Luis Gustavo Contigiani (born 21 January 1972) is 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 ...

politician who was a National Deputy elected in

Santa Fe Province The Invincible Province of Santa Fe (, , lit. "Holy Faith") is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 2 ...

. Politically not affiliated to any party, Contigiani was elected on the

Progressive, Civic and Social Front The Progressive, Civic and Social Front (, FPCyS) was a center-left political coalition in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. History It was first formed in Santa Fe Province in 2006, but was adapted in other provinces for the 2013 legislative el ...

list in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, and for a time was the sole representative of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS) in the National Congress. The PS barred Contigiani from continuing to be the party's representative due to his opposition to the legalization of abortion in 2018. Contigiani previously served as Minister of Production of Santa Fe from 2015 to 2017, during the governorship of

Miguel Lifschitz Roberto Miguel Lifschitz (13 September 1955 – 9 May 2021) was an Argentine politician and civil engineer of the Socialist Party (Argentina), Socialist Party who was Governor of Santa Fe, Governor of Santa Fe Province from 2015 to 2019. Prior t ...

, and as Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock of Santa Fe from 2011 to 2015, during the governorship of

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Early and personal life

Contigiani was born on 21 January 1972 in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

, and grew up in the small town of Arequito. He finished high school at the Escuela de Enseñanza Media Nº 219 Domingo F. Sarmiento, and enrolled to study law at the

National University of Rosario The National University of Rosario (, UNR) is a research public university located in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Overview Rosario National University (UNR) was created in 1968 by Law 17.987. Its foundational struct ...

, but dropped out before completing his degree. Contigiani is married to Valeria Mortarino and has three daughters.

Political career

Contigiani was an advisor at the Legal and Technical Coordination cabinet of the Secretariat of Economic Development of Santa Fe, from 2001 to 2001, during the second governorship of

Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver and politician, who competed in Formula One from to and served as the Governor of Santa Fe from 1999 to 2003. Reutemann was runner-up in the Form ...

. Then, from 2002 to 2009, he was coordinator of the Labour Department of the Federación Agraria Argentina. In 2011, he was appointed Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock of the Ministry of Production of Santa Fe, under the supervision of Minister Carlos Fascendini. Later, upon the election of

as governor of Santa Fe, Contigiani was appointed Minister of Production in his own right. Contigiani ran for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in the 2017 legislative election, as the first candidate in the

(FPCyS). The FPCyS was a coalition of the

, the

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union (, UCR) is a major political party in Argentina. It has reached the national government on ten occasions, making it one of the most historically important parties in the country. Ideologically, the party has stood for r ...

, and other smaller progressive parties. The FPCyS list received 14.63% of the vote, and Contigiani was the only candidate in it to be elected. Upon taking office, Contigiani formed the single-member Socialist Party parliamentary bloc. As a national deputy, Contigiani formed part of the parliamentary commissions on Agriculture and Livestock, General Legislation, and National Defense. Controversially, Contigiani was a vocal opponent of the legalization of abortion in Argentina, which was first debated by Congress in 2018. Due to the Socialist Party's historic position on the issue, his opposition to the measure caused prominent Socialist Party members and leaders to call on Contigiani to resign from his seat, or at least stop nominally representing the party. He would eventually change the name of his bloc in order to vote against the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill. Contigiani also voted against legalizing abortion in 2020, when it was approved by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by President

Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...

. Contigiani led the single-member "Progressive, Civic and Social Front" bloc for the remainder of his 2017–2021 term, though he no longer belonged to the alliance. Ahead of the 2021 primary elections, Contigiani announced he would be running for re-election as part of the "Diferentes" list within the Primero Santa Fe front. Although his list received enough votes in the primaries to make it to the general election, Contigiani resigned from his candidacy in October 2021 following disagreements over campaign strategies with his list mates. No longer in the race for re-election, Contigiani's term as a member of Congress expired on 10 December 2021.

References

External links

Profile on the official website of the Chamber of Deputies
(in Spanish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Contigiani, Luis Living people 1972 births Politicians from Rosario, Santa Fe Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Santa Fe Socialist Party (Argentina) politicians National University of Rosario alumni Argentine deputies 2017–2019 Argentine deputies 2019–2021