José Ignacio de Mendiguren | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary of Industry and Productive Development | |
| In office 16 August 2022 – 10 December 2023 | |
| President | Alberto Fernández |
| Preceded by | Daniel Scioli(as Minister of Productive Development) |
| National Deputy | |
| In office 10 December 2013 – 10 December 2021 | |
| Constituency | Buenos Aires |
| Minister of Production | |
| In office 3 January 2002 – 3 October 2002 | |
| President | Eduardo Duhalde |
| Preceded by | Livio Kühl |
| Succeeded by | Aníbal Fernández |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-08-23)23 August 1950 (age 75) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Political party | Justicialist Party(until 2013) Renewal Front(since 2013) |
| Other political affiliations | United for a New Alternative(2013–2015) Frente de Todos(2019–present) |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires |
José Ignacio "Vasco"[1] de Mendiguren (born 23 August 1950) is anArgentine industrialist and politician. He was chairman of theArgentine Industrial Union, director of theNational Bank of Argentina, andMinister of Production during the presidency ofEduardo Duhalde. From2013 to 2021, he was aNational Deputy elected inBuenos Aires Province, as part of theRenewal Front and later as part of theFrente de Todos.
From 2020 to 2022, he was president of the Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior (BICE). In 2022, he was appointed as Secretary of Production by new economy ministerSergio Massa, mirroring his previous position as Minister of Production and succeedingDaniel Scioli. He remained in this role until December 2023.[2]
José Ignacio de Mendiguren was born on 23 August 1950 inBuenos Aires.[3] He is the second child of Bruno de Mendiguren (1910–1950), aBasque immigrant exiled during theSpanish Civil War who had formed part of the Basque autonomous government as foreign minister.[4] Bruno de Mendiguren died in a plane crash inMar del Plata when his son was still an infant.[5]
He studied law at theUniversity of Buenos Aires, graduating in 1973. Upon attaining his degree, De Mendiguren worked at a private bureau as a specialist on corporate law and as a foreign investment advisor.[6]
De Mendiguren became involved in the shoe-making business in 1976. He would later meet Roberto Frazeer, owner of Alpargatas S.A., with whom he partnered to commercialize rubber-soleespadrilles. De Mendiguren founded an industrial group that presently includes a textile company and a sports-related products chain. He has also invested in the agricultural business.[6]
In 2001, during the presidency ofFernando de la Rúa, De Mendiguren was named president of theArgentine Industrial Union (UIA). He was an outspoken supporter of the devaluation of thepeso as a means of improving the competitiveness of the Argentine economy.[7]
In 2002, in the aftermath of the2001 economic crisis, interim presidentEduardo Duhalde appointed De Mendiguren asMinister of Production. De Mendiguren introduced reforms to further currency devaluation, which reached over 200% during his administration.[8] The devaluation had a profound negative effect on salaries, while affecting positively on industrial indexes.[9] He left the position less than a year after having assumed office, in October 2002, and was replaced byAníbal Fernández.[10]
De Mendiguren returned to the private sector as a member of the UIA in 2004.[5] He was re-elected president of the UIA on 27 April 2011, in replacement of Héctor Méndez.[11] His second presidency corresponded to a period of political friendship with the government ofCristina Fernández de Kirchner, with whose administration the industrial sector had previously been generally at odds.[12]
Ahead of the2013 legislative election, De Mendiguren was selected as the fifth candidate to theArgentine Chamber of Deputies in theRenewal Front list inBuenos Aires Province.[13] The list was the most voted in the province, with 43.95% of the vote, and De Mendiguren was easily elected.[14] He was sworn in on 10 December 2013. He was re-elected in2017, this time the fourth candidate in the 1País list (of which the Renewal Front was part).[3] The list received 11.03%, just enough for De Mendiguren to be elected.[15][16]
De Mendiguren was one of only threeRenewal Front deputies to vote against a 2016 bill that would have made it harder for companies to fire employees; the bill was later vetoed by then-presidentMauricio Macri.[17]
In 2020, De Mendiguren was appointed president of theBanco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior (BICE). Instead of resigning, he took an indefinite unpaid leave from his position in the Chamber of Deputies, in order to preventGEN 1País candidate Marcelo Díaz from taking his place in the Chamber.[18][19]
| Election | Office | List | # | District | Votes | Result | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | ||||||||
| 2013 | National Deputy | Renewal Front | 5 | Buenos Aires Province | 3,943,056 | 43.95% | 1st[a] | Elected | [20] | |
| 2017 | 1País [es] | 4 | Buenos Aires Province | 1,028,385 | 11.03% | 3rd[a] | Elected | [21] | ||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Livio Kühl [es] | Minister of Production January 2002–October 2002 | Succeeded by |