Ricardo Colombi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Governor of Corrientes Province | |
| In office December 10, 2009 – December 10, 2017 | |
| Vice Governor | Pedro Braillard Poccard (2009-13) Gustavo Cantero (2013- ) |
| Preceded by | Arturo Colombi |
| Succeeded by | Gustavo Valdés |
| Corrientes Senator | |
| In office December 10, 2007 – December 10, 2009 | |
| National Deputy | |
| In office December 10, 2005 – December 10, 2007 | |
| Governor of Corrientes | |
| In office December 10, 2001 – December 10, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Oscar Aguad |
| Succeeded by | Arturo Colombi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-08-30)30 August 1957 (age 67) Mercedes, Corrientes |
| Political party | Radical Civic Union |
| Other political affiliations | Frente de Todos (1996- 2009)Encuentro por Corrientes (2009-present) |
| Spouse | Graciela Barattini |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Ricardo Colombi (born August 30, 1957) is an Argentine lawyer and politician elected Governor ofCorrientes Province in 2009.
Ricardo Horacio Colombi was born inMercedes, a Corrientes Provinceagricultural and cattle ranching hub at the southern end of theEsteros del Iberáwetlands. He enrolled at theNational University of the Northeast and became active in theFranja Morada, the collegiate chapter of the centristRadical Civic Union (UCR), following which he earned a Law Degree and practiced in his native Mercedes. He married Graciela Barattini in 1988.[1]
Colombi first campaigned for elected office in 1991, and was elected mayor of Mercedes that year. He earned a reputation as a highly-accessible mayor in subsequent years, and was reelected in 1995 and 1999. By 2001, had become the leading opposition figure to the powerful head of the PANU, Raúl Romero Feris. Romero Feris had been convicted of embezzlement, and his controversial 2001 candidacy unified his former allies, theLiberal Party of Corrientes, and a significant faction of theJusticialist Party in opposition to it.[2]
They rallied behind Colombi, who ran on the UCR-ledFront for Everyone alliance. Romero Feris narrowly won the first round on October 14, but a November 4runoff election resulted in a victory for Colombi, who won with 51.2% of the vote.[3] Governing during a national economic recovery, and enjoying PresidentNéstor Kirchner's support, Colombi was prompted by term limits in 2005 to run for a seat in theArgentine Congress and advanced a cousin,Arturo Colombi, as the Front for All candidate for governor. The Corrientes UCR's continued support for the alliance (endorsed by Kirchner) led to a rebuke from the UCR National Committee itself, and this triggered a revolt from the Corrientes chapter of the party, as well as in four others' (notably inMendoza Province). These differences led to the appearance that year of"K" Radicals (UCR governors and other lawmakers allied with President Kirchner).[4]
Colombi broke with his cousin (the governor), however, and left the Front for All in 2007, when he ran for a seat in the Corrientes Senate on the UCR ticket, and was elected with the endorsement of third parties;[5] as provincial senator, Colombi focused on educational and cultural issues.[6]
Colombi again ran for governor on a UCR-led Corrientes Encounter party, ahead of the2009 mid-term elections. Colombi's campaign was controversial not only for his choice of running mate (impeached former Governor Pedro Braillard Poccard),[7] but also because it pitted him against his own cousin, who won the first round on September 13. Ricardo Colombi won the runoff on October 4, however, with over 62% of the vote.[8] The runoff victory was clouded, however, by the untimely death that week of Hernán González Moreno, a local journalist who had filed charges of financial wrongdoing against the Colombis in aPaso de los Libres federal court.[9]
Arturo and Ricardo Colombi renewed their former alliance after eight years of estrangement for the latter's2013 campaign for re-election as governor; despite his affiliation with the UCR, Colombi also received the endorsement of prominentFederal Peronists such as CongressmanFrancisco de Narváez andCórdoba Province GovernorJosé Manuel de la Sota.[10] He ran against theFront for Victory nominee,Corrientes Mayor Carlos "Camau" Espínola; and a rival of Colombi within the UCR, Senator Nito Artaza.[11] Colombi was reelected on September 15 by a 51-to-46% margin over Camau Espínola,[12] and the UCR - which has governed Corrientes since 1999 - would retain its only governorship among the nation's 23 provinces.[11]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Corrientes 2009–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Corrientes 2001-2005 | Succeeded by |