment package required by the IMF. However, the measures did not work, by the year 2000 the crisis continued, the economy contracted 0.5% of GDP and unemployment reached 14.7%.
Starting in December 2000, industrial activity fell. In Tierra del Fuego, the production of household appliances was only 610 devices, when the worst year had been 2000 with 19,115 devices. the production of television devices fell 89% compared to the same period of the previous year, the production of video cassette recorders was 94%, that of microwaves 84%, car radios 73%. Many factories with an age of more than one hundred years old, like the Balcarce alfajores-making company.
In October, unemployment reached 18.3% of the active population. Public debt reached 132,000 million dollars, there was a contraction of more than 11% in manufacturing activity and 20% in construction in annual terms, GDP per capita fell 10% and investment 30% and a deficit of 8,500 million.
The De la Rúa government requested additional help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and private banks to reduce the pressure of foreign debt. In December 2000, Economy Minister José Luis Machinea negotiated a bailout package of nearly 40,000 million dollars, known as Financial Shielding to gain confidence and credibility abroad and lower interest rates and renew expirations more easily. However, the "Bindaje" It was not enough to reactivate the economy and in March 2001 Machinea decided to present his resignation.
In January 2001, the international reserves of the BCRA had reached a historical record of 37,380 million dollars, which would be surpassed in 2007 during the government of Néstor Kirchner.
Management by Ricardo López Murphy
In March 2001, Ricardo López Murphy took office as minister who carried out a severe fiscal adjustment program for 2.5 billion dollars, of which 1.1 billion corresponded to the educational area. Items for 660 million pesos/dollars destined for the provinces were also eliminated, cuts in the university budget for 361 million for 2001 and 541 million for 2002, cuts in teacher salaries for 220 million, reductions in family salaries for 129 million, cuts in pensions for 127 million and postponement in their payment, annulment of pensions and student scholarships, reduction and cut in health programs for 50 million. It also included the increase in VAT from 15 to 21% for cultural shows, soccer, theater and cinema, the elimination of aid to rural producers in seven provinces for 180 million, the immediate dismissal of 40,000 public employees, labor flexibility increasing the trial period from 3 to 12 months and cuts in severance pay, privatization of gambling houses and part of Banco Nación.
The management of the Radical government deteriorated the economy rapidly: interbank rates bordered on 900% per year and country risk skyrocketed, making investments difficult. His projects ran into very strong popular opposition, particularly within the Radical Party itself and in his youthful and university arms. It also put the governing coalition in a situation of rupture since the members of the Frepaso within the Cabinet announced their resignation after the economic program was presented.
Because of this, López Murphy was forced to retire after just 16 days in the Ministry of Economy.
Management by Domingo Cavallo
Domingo Cavallo, ex-president of the BCRA during the dictatorship and Menem's Minister of Economy, was summoned to occupy the portfolio. Cavallo began his administration by promising an annual growth of 5% and trying to reduce distortionary taxes and revive the industry, presented as "Competitiveness Plans". The tax on banking operations was approved and delegations were made from some of the powers of the legislative branch in the executive branch.
However, the markets reacted as badly as the international credit organizations. In July of that year, due to fiscal pressure and the impossibility of normalizing the economy, Cavallo turned towards a strong economic orthodoxy. To this end, he presented a "Zero Deficit" plan, with a new general cut in public administration spending to avoid spending more than what was received by the State. To obtain the law in question from Congress was very great, even within the radicalism in the sectors adherents to Alfonsinism, but De la Rúa obtained it by asking for an effort from both the opposition legislators and his own and the population in general. It was argued that "if there is no fix, chaos ensues". This did not help either, and the continuous adjustment contracted the economy even more in the context of an international recession regional and global, which was not helping Argentina to grow either.
Cavallo along with his economic team and Patricia Bullrich, then Minister of Labor, announced more adjustments. The tax on banking operations was approved, a 13% cut in pension assets that affected 533,401 retirees, 13% cuts in the salaries of state employees, and debt for 3,000 million was issued. These measures cooled consumption and led to to a further drop in employment levels. The fiscal deficit shot up to 4 billion dollars. Unemployment went from 14.7% in the year 2000 to 25% at the beginning of 2001, levels that marked a historical record in the country, even higher than those of the 1930 crisis.
During 2001, the economic situation deteriorated rapidly: interbank rates were close to 900% per year, country risk skyrocketed (in March it exceeded 800 points and in October it reached 1,859 points, the highest in the world), accompanied by a drop of 540 million pesos in bank deposits in a single day. In October unemployment was a record 4.8 million among the unemployed, 18.3% of the active population. Public debt reached 132,000 million dollars, a contraction greater than 11% in manufacturing activity and 20% in construction in annual terms, GDP per capita fell by 10% and investment by 30%, and a deficit of 8,500 million, without counting that of the provinces.
In November, the government of De la Rúa began a restructuring of foreign debt commitments, called "Megacanje". Towards the end of that month, the unusual worsening of the economic situation, with investments that were moving away due to the complicated political situation, caused public distrust in the financial system, which is why there were strong withdrawals of bank deposits. To stop them, the Minister of Economy imposed restrictions that involved freezing funds deposited in banks, a measure known as the "corralito". The measure was promulgated on December 1 and originally allowed only one withdrawal of 250 pesos in cash per week, the prohibition to send money outside the country and the obligation to carry out most of the commercial operations through checks, credit or debit cards, and was expected to last for 90 days. The public debt reached 132,000 million dollars, there was a contraction of more than 11% in manufacturing activity and 20% in construction in annual terms, GDP per capita fell 10% and investment 30% and a deficit of 8,500 million, without count that of the provinces.
Faced with a sharp drop in deposits and currency flight, on December 1, 2001, decree 1570/2001 was issued, which established prohibitions for the public to withdraw money from financial institutions. By abruptly restricting monetary liquidity, these measures stifled all economic movement, paralyzing trade and credit, breaking payment chains. The restrictions on the withdrawal of money, added to the seizure of deposits promoted by Domingo Cavallo, were popularly known as Corralito. These events led to the crisis of December 2001 in Argentina.
The corralito was highly unpopular and further damaged numerous sectors of the Argentine economy. The IMF, meanwhile, hardened its position and refused to send 1,260 million with which it had promised to collaborate under the loan known as "Blindaje", arguing that Argentina would not have fulfilled its commitments to maintain the "zero deficit".
Domestic policy
When he took office, the Province of Corrientes intervened, which for months had been in a serious political and financial conflict, with uninterrupted strikes and the dismissal of Governor Hugo Rubén Perie. The task was entrusted to Ramón Mestre who had to normalize the provincial situation.
He launched initiatives such as the Infrastructure Plan that, through agreements with provincial governments and private financing, sought to carry out road, water and housing works throughout the country for 20 billion dollars. The measure was taken by decree since, according to Interior Minister Federico Storani, there was no assurance that Congress would pass the law quickly enough.[citation needed]
The government managed to get the labor flexibility law approved in May 2000, promoted by the then Minister of Labor, Alberto Flamarique and Economy, José Luis Machinea. The objectives of the Labor Reform Law were, on the one hand, to weaken the trade union power of large unions in favor of small ones, and on the other, to lower labor costs. The strong resistance of the justicialismo to vote the project produced modifications that almost completely attenuated its effect on the union structure. The then labor minister Alberto Flamarique and the union leader Hugo Moyano participated in these negotiations. Moyano firmly opposed the reform, arguing that it would result in a reduction in wages and that it would be promoted by the International Monetary Fund. Flamarique tried to get the support of unionism by promising that national unions would continue to be the recipients of the reform. Union dues contributed by affiliates, but this divided the CGT internally.
Shortly after the enactment of the law, the bribery scandal would break out in the Senate, due to allegations that the government had bribed the opposition to obtain the enactment. Vice President Carlos Álvarez resigned from his position on October 6, 2000, denouncing corruption in the De la Rúa administration and in the national Senate. Álvarez's resignation produced a split in the Alliance; although the Frepaso officials continued in their positions, many of them until the end of the administration. Said rupture deepened in Congress: there, the slim majority that the ruling party had in the Chamber of Deputies was decreasing month by month as legislators from center-left parties were leaving the coalition due to political differences with the style of government carried out. by De la Rua.
The political situation was generally unfavorable. In the Senate the majority was from the Justicialista Party. In the Chamber of Deputies there was a majority but it was minimal. The syndicalism carried out 7 general strikes during the Delarruista government, and most of the Argentine provinces had their own PJ governors. He also did not have clear partisan support, and various sectors of radicalism and Frepaso began to distance themselves due to the resignation of Carlos Álvarez, the appointment of Domingo Cavallo and the sustained economic policy. The head of the UCR, Raúl Alfonsín, tried to avoid a partisan rupture.
In the middle of the year, he achieved parliamentary approval of the law on the intangibility of bank deposits. In October, unemployment had climbed to 18.3%. By the end of the year, the BCRA's international reserves would drop to around 20,000 millions of dollars.
In the midst of these problems, there were also positive aspects, such as achieving 180 days of classes in the 2000 school year, a record in more than a decade, thanks to the interest in increasing the weeks of school school period as well as avoiding teacher conflicts with the payment of the teacher incentive.
In this framework of broad political and economic problems, the legislative elections of 2001 took place, where Justicialismo prevailed with 37 percent throughout the country, against 24% of a decimated Alliance that lost more than 4,500. 000 votes compared to what was achieved just two years earlier. For the last two years of management, the radical government would face a totally opposition Congress. The blank or null vote reached record figures in the history of Argentine democracy: the combination of blank vote, null vote and absenteeism rose to 41%, equivalent to 10.2 million Argentines.
The social situation motivated the generalization of piquetero groups throughout the country, a form of demonstration that resorts to the total or partial blockade of routes or streets as a form of protest. While the electoral defeat, added to the resignation of Álvarez, left a completely Justicialist line of presidential succession, with Ramón Puerta exercising the provisional presidency of the Senate, and Eduardo Camaño the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies.
Social outbreak and resignation
Around December 19, the social situation became uncontrollable, with looting and excesses in the most important parts of the country. The President called on the population to calm down. De la Rúa responded by decreeing a state of siege throughout the country. However, vandalism did not decrease, and even increased despite the state of siege. Finally, there were 27 deaths and more than two thousand wounded. The popular rebellion, instead of ending, added the support of the middle class, a historical electoral bastion of radicalism. It was implicated by the freezing of bank deposits. At midnight, Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo resigned and the rest of the cabinet made their resignations available to the President.
On December 20, the City of Buenos Aires and Greater Buenos Aires were overwhelmed by a wave of looting of supermarkets and commercial establishments of various kinds. To this was added a generalized cacerolazo and marches of thousands of self-convened people who they demanded the resignation of the government. In downtown Buenos Aires, the Federal Police managed to keep the violence out of the Plaza de Mayo.
The unions called strikes to protest the state of siege. The CTA began a 24-hour strike on December 20. The following day (despite De la Rúa's resignation having taken place) Rodolfo Daer's CGT would join in a 36-hour strike and that of Hugo Moyano for indefinite time. The president lost the support of the majority of his own party, the Radical Civic Union, and clinging to the small radical sector that still responded to him, he tried to summon the justicialismo to a governability agreement, joining the government. The rejection of the PJ forced De la Rúa, with no other remedy, to submit his resignation to Parliament at 7:45 p.m. on December 20, 2001, when he had only completed half of his term. However, he had to return to the Casa Rosada the next day to make it official, because the Legislative Assembly had not yet met.
The image of the resigning President leaving the Casa Rosada by helicopter was forever etched in the memory of Argentines. This fact also affected the former president's political party, losing most of the subsequent elections, weakening the Radical Civic Union in the face of a rising Peronism, which in the absence of its classic rival came to divide into two fronts.
Cabinet
 Fernando De la Rúa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Owner | Period |
| Chief of Cabinet of Ministers | Rodolfo Terragno Chrystian Colombo | 10 December 1999–5 October 2000 5 October 2000–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of the Interior | Federico Storani Ramón Mestre | 10 December 1999–20 March 2001 20 March 2001–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship | Adalberto Rodríguez Giavarini | 10 December 1999–23 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Defence | Ricardo López Murphy Horacio Jaunarena | 10 December 1999–5 March 2001 5 March 2001-23 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Economy | José Luis Machinea Ricardo López Murphy Domingo Cavallo | 10 December 1999–5 March 2001 5 March 2001-20 March 2001 20 March 2001-20 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing | Nicolas Gallo José Luis Machinea Ricardo López Murphy Carlos Bastos | 10 December 1999–5 October 2000 5 October 2000–5 March 2001 5 March 2001-20 March 2001 20 March 2001–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Justice and Human Rights | Ricardo Gil Lavedra Jorge De la Rúa | 10 December 1999–6 October 2000 6 October 2000–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Education | Juan José Llach Hugo Juri Andrés Delich | 10 December 1999–25 September 2000 25 September 2000–20 March 2001 20 March 2001–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Labour, Employment and Human Resources Education | Alberto Flamarique Patricia Bullrich José Dumón | 10 December 1999–6 October 2000 6 October 2000–29 October 2001 29 October 2001–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Social Security | Patricia Bullrich | 29 October 2001–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Social Development | Graciela Fernández Meijide Marcos Makón Juan Pablo Cafiero Daniel Sartor | 10 December 1999-12 March 2001 12 March 2001-20 March 2001 20 March 2001-22 October 2001 22 October 2001–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Health | Hector Lombard | 10 December 1999–21 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports | Hernán Lombardi | 29 October 2001–21 December 2001 |
Government of Fernando De la Rúa | ||
| Portfolio | Owner | Period |
| General Secretariat | Jorge De la Rúa Alberto Flamarique Carlos Becerra Nicolas Gallo | 10 December 1999–6 October 2000 6 October 2000-7 October 2000 8 October 2000–20 March 2001 20 March 2001-20 December 2001 |
| Legal and Technical Secretariat | Ernesto Marcer | |
| State Intelligence Secretariat | Fernando de Santibañes Carlos Becerra | 10 December 1999–23 October 2000 23 October 2000–20 December 2001 |
| Ministry of Culture and Communication | Darío Lopérfido | 10 December 1999–23 December 2001 |
| Drug Prevention and Drug Trafficking Programming Secretariat | Lorenzo Cortese | 10 December 1999–20 December 2001 |
| Secretariat of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation | Dante Caputo Adriana Puiggrós | 10 December 1999–28 February 2001 28 February 2001-20 December 2001 |
Post-presidency activity
De la Rúa withdrew from political life and avoided appearances or making statements, even regarding the legal cases against him. One of them refers to the events that took place at the end of his term, during which 30 people died in different parts of the country. Enrique Mathov, the former Secretary of Security, accused De la Rúa of having ordered the repression. The case was brought by Judge Claudio Bonadío, and the then Deputy Chief of the Federal Police, Osvaldo Cannizzaro, and other commissioners who acted during that afternoon: Daniel Manzini, Próspero Treseguet, René Derecho and Alfredo Salomón. De la Rúa assures that on December 20 he was unaware of the seriousness of the situation:
I just had the information about the last hour of the afternoon, when I was already in Olivos about the deceased. I quit before I knew it.
The judge, on the other hand, dismissed De la Rúa's defense, and declared the following:
It is impossible to believe that any of the staff, advisers, correspondents, friends or family members agreed to their presence in a personal way or by any other means
You could have turned on a TV or a radio or else you wouldn't look at a window and see the picture that happened in the garden of your own house.
This prosecution was revoked on April 29, 2008, when the Federal Chamber issued the lack of merit.
De la Rúa was also prosecuted in a case in which he is accused of bribing legislators to obtain the approval of the Labor Reform of 2000. The case for "aggravated active bribery", and is carried out by federal judge Daniel Rafecas; It was promoted by the former parliamentary secretary Mario Pontaquarto, who confessed to the media his intervention in said operation. Pontaquarto was prosecuted, as was Fernando de Santibañes, who was head of the SIDE; José Genoud, then provisional president of the Senate, and Alberto Flamarique, Minister of Labor. The former senators accused of receiving the "bribes" (bribes) were Alberto Tell, Remo Costanzo, Emilio Cantarero, Ricardo Branda and Augusto Alasino.
During 2006, Judge Jorge Ballestero prosecuted De la Rúa, Domingo Cavallo and members of their team for the mega swap. He based his decision on the fact that they had committed a crime, exceeding the margin of discretion typical of political measures.
On April 7, 2009, De la Rúa was dismissed by the Oral Criminal Court 16 in the case that investigated the alleged hiring of a private gardener paid by the former Deliberative Council. It was a detachment from the mega-cause for the so-called "gnocchi" of the former communal legislature. On the same day, Judge Bonadío dismissed the former president in the case in which he was being investigated for his alleged responsibility in the five deaths that occurred as a result of the police repression of the protests that preceded his departure from the Government in December 2001.
Health and death
Regarding his health, while he was president he underwent an angioplasty at the Buenos Aires Cardiovascular Institute in June 2001, and then received a second coronary angioplasty with stent at the Diagnostic Institute in 2010 at the hands of the head of interventional cardiology of that institution, Dr. Luis de la Fuente, the pioneer doctor in Argentina of minimally invasive cardiovascular medicine who in August 2014 once again placed two coronary stents with medication.
The former head of state's state of health had deteriorated greatly during 2019. He had been admitted to the Hospital Austral on January 1 of that year due to coronary and kidney problems that kept him in intensive care for four weeks. In these circumstances they had to perform a tracheotomy. After 28 days he was discharged and a rehabilitation treatment was carried out at the Fleni Sanatorium in the town of Loma Verde.
The former president had been treated for his condition at the Alexander Fleming Institute -specialized in cancer treatments- and with his condition worsening he was sent to the Fleni Escobar headquarters.
Death
Fernando de la Rúa died at 7:10 on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at the Fleni Institute for Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Education, Escobar headquarters, where he was hospitalized due to cardiac and renal decompensation derived from his condition.
President Mauricio Macri decreed three days of national mourning. The state funeral took place in the Hall of the Lost Steps of the Chamber of Deputies. His remains were buried in the Pilar Memorial Cemetery.
Books published
- The Recurso de Casación. Editor Zavalía, 1968.
- Process and Justice. Lerner Associate Editors, 1980
- General Theory of the Process. Depalma, 1991
- Political operation. The cause of the Senate. South American, 2006. ISBN 9789500727556
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