Alberto Edgardo Balestrini (9 March 1947 – 4 April 2017) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

lawyer and politician of the

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...

. Balestrini held a number of important posts throughout his career: he served as Vice Governor of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

under

Daniel Scioli Daniel Osvaldo Scioli ( , ; born 13 January 1957) is an Argentine politician, businessman and former sportsman. He currently serves as the Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports since January 2024. He was Vice President of Argentina from ...

from 2007 to 2010, as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies (), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress (). It is made up of 257 national deputies who are elected in multi-member constituencies c ...

from 2005 to 2007, and as ''

intendente An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

'' (mayor) of

La Matanza ( Spanish for 'The Massacre') refers to a communist- Indigenous rebellion that took place in El Salvador between 22 and 25 January 1932. After the revolt was suppressed, it was followed by large-scale government killings in western El Salv ...

from 1999 to 2005. In addition, Balestrini served as a member of the Buenos Aires provincial senate, and as president of the Buenos Aires Province chapter of the

. Balestrini's career was cut short by a debilitating stroke in April 2010, following which he retired from politics in order to recover. He died in 2017, aged 70.

Early life and education

Alberto Balestrini was born on 9 March 1947 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. His father was a

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

military officer who was forced into exile in 1955 following the coup of the

Revolución Libertadora The ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') as it named itself, was the civic-military dictatorship that ruled the Argentine Republic after overthrowing President Juan Domingo Perón, shutting down the National Congress of Ar ...

and the ensuing dictatorship; for this reason, Balestrini spent part of his childhood in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Balestrini studied magistracy at the Instituto Padre Elizalde in Ciudadela. In the 1970s he began his political career in the students' union of the

Universidad del Salvador The University of the Salvador (, also known for its acronym USAL) is a Jesuit university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In addition to its campus in downtown Buenos Aires, it has instructional and research facilities in Pilar, San Miguel, Bahía B ...

, from which he attained his law degree in 1975. During the last military dictatorship (1976–1983), Balestrini worked with Father

Carlos Mugica Carlos Mugica (October 7, 1930 – May 11, 1974) was an Argentine Roman Catholic priest and activist. Life and times Early life Carlos Francisco Sergio Mugica was born in Buenos Aires, in 1930, into a privileged background. His father, Adolfo Mug ...

Political career

Balestrini began his career in the

under the wing of

Alberto Pierri Alberto Reinaldo Pierri (born 1948) is an Argentine businessman and former politician of the Justicialist Party. Pierri is the owner and managing director of Telecentro, one of Argentina's largest communications company. He served as a member of ...

, an important Justicialist leader in

. When Pierri backed

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

's re-election campaign in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, however, Balestrini backed

Eduardo Duhalde Eduardo Alberto Duhalde (; born 5 October 1941) is an Argentina, Argentine former peronist politician who served as the interim President of Argentina from January 2002 to May 2003. He also served as Vice President of Argentina, Vice President ...

in the Justicialist Party primaries. Duhalde then selected Balestrini as the mayoral candidate in that year's election in La Matanza. Balestrini ran against

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

candidate Lidia "Pinky" Satragno; upon his victory, the Justicialist Party continued its streak as the sole ruling party in the district since 1983. Toward the end of the 1990s, Balestrini formed, alongside

Julio Alak Julio César Alak (born 9 January 1958) is an Argentine politician. Since 10 December 2023, '' intendente'' (mayor) of La Plata, the capital city of Buenos Aires Province. He previously held the post from 1997 to 2007. A lawyer by profession, he ...

and Juan José Álvarez, a trio of promising young Justicialist politicians known as the "Three Musketeers". Balestrini maintained amicable relations with the ''

Piquetero A ''piquetero'' is a member of a group that has blocked a street with the purpose of demonstrating and calling attention over a particular issue or demand. The word is a neologism in Argentine Spanish, coming from ''piquete'' (in English, " ...

'' leaders Juan Carlos Alderete and

Luis D'Elía Luis D'Elía is an Argentine activist and politician who served in the government of Néstor Kirchner. He is the founder and head of the Federation of Land, Housing and Habitat, which has been described as a "violent wing" of the Confederation of ...

. After being elected to the

for a second time in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Balestrini was voted as the new president of the Chamber, a post he held until 2007. At the 2007 provincial elections in Buenos Aires, Balestrini was

's running mate in the Justicialist Party–

Front for Victory The Front for Victory (, FPV) was a centre-left Peronist electoral alliance in Argentina, and is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were elected as representatives ...

gubernatorial ticket. Scioli and Balestrini won the election with 49% of the votes, ahead of the Civic Coalition candidate

Margarita Stolbizer Margarita Stolbizer (born 17 March 1955) is an Argentine lawyer and politician. Originally a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), she founded her own party, Generation for a National Encounter (GEN) in 2007. She has been a member of the Cha ...

. In December 2008, Balestrini was elected as the new president of the Buenos Aires Province chapter of the Justicialist Party.

Later years and death

On 7 April 2010, Balestrini suffered a debilitating stroke and was interned at the Policlínico General San Martín in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

. As he was unfit for office, he was succeeded in his posts; by Gabriel Mariotto as Vice Governor of Buenos Aires and by

Hugo Moyano Hugo Moyano (born January 9, 1944) is an Argentine labour leader who was secretary general of the CGT, the country's largest trade union, from 2004 to 2012. A schism developed within the CGT during 2012, and Moyano was elected to head the CGT's di ...

as president of the Buenos Aires PJ. Balestrini never fully recovered and wouldn't walk on his own again until 2013. In 2013, he was honored with the naming of a maternity and pediatric hospital, the Dr. Alberto Balestrini Hospital, located in La Matanza. The inauguration was attended by then-Argentine President

Cristina Kirchner Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess * Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American ...

. Balestrini died in the early morning of 11 April 2017, in a private clinic in Banfield.

References

Bibliography

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Balestrini, Alberto 1947 births 2017 deaths Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine emigrants to Chile Politicians from Buenos Aires Mayors of La Matanza, Buenos Aires Members of the Buenos Aires Province Senate Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province Argentine deputies 2005–2007 Presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Vice governors of Buenos Aires Province Justicialist Party politicians 20th-century Argentine politicians