Roberto Lavagna | |
|---|---|
 Lavagna in 2019 | |
| Minister of Economy | |
| In office 27 April 2002 – 28 November 2005 | |
| President | Eduardo Duhalde (2002–03) Néstor Kirchner (2003–05) |
| Preceded by | Jorge Remes Lenicov |
| Succeeded by | Felisa Miceli |
| Argentine Ambassador to the European Union | |
| In office 1 August 2000 – 27 April 2002 | |
| President | Fernando de la Rúa (2000–01) Eduardo Duhalde (2002) |
| Preceded by | Jorge Remes Lenicov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1942-03-24)24 March 1942 (age 83) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Political party | Independent (2007–2013, 2019–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Justicialist Party (1973–2007)[1] Renewal Front (2013–2019) Federal Consensus (2019–2023) Hacemos por Nuestro País (since 2023) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Sergio, Marco and Nicolás |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires |
| Profession | |
Roberto Lavagna (born 24 March 1942) is an Argentineeconomist and politician who wasMinister of Economy and Production from April 27, 2002 until November 28, 2005.
Despite the fact that he only garnered 6% of the votes in2019 presidential election and that he lost allies due to his ties with the government, he seeks to consolidate his alliance with theSocialist Party to support theFederal Consensus in thelegislative elections of 2021 and increase its presence inCongress.[3]
Lavagna was born in theSaavedra section ofBuenos Aires in 1942. His father, the owner of alinotype printing shop, relocated the family to the western suburb ofMorón a few years later, and Lavagna enrolled at theUniversity of Buenos AiresFaculty of Economic Sciences, where he graduated with a degree inpolitical economy in 1967.
He then obtained a scholarship to study in Belgium, where he earned a graduate degree in econometrics and economic policy. At the university, he met Claudine Marechal, a student fromBelgium whom he married in 1970, and with whom he had three children. Lavagna also holds anhonorary doctorate from the University of Concepción del Uruguay.
Following the election ofPeronist candidateHéctor Cámpora in 1973, Lavagna was named National Director of Price Policy in the Commerce Secretariat, and was shortly afterwards named Director of Incomes Policy by the Economy Minister,José Ber Gelbard; as such he helped oversee a key policy initiative of Gelbard's "Social Pact," which sought to involve management in efforts to control inflation while raising stagnant median wages. Gelbard's resignation in November 1974 led to Lavagna's entry into the private sector following a stint at the Ministry of Public Works, becoming a member of the board of directors of La Cantábrica, a since closed Morón steelmaker, until 1976. He also co-foundedEcolatina, athink tank, in 1975, and was a member of the board of the Institute for Applied Economics and Society (IdEAS), from 1980 to 1990.
Lavagna reentered public service as PresidentRaúl Alfonsín's Secretary of Industry and Foreign Commerce, between 1985 and 1987, during which he helped negotiate the preliminary trade accords withBrazil that later led to the establishment of theMercosur trade region in 1991. He left the board of Ecolatina in 2000 to accept a post asAmbassador-at-large to international economic conferences, and to theEuropean Union.
Lavagna was appointed Minister of Economy by interimPresidentEduardo Duhalde, on April 27, 2002. Taking office at the depth of theArgentine economic crisis, Lavagna prioritized the planned rescision of thecorralito (withdrawal limits on local bank accounts) over the stabilization of theArgentine peso, which had declined by 75% in four months. This put him at odds with the President of theCentral Bank,Mario Blejer, who resigned in June.[4] The peso stabilized, however, asforeign trade surpluses mounted, and confidence returned to the Argentine financial system. Thecorralito was phased out between December 2002 and March 2003, the economy began a vigorous recovery, and Lavagna was confirmed in his post by PresidentNéstor Kirchner upon his taking office in May 2003.[5] Lavagna earned further plaudits from his handling theArgentine debt restructuring, launched on January 14, 2005, by which more than 76% of thedefaultedpublic debt bonds (worth about 93 billiondollars) for longer-term debt, with an importantreduction in principal.[6]
Despite these successes, Lavagna was ousted by President Kirchner on November 28, 2005, after persistent rumors followed by official denials. He was replaced byFelisa Miceli, President ofBanco de la Nación Argentina and a former student of Lavagna's. The reasons for the forced resignation of the Minister were not made public, though speculations ranged from the failures in fightinginflation to Lavagna's recent accusations ofcartelization against certain private companies involved in contracts with the government, which were seen as an indirect attack againstJulio de Vido, Minister of Public Works and personally close to the President.[7] Meanwhile, Miceli would go on to resign in 2007 over a money scandal, referred to by the press astoiletgate.
Lavagna only told the press that the President had decided his removal as part of a common post-election renewal. The next day,José Pampuro, former Minister of Defense, admitted that relations between Kirchner and Lavagna had become "complicated" since the elections, and that the situation was "tense" during the week before Lavagna's removal. Off-the-record sources also indicated that Lavagna's independence clashed with Kirchner's desire to have a homogeneous cabinet.[8][9]
Lavagna formed a front, UNA (Una Nacion Avanzada, "An Advanced Nation"), to run against the government's candidate,Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in theOctober 2007 presidential elections. Senior members of theRadical Civic Union (UCR),Socialists and Peronist supporters of former President Duhalde voiced support for a coalition behind Lavagna's candidacy, although this proved controversial in all three parties. His plan for his first 100 days of government was based on improving security and employment and reducing poverty.[10]
The UCR endorsed Lavagna in the first election since the party's establishment in 1892 that the UCR ran in a coalition rather than field its own candidate;Gerardo Morales, leader of the UCR, was named Lavagna's running mate (Mrs. Kirchner also had a Radical as her running mate,Mendoza GovernorJulio Cobos). Lavagna and UNA came third with over 3 million votes and 17%, behind Fernández andElisa Carrió, and won solely inCórdoba Province.
Following the 2007 election, Lavagna reached an accord with his former rivals and held talks with Néstor Kirchner over the future of the governingJusticialist Party (PJ).[11] Lavagna was expected to become a vice-president of the Party, seen as a move to widen the base of the party and strengthen Mrs. Kirchner's government; he subsequently declared however that he would not seek a position on the PJ executive.[12] Lavagna later became an opponent of President Fernández de Kirchner, and in 2013 co-foundedUnidos Para Cambiar ('United for Change') with three leading opponents ofKirchnerism within the PJ:Córdoba GovernorJosé Manuel de la Sota,Dissident CGT labor federation headHugo Moyano, andFederal Peronist CongressmanFrancisco de Narváez.[13]
| Preceded by | Minister of Economy 2002–2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
