Carlos Ernesto Soria (March 1, 1949January 1, 2012) was an Argentine lawyer and
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 ...
politician who served as governor of
Río Negro Province
Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.
Its cap ...
from December 10, 2011, until his assassination.
Early life and career
Soria was born in
Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...
in 1949, and was raised in a nearby rural town, General Daniel Cerri. His father, Ernesto Soria, was an outspoken
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 ...
, and was arrested shortly after the
1955 coup against President
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...
. Following his release several months later, the Sorias relocated to
Bariloche
San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...
. The elder Soria was again arrested amid a crackdown on Peronist protests during a state visit to Bariloche by
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
in March 1959, and was imprisoned in Bahía Blanca. He was released in April 1962 and the family settled in
General Roca, Río Negro
General Roca is a city in the northeast of the Argentine province of Río Negro, northern Patagonia. It was founded on September 1, 1879, by Colonel Lorenzo Vintter, on the order of War Minister Julio A. Roca, during the Conquest of the Deser ...
, where they opened a neighborhood store.
Carlos Soria enrolled at the
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...
, earning a law degree in 1973.
Elections that March returned Peronists to power, and Soria was elected to the local
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 ...
(JP) chapter. He was later elected to the Provincial Council of the JP, and upon the
return of democracy in 1983, won a seat in 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 ...
.
[
]
Tenure in Congress
Soria would be elected to Congress for four consecutive terms, becoming Chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee. He also served in the Justice, Impeachments, and Money Laundering committees; chaired the joint committee investigating the 1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...
and the 1994 AMIA bombing
The AMIA bombing occurred on 18 July 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and targeted the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; ), a Jewish Community Centre. Executed as a suicidal attack, a bomb-laden van was driven into the AMIA buil ...
(the two most significant acts of Islamic terrorism
Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism, radical Islamic terrorism, or jihadist terrorism) refers to terrorist acts carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists.
Since at least the 1990s, Islami ...
in Argentine history); and served in the Council of Magistracy of the Nation
The Council of Magistracy of the Nation () is an organ of the Judicial Branch of the Government of Argentina. It is in charge of appointing judges, of presenting charges against them to an Accusation Jury, and of suspending or deposing them.
The c ...
.
Soria shared President 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 opposition to trials opened in 1996 in Spanish courts
The (; ) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house).
The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes. The Senate meets in the Palac ...
against Dirty War
The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...
perpetrators by Judge Baltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón Real (; born 26 October 1955) is a Spanish former judge in Spain's central criminal court, the '' Audiencia Nacional'' responsible for investigation the most serious criminal cases, including terrorism, organised crime, crimes ...
, and personally led a delegation to protest these trials; when Judge Garzón turned the tables on the delegation by calling them to testify, they returned, however, creating an embarrassing diplomatic incident. He later presented a bill to restrict rights and toughen sentences for those accused of violent crime, as well as another which would have granted congressional immunity
The Speech or Debate Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 6, Clause 1). The clause states that ''"The Senators and Representatives"'' of Congress ''"shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the ...
to all members in perpetuity; both bills were defeated.[
Soria would later be indicted for ]obstruction of justice
In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investiga ...
in his capacity as Chair of the Joint Committee on the AMIA bombing, and though he was cleared of all charges, the Río Negro PJ dropped him from their party list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
ahead of the 1999 elections.[ Soria was then offered a place in the ]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 ...
PJ list for Congress by Governor 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 ...
. Shortly before the October 1999 elections, moreover, Duhalde appointed Soria as Provincial Minister of Justice. His appointment took place on the heels of the September 16 Ramallo massacre, a botched Provincial Police
State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction ...
intervention during an armed bank robbery that resulted in the deaths of two hostages. Soria promptly released hitherto sequestered police files relating to the case which confirmed that the robbery, as well as the deaths of all robbers and hostages alike, had been orchestrated by Provincial Police officers.
Remaining on the electoral list for National Deputies, Soria took his seat in Congress in December representing the Province of Buenos Aires. He became among the leading congressional opponents of President Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) served as the President of Argentina from 1999 until his resignation in 2001. A member of the Radical Civic Union, he previously served as national senator for Buenos Aires across non-consecuti ...
's austerity
In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
package, scuttling a 2000 decree
A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...
which would have cut public sector salaries (this ultimately took place the following year). President de la Rúa's resignation in December 2001, and the subsequent Congressional designation of Duhalde as provisional president resulted in Soria's appointment as Secretary of State Intelligence (SIDE) in January 2002.[
]
Tenure at State Intelligence
Taking office, as President Duhalde did, amid widespread protest, Soria's tenure at SIDE would eventually be marred by a June 26 incident in which two '' piqueteros'', Maximiliano Kosteki and Darío Santillán, were shot in the back in Avellaneda
Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater B ...
by Provincial Police officers. SIDE had produced intelligence reports stating that the overthrow of the national government had been openly advocated in piqueteros' assemblies, and that these were attended by the extremist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in ...
(FARC).[ Phone conversations between minutes before the assassinations between a policeman implicated in the incident and the Undersecretary of Intelligence at the time, Oscar Rodríguez, proved SIDE involvement in the tragedy in subsequent trials.
Fallout from this incident was compounded by allegations made by Senator ]Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...
that SIDE personnel were spying on her husband, Santa Cruz Governor Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...
, who had recently declared his intention to run for President the following year.[ These controversies, and Soria's own plans to run for Governor of the Province of Río Negro, prompted his resignation from SIDE in July. He was narrowly defeated in provincial elections in August 2003 by UCR candidate ]Miguel Saiz
Miguel Ángel Saiz (May 17, 1949 – October 22, 2019) was an Uruguay-born Argentine politician latterly of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), who served as governor of Río Negro Province between 2003 and 2011.
Beginnings
Born in Montevideo, Urug ...
, though in elections held later in 2003, Soria narrowly won the election for mayor of the city of General Roca
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...
(the largest in the province).[ Duhalde and Soria continued to face charges in court related to the 2002 deaths. Soria declared at trial in 2005 that "democracy works with order, and we needed to establish order"; both men were cleared of all charges.][
]
Return to Río Negro
Soria was overwhelmingly reelected as mayor of General Roca in 2007, garnering 73% of the vote.[ He clinched the Justicialist Party nomination for Governor of Río Negro in 2011, and ran with the support of the ]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 ...
(FpV) faction of the party despite his long-standing alliance with the FpV's main rival, Duhalde. Soria's principal opponent in the race, UCR nominee César Barbeito, also professed his support of the FpV's standard-bearer, President Cristina Kirchner. The president formally endorsed Soria despite their past differences, however, while maintaining her distance from both candidates.[ Soria was elected governor in September with 51% of the vote, besting Barbeito by nearly 14%.
]
Death
Soria died on January 1, 2012, during the new year celebrations with his family at his farm near General Roca
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...
. He was shot in the face with a .38 caliber weapon at around 5 am, and was moved immediately to a nearby hospital, where he died minutes later. The police did not determine initially whether the death was caused by an accident or foul play; his wife was held for further questioning. He received a private funeral. His widow was charged with first-degree murder on January 19, 2012.
Vice-governor Alberto Weretilneck
Alberto Weretilneck (born 11 October 1962) is an Argentine politician currently serving as Governor of Río Negro Province, governor of Río Negro Province since 2023. He previously held the same position from 2012 to 2019.
From 2019 to 2023, h ...
succeeded Soria as governor. Weretilneck considered calling new elections, despite provisions in the Constitution of Río Negro Province that would allow him to complete the remainder of Soria's term. He however chose not to call new elections and was reelected in 2015.
See also
*List of secretaries of intelligence of Argentina
The following is a semi complete list of secretaries of intelligence of Argentina :
Subsecretaries
See also
*Secretariat of Intelligence
Secretariat of Intelligence of the State (, mostly known by its acronym SIDE) is the premier intelli ...
References
External links
Official website of Río Negro Province
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soria, Carlos
1949 births
2012 deaths
People from Bahía Blanca
University of Buenos Aires alumni
20th-century Argentine lawyers
Justicialist Party politicians
Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Río Negro
Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province
Members of the Argentine Council of Magistracy
Mayors of General Roca, Río Negro
Argentine secretaries of intelligence
Governors of Río Negro Province
Mariticides
Deaths by firearm in Argentina
Argentine murder victims
People murdered in Argentina