Mónica Haydée Fein (born 3 June 1957) is an Argentine biochemist and

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 ...

politician who was ''

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

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 ...

from 2011 to 2019. She has been a National Deputy since 2021, and previously held the same position from 2007 to 2011. Since 2021, she has been president of the Socialist Party.

Early life and education

Fein was born in Luján, Buenos Aires Province. She became active in politics at age 17, joining the Popular Socialist Party. She participated in the National Reform Movement as President of the Student Center of the School of Biochemistry and Pharmacy 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 ...

, where she graduated with a degree in

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

. She then served as Secretary of Student Welfare, as Faculty Graduate Advisor, and as Secretary of the UNR University Extension. She began her training in Public Health at the Lazarte Institute. She participated in the creation of the Laboratory for Proprietary Medicinal (LEM) for the City of

in 1992; the LEM, which coordinated its development with academia, would become a national model for the public production of

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

s. Fein was appointed Director of the City Sanitation Department in 1995, where she promoted more active

food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

control by developing the Food Institute, a pioneer in Argentina in the field of locally based public food safety education and quality inspection.

Political career

Hermes Binner Hermes Juan Binner (June 5, 1943 − June 26, 2020) was an Argentine physician and politician who served as Governor of Santa Fe from 2007 to 2011.primary care Primary care is a model of health care that supports first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated person-focused care. It aims to optimise population health and reduce disparities across the groups by ensuring equitable ...

network, focused efforts on hospital standards, and launched the Center for Ambulatory Medical Specialties of Rosario (CEMAR). She headed the

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 ...

of Socialist candidates to the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 2001, and remained in the post until 2003, serving as President of the Health Commission. Mayor

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 ...

retained Fein as Secretary of Public Health. She oversaw construction of the new Martín Maternity facility, and her management was recognized by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. She was elected to 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 ...

in 2007 for the Santa Fe Civic and Social Progressive Front, which led the Socialist Party caucus therein, and Fein was elected caucus president. She was named Secretary of the Commission for Social Action and Public Health, and also served in the Committees on Rules, Taxes, Constitutional Affairs, General Legislation, Population and Human Development, and the Elderly. She was nominated as candidate for mayor of the city of Rosario by 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 ...

on 22 May 2011. She was elected on 24 July with 52.2% of the vote, defeating the runner-up,

Héctor Cavallero Héctor Cavallero (2 October 1939 – 2 October 2020), nicknamed ''El Tigre'' ("The Tiger"), was an Argentine politician, who was mayor of Rosario, Santa Fe, and a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies for the Province of Santa Fe. Biogra ...

, by 22% and becoming the first Socialist woman elected mayor in Argentine history.

Electoral history

Executive

Legislative

References

External links

* (in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fein, Monica 1957 births Living people People from Luján, Buenos Aires National University of Rosario alumni Argentine biochemists 21st-century Argentine women scientists Women biochemists 20th-century Argentine women scientists Socialist Party (Argentina) politicians Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Santa Fe Mayors of Rosario, Santa Fe Women members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Women mayors of places in Argentina Argentine deputies 2007–2009 Argentine deputies 2009–2011 Argentine deputies 2021–2023 Argentine deputies 2023–2025