Mario Jorge Colazo, "El Potro", (born 4 March 1954) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the So ...

(UCR) politician. He was governor of Tierra del Fuego from 2004 to 2005, when he was removed from office by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. From 2001 to 2004, and again from 2007 to 2013, he sat in the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation ( es, Honorable Senado de la Nación Argentina) is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 185 ...

Early life and career

Colazo was born on 4 March 1954 in Río Tercero, Córdoba Province. He attended primary school in Córdoba before moving to Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego for his secondary education. He was involved in various community organisations. During the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

he served in civil protection in Río Grande. From an early age, Colazo was involved in the UCR and held senior positions in the party at provincial and national levels. From 1989 to 1991 he served as a Río Grande councillor and in 1991 he was elected Mayor of Río Grande, serving until 1999. In that year he stood as candidate for governor of the Province. From January 2000 he worked as head of the Social Services for Pensioners for the Province until 2001.

Political career

In 2001 Colazo was elected as senator. Then in 2003 he was elected as governor of the province, defeating incumbent

Peronist Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...

Carlos Manfredotti and taking office in January 2004 with

Hugo Cóccaro Hugo Omar Cóccaro (4 May 1954 – 21 July 2019) was an Argentine Justicialist Party (PJ) politician, who served as governor of Tierra del Fuego Province (formerly Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands). Life Born in Saladil ...

as his vice-governor. Although a Radical, he was by now identified with the attempt at political consensus of the new President, Peronist Néstor Kirchner, and was seen as one of the leading '''Radicales K'''. Indeed, Cóccaro was a

Justicialist The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...

, although he had been a supporter of the anti-Kirchner Peronist leader Adolfo Rodríguez Saá against Kirchner for the Presidency.Tierra del Fuego: suspendieron al gobernador Colazo y asumió el vice
'' Clarín'', 10 September 2005. The relationship between Colazo and Cóccaro soon deteriorated, to the extent that Colazo even accused his deputy of involvement in plans to assassinate him. Colazo had also been isolated from his party, who had suspended him for his links with the Peronists. He was put under investigation by the provincial legislature for misuse of municipal funds in Río Grande and for bypassing the legislature when making budget decisions in 2004, and in September 2005 he was suspended as governor. He was

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

in December 2005 and Cóccaro formally took over. In 2007 Colazo stood for and was re-elected to the Senate, heading the

Federalist Union The Federalist Party (''Partito Federalista'') was a federalist Italian political party. It was founded as Federalist Union (''Unione Federalista'') on 1 June 1994 by Gianfranco Miglio, an influent Senator and political scientist who left the N ...

list. He sits with the Kirchners' Front for Victory. However, in March 2008, a Tierra del Fuego court requested that the Senate expel him in connection with the ongoing allegations relating to improper use of funds while Mayor of Río Grande.Piden el desafuero del ex gobernador Jorge Colazo
'' Clarín'', 5 March 2008. This would allow Colazo to be prosecuted.

External links

Senate profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colazo, Jorge 1954 births Living people People from Córdoba Province, Argentina Members of the Argentine Senate for Tierra del Fuego Governors of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina Radical Civic Union politicians Mayors of places in Argentina Impeached governors removed from office Impeached Argentine officials