Fernando de la Rúa
From Freepedia
| Term of Office: | December 10 1999— December 21 2001 |
|---|---|
| Predecessor: | Carlos Menem |
| Successor: | Ramón Puerta |
| Vice-president: | Carlos Álvarez |
| Date of Birth: | September 15, 1937 |
| Place of Birth: | Córdoba |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Political Party: | Alianza (UCR + Frepaso) |
Fernando de la Rúa Bruno (born September 15 1937) is an Argentine politician. He was president of the country from December 10 1999 to December 21 2001 for the Alianza (political alliance by the Radical Civic Union and the Frepaso).
Born in Córdoba, he attended the local Military Lyceum before entering the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, from which he obtained his law degree. De la Rúa became involved in politics at a young age. He first appeared in the political arena during the 1973 elections, when he became elected Senator representing the city of Buenos Aires. A few months later he ran for the Vice Presidency along with the veteran politician Ricardo Balbín in the Radical ticket. His youth (running for Vice President at the age of 36) earned him the still-standing nickname of "Chupete" ("Pacifier"), as he was perceived as a "baby" in politics.
After the democratic restoration in 1983 De la Rúa was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and once again ran for the Senate in 1989. He actually won the popular vote, but he was outmanoeuvred in the Electoral College by the alliance between the Justicialist Party and the Ucedé.
In 1996 De la Rúa became the first popularly-elected Mayor of Buenos Aires, an office which he held before running for the Presidency in the 1999 Presidential elections, as a candidate for the aforementioned Alianza. During his campaign, De la Rúa capitalized on the popular perception of him as a quiet, honest and moderate politician to the point of boredom, even launching a campaign ad which began by having him saying "Dicen que soy aburrido..." ("They say I'm boring..."), and then going on criticizing the Menem administration's corruption and eccentricities. He won the election with almost 50% of the votes.
De la Rúa's government was characterized by an ongoing economic crisis, continuous fights and rivalries between the coalition partners, cabinet crises, a general sensation of inaction and a failure to tackle corruption. His lack of charisma and his slow demeanor (perceived as stupor) hurt his public image.
A notable incident which contributed to De la Rúa's steady decline in the public opinion took place on December 2000, when De la Rúa showed up on Videomatch, a popular entertainment and variety TV show; De la Rúa appeared confused and lost, even confusing the name of the show and being unable to find the way out of the set. During that same show, he was briefly grabbed by a protestor who demanded the release of a group of guerrilla fighters imprisoned for trying to take over a military base. A few years after his resignation, De la Rúa blamed that appearance on Videomatch as the beginning of his fall from power, even accusing Marcelo Tinelli, the show's host and producer, of "setting him up".
He was forced out of office in the midst of the December 2001 financial crisis that led to the meltdown of the Argentine economy, at a time when the rallying cry of the Argentine people was: ¡que se vayan todos! ("away with them all!" – referring to the governing class; and many Argentines in jest referred to him as "de la Ruina" due to the financial bankruptcy of the government at the time). His last Economic Minister was Domingo Cavallo who was also Carlos Menem's minister.
De la Rúa is married to Inés Pertiné and has three children. The most notorious one is Antonio, whose serial romances with celebrities have been publicized widely by gossip magazines, is currently dating Colombian singer Shakira.
| Preceded by: Carlos Menem | President of Argentina 1999–2001 | Succeeded by: Ramón Puerta |
