Antonio Cafiero

Antonio Cafiero
Antonio Cafiero in 1988
National Senator
In office 10 December 1993 – 10 December 2005
Constituency	Buenos Aires
7thChief of the Cabinet of Ministers
In office 30 December 2001 – 2 January 2002
President	Eduardo Camaño
Preceded by	Luis Lusquiños
Succeeded by	Jorge Capitanich
Governor of Buenos Aires
In office 10 December 1987 – 10 December 1991
Lieutenant	Luis María Macaya
Preceded by	Alejandro Armendáriz
Succeeded by	Eduardo Duhalde
Personal details
Born	(1922-09-12)12 September 1922 Buenos Aires,Argentina
Died	13 October 2014(2014-10-13)(aged 92) Buenos Aires,Argentina
Political party	Justicialist Party
Spouse	Ana Goitía
Alma mater	University of Buenos Aires
Profession	Accountant

Antonio Francisco Cafiero(12 September 1922 – 13 October 2014) was anArgentineJusticialist Partypolitician.Cafiero held a number of important posts throughout his career, including, most notably, thegovernorshipofBuenos Aires Provincefrom 1987 to 1991, theCabinet Chief's Officeunder interim presidentEduardo Camañofrom 2001 to 2002, and a seat in theSenate of the Nationfrom 1993 to 2005.

Early and personal life

Cafiero was born inBuenos Aires.He joinedCatholic Actionin 1938, and enrolled at theUniversity of Buenos Aires,becoming President of the Students' Association. He graduated as anaccountantin 1944, and earned a Doctor inEconomic Sciencesin 1948, teaching in the discipline as a professor from 1952 to 1984. Cafiero became a militantPeronistfrom the17 October 1945 mass demonstrationsin support of populist leaderJuan Perón,and entered public service in 1952 as Minister of Foreign Trade in the latter's administration, serving until 1954. He married the former Ana Goitía, and they had ten children.

Cafiero lost his wife of fifty years, Ana Goitía, in 1994.His son,Juan Pablo Cafiero,was appointed as Ambassador to the Holy See in 2008.He had been anational deputyfor thePeronistsand forFrePaSo,Minister for Social Development under PresidentsFernando de la RúaandEduardo Duhalde,and as Minister of Security for Buenos Aires Province.Another son, Mario Cafiero, served as a National Deputy from 1997 to 2005. His grandson,Santiago Cafiero(Juan Pablo's son) served as Cabinet Chief and Foreign Minister.

Political career

Cafiero held offices in the National Justicialist Movement from 1962, as well as in different institutions within theJusticialist Partyat the national level and inBuenos Aires Province.Following the return of Peronists to power in the1973 elections,Cafiero was appointed Secretary of Commerce in Perón's last term (1974). Following Perón's death and his replacement by his wife, Vice-PresidentIsabel Perón,he was appointedFederal InterventorofMendoza Province(1974–1975), and asAmbassador to the European Economic CommunityandBelgium(1975). Cafiero was appointedEconomy Ministerin August. He grappled with the aftermath of the June 1975Rodrigazo(economic shock treatmentenacted by a predecessor) with no success, and he was dismissed in February 1976, serving briefly as Ambassador to theHoly Seeuntil theMarch 1976 coup.

Governor of Buenos Aires

He founded the Movement for Unity, Solidarity and Organization in September 1982, a reformist faction of theJusticialist Party,ahead of the1983 return of democracy.The group, known asRenovación Peronista(Peronist Renewal), was defeated in the party's September 1983 nominating convention, however, by more conservative figures supported byLorenzo Miguelof the Steelworkers' Union. Cafiero was elected to theArgentine Chamber of Deputiesin 1985, and in 1987,Governor of Buenos Aires Province.Elected President of the Justicialist Party National Council, he ran in the May 1988primary electionfor the upcoming presidential campaign. He failed to regain the support of theCGT,or to sway delegates from the smaller provinces, and lost to less well-knownCarlos Menem,who subsequently won the1989 general election.

Later career

Menem appointed CafieroAmbassador to Chilein 1992, and Cafiero returned to elected office as aSenatorin 1993. He took part in the convention negotiating the1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution,which allowed for Menem's re-election. The amendedArgentine Constitutionincluded article 129, which guaranteedBuenos Airesgreater self-governance. TheIndentente(appointed Mayor) was replaced by aJefe de Gobierno(elected Mayor), and the city council by theBuenos Aires City Legislature.Shortly before the historic, June 30, 1996, elections to these posts, however, Senator Cafiero succeeded in limiting the city's autonomy by advancing National Law 24.588, which reserved control of theArgentine Federal Police(the federally administered city force), thePort of Buenos Airesand other faculties to thenational government.The controversial bill, popularly known afterward asLey Cafiero(the "Cafiero Law" ) was signed in 1996 by President Menem, remaining a sticking point between successive Presidents (most of whom have beenPeronist) and Buenos Aires Mayors (none of whom have been).

Cafiero was re-elected as Senator in 2001. The aging lawmaker, who had severe hearing loss by then, took leave to act asCabinet Chiefduring the transitional presidency ofEduardo Camaño(2001–02), returning to the Senate and retiring in 2005.

Cafiero was formally accused in 2006, along with Isabel Perón and several of her former ministers, of involvement in theforced disappearanceof a minor in 1976. President Isabel Perón and her cabinet had signed decrees on October 6, 1975, ordering "military and security operations that may be needed to annihilate subversive elements throughout the territory of the country"(seeDirty Warfor historical context).Cafiero, during theTrial of the Juntasin 1985, had stated that the Isabel Perón government (which presided over the early phase of the Dirty War) believed that common police tactics were not enough to combat the guerrilla threat, and that he learned of human rights violations committed at the time only after Perón's overthrow in the March 1976 coup d'état.

Cafiero served as President ofCOPPPAL,the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean, from 2005 to 2011.

He died on 13 October 2014 inBuenos Aires.