Agustín Rossi Explained

Agustín Rossi
Nickname:Chivo
Office:Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers
President:Alberto Fernández
Term Start:15 February 2023
Term End:10 December 2023
Predecessor:Juan Luis Manzur
Successor:Nicolás Posse
Office1:Minister of Defense
President1:Alberto Fernández
Term Start1:10 December 2019
Term End1:10 August 2021
Predecessor1:Oscar Aguad
Successor1:Jorge Taiana
President2:Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Term Start2:3 June 2013
Term End2:10 December 2015
Predecessor2:Arturo Puricelli
Successor2:Julio Martínez
Office3:National Deputy
Term Start3:10 December 2017
Term End3:10 December 2019
Constituency3:Santa Fe
Term Start4:10 December 2005
Term End4:3 June 2013
Constituency4:Santa Fe
Birth Date:18 October 1959
Birth Place:Vera, Santa Fe, Argentina
Profession:Civil engineer
Spouse:María Raquel Pezzelato
Children:4
Party:Justicialist Party
Otherparty:Front for Victory (2003–2017)
Unidad Ciudadana (2017–2019)
Frente de Todos (2019–2023)
Union for the Homeland (since 2023)
Alma Mater:National University of Rosario

Agustín Oscar Rossi (born 18 October 1959) is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician. Rossi has held a number of important political posts throughout his career, most notably as Minister of Defense during the presidencies of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2013–2015) and Alberto Fernández (2019–2021).

Rossi was a National Deputy for his native Santa Fe, and served as leader of the Front for Victory parliamentary bloc in the lower house. Since 15 February 2023, Rossi has been Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers to the incumbent president Alberto Fernandez. He was the running mate of Sergio Massa in the 2023 Argentine general election, seeking the vice presidency as part of the Union for the Homeland coalition until Massa lost to Javier Milei in runoff.

Early life and education

Rossi was born in Vera, a small city in the north of Santa Fe Province, where he spent his early youth. He moved to Rosario when he was 17 years old, and graduated as a civil engineer at the National University of Rosario.[1]

Political career

Provincial career

Rossi was a member of the Peronist University Youth in the 1970s, and joined the Justicialist Party in the 1980s. He was elected to the Rosario Deliberative Council in 1987, but returned to his private practice in the 1991. He returned to politics in 2001, was elected to the Deliberative Council in 2002, and presided said body from 2004 to 2005.

In the 2005 legislative elections he ran for a seat in the Lower House of Congress for the Front for Victory, the largest faction of the Justicialist Party, formed by supporters of President Néstor Kirchner. His campaign capitalized on, and was centered on gaining support for, the successful policies implemented by Kirchner on the national level; Rossi, who was not yet well known in the province, presented himself as "Kirchner's candidate."[2] The Front for Victory party list headed by Rossi came in second (with 33% of votes) after the Socialist Party list headed by Hermes Binner (43%).[3]

Congressional terms and Ministry of Defense

He then became the head of the Front for Victory bloc in the lower house of Congress.[4] In that capacity, he took on the task of imposing party discipline while rallying legislative support of Kirchner's policies; he stated that "the bloc [belonging to the ruling party] has the fundamental role of being the legislative arm of the government. I cannot conceive a [government party] block that has doubts or criticism for the government's projects. Society tells us: 'I choose you to strengthen the course of action initiated by the President."[5] He also courted controversy with his rhetoric, notably in August 2010 when he described lawmakers who presented a bill that sought reverse a government decision to revoke an expired license for the Fibertel internet service provider, as "lawyers" for the Clarín Group (Fibertel's parent company); there have been ongoing controversies between Clarín and Kirchnerism since 2008 over a number of issues.[6]

Rossi was a candidate in the FpV primary for the governorship of Santa Fe in the 2007 elections. His rival within the party was Rosario-born National Deputy and former Foreign Relations Minister Rafael Bielsa. The Mayor of Rafaela, Omar Perotti, campaigned for some time as well, but finally gave up and turned to support Bielsa. In the classical caudillist fashion that has prevailed in Argentina’s last century of politics, although some in the party, including Bielsa, would have rather negotiated on a consensus candidacy, Rossi insisted on conducting a primary election. Rossi also stated that he wanted Bielsa's sister María Eugenia (then vice-governor of Santa Fe), on his party list, though he instead chose Jorge Fernández, former Minister of Education during the governorship of Víctor Reviglio.[7] [8] [9] Bielsa was eventually chosen as the party's candidate in primary elections on July 1, 2007, but subsequently lost the election to Socialist Hermes Binner.

Rossi continued in his role as Majority Leader of the Chamber of Deputies as head of the Front for Victory bloc, which retained a majority in the Chamber. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner nominated him to the post of Minister of Defense of Argentina on 30 May 2013.[10]

Electoral history

Executive

Election! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2
OfficeListVotesResult.
Total%.
2007 (P)Governor of Santa FePlural Concertation228,501 34.96%2nd[11]
2011Santa Fe for All388,231 22.76%3rd[12]
2023 1-RVice President of ArgentinaUnion for the Homeland9,853,49236.78%1st→ Round 2
2023 2-R11,384,01444.25%2nd

Legislative

Election! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2
OfficeListDistrictVotesResult.
Total%.
2005National DeputyFront for Victory1Santa Fe Province489,58433.28%2nd[13]
2009Front for Victory1Santa Fe Province162,615 9.63%3rd[14]
2015Mercosur MPFront for Victory3National list8,922,60937.46%1st[15]
2017National DeputyJusticialist Front1Santa Fe Province509,19025.90%2nd[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Desarrollo y Región. Profile of National Deputy candidates .
  2. Clarín, 19 September 2005. Santa Fe: esa pulseada clave que concentra la atención de Kirchner .
  3. Atlas Electoral de Andy Tow. 2005 legislative elections, National Deputies, Santa Fe Province .
  4. Argentine Chamber of Deputies. Data on Agustín Rossi.
  5. La Nación, 29 January 2006. Agustín Rossi: "El oficialismo no puede ser crítico" .
  6. Web site: Rossi criticó duramente a la oposición por su intención de revocar la licencia de Fibertel. Terra Noticias. 23 August 2010. 6 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110706091333/http://noticias.terra.com.ar/rossi-critico-duramente-a-la-oposicion-por-su-intencion-de-revocar-la-licencia-de-fibertel,7d3350f19af9a210VgnVCM3000009af154d0RCRD.html. live.
  7. RosarioNet, 3 August 2006. Rossi y Bielsa podrían ir a internas en Santa Fe .
  8. Rosario/12, 10 October 2006. "Yo voy a presentar lista" .
  9. Rosario3, 3 April 2007. Listos y preparados, los precandidatos ya están en carrera .
  10. Web site: CFK shuffles Cabinet, taps Rossi for Defence, Puricelli for Security. Buenos Aires Herald. 30 May 2013. 31 May 2013. 9 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130609205519/http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/132360/cfk-shuffles-cabinet-taps-rossi-for-defence-puricelli-for-security. live.
  11. Web site: Elecciones 2007. santafe.gov.ar. Tribunal Electoral de la Provincia de Santa Fe. 9 February 2023. es. 9 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230209234029/https://www.santafe.gov.ar/tribunalelectoral/elecciones/elecciones-2007-archivos-para-descarga/. live.
  12. Web site: Elecciones 2011. santafe.gov.ar. Tribunal Electoral de la Provincia de Santa Fe. 9 February 2023. es. 22 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230322035548/https://www.santafe.gov.ar/tribunalelectoral/elecciones/elecciones-2011-archivos/. live.
  13. Web site: Elecciones 2005. argentina.gob.ar. Dirección Nacional Electoral. 4 February 2023. es. 4 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230204225434/https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/dine/resultadosyestadisticas/2005. live.
  14. Web site: Elecciones 2009. argentina.gob.ar. Dirección Nacional Electoral. 4 February 2023. es. 9 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230209234026/https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/dine/resultadosyestadisticas/2009. live.
  15. Web site: Elecciones 2015. argentina.gob.ar. Dirección Nacional Electoral. 4 February 2023. es. 4 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230204220240/https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/dine/resultadosyestadisticas/2015. live.
  16. Web site: Elecciones 2017. argentina.gob.ar. Dirección Nacional Electoral. 4 February 2023. es. 4 February 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230204214527/https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/dine/resultadosyestadisticas/2017. live.