Álvaro Carlos Alsogaray (22 June 1913 – 1 April 2005) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

politician and economist. He has been known for being Minister of Economy on two occasions, Minister of Industry, Ambassador to the United States, and National Deputy. He played an important role with the Azules in the confrontation against the Colorados. He promoted

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

in the second half of the 20th century and founded the political party Unión del Centro Democrático (UCeDé). Murió Álvaro Alsogaray, principal figura del liberalismo argentino
'' Clarín'', 2 de abril de 2005A los 91 años murió Alvaro Alsogaray
'' La Nación'', 2 de abril de 2005 He managed to spread his liberal ideology in unthinkable social sectors.

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

, winner in 1989 with the popular vote of Peronism, adopted his preaching in favor of

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

and the

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

First years

Alsogaray was born in Esperanza, Santa Fe, in 1913, as the eldest of three children to Julia Elisa Bosch and Álvaro Alsogaray. Born to a prominent local military family, Alsogaray graduated from the National Military College as an infantry officer. He studied military engineering in the Army's School of Higher Technical Studies and civil and

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

at the National University of Córdoba. He married Edith Gay in 1940, and had two sons and a daughter.

Early career

He retired from the army with the rank of captain and with two

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

ing degrees, which led to his being called ''el capitán ingeniero''. He entered business, becoming an important contractor for

State enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

s such as FAMA (a predecessor of

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations. Histo ...

Aerolíneas Argentinas), and briefly served as its director during the presidency of

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

, whose populist politics and policies would later be anathema to Alsogaray's thinking. After the coup that removed Perón in 1955, he held the posts of Under-secretary of Commerce and Minister of Industry, and maintained numerous Peronist staffers at the Undersecretariat despite his support for the coup. He founded the Independent Civic Party in 1956; the party fared modestly in the 1958 elections.

Minister of Economy with Frondizi and Guido

To placate powerful agrarian interests and other

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

s, the otherwise progressive

Arturo Frondizi Arturo Frondizi Ércoli (Paso de los Libres, October 28, 1908 – Buenos Aires, April 18, 1995) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, teacher, statesman, and politician. He was elected president of Argentina and governed from May ...

named Alsogaray Minister of the Economy in early 1959. Inheriting large trade deficits, Alsogaray sharply devalued the

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several Hispanophone, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol com ...

and imposed severe credit controls on Argentina's large public banks.''Página/12'' :: El país :: Alsogaray no llegó al invierno
/ref> Declaring that the economy "must go through winter", the

austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...

measures were a boon to exporters - but caused consumer prices to double in 1959, and real wages and construction to fall by about 20%.Lewis, Paul. ''The Crisis of Argentine Capitalism''. University of North Carolina Press, 1990. The resulting trade surplus and pro-growth policies pursued by Frondizi's point man on the economy, Rogelio Frigerio, both contributed to a robust recovery in 1960 and 1961.Todo Argentina: Frondizi
/ref>Cornide, Osvaldo. ''A 50 años de la asunción de Arturo Frondizi''.
/ref> Marginalized in favor of Frigerio after the 1959

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...

and deeply unpopular, Alsogaray resigned early in 1961. Frigerio had been President Frondizi's first choice for the critical Economy Ministry, an appointment thwarted by the military; Frondizi and Frigerio later founded the MID, a political party centered around the need for accelerated development. Frondizi's efforts to mediate differences between the United States and Cuba ultimately resulted in a March, 1962, coup d'état, and Álvaro Alsogaray was able to use the influence of his brother, General Julio Alsogaray, to secure several ministerial and planning posts under Frondizi's military-appointed successor, Senate President José María Guido. Reintroducing many of his restrictive 1959 policies, as well as nearly worthless "Ninth of July" bonds, which were issued in lieu of cash payments to public employees and government contractors, the economy again slipped into severe

; the trade balance improved, albeit the cost of depressed business investment.

Later career

Out of power after the election of Dr. Arturo Illia in 1963, Alsogaray devoted himself to undermining the new administration, even during the vigorous economic recovery that followed. Finding allies in conservative business and media interests, the powerful

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and his influential brother Julio, Alsogaray and other Illia opponents were successful.Rock, David. ''Authoritarian Argentina''. University of California Press, 1992. Following the 1966 coup against President Illia, he was designated Ambassador to the United States, a post he held until 1968. Alsogaray founded the 'New Force' in 1972, though like the Independent Civic Party, it fared poorly in the 1973 elections that returned Perón to power. He was among the few

figures to publicly oppose the imminent March 1976 coup, but largely supported the subsequent National Reorganization Process. As the

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

eventually yielded to calls for elections, he founded the Union of the Democratic Centre in August 1982. Running as a

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

, economically conservative candidate on the latter ticket, he stood for the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. Alsogaray received 10% votes in his 1989 election, behind only major party candidates

and Eduardo Angeloz.

National Deputy

Continuing to enjoy a measure of support in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

' affluent northside, he and his daughter María Julia Alsogaray were elected the only two national deputies for the UCeDé in

, and he served until

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. A vehement anti- Peronist and anti-

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, Alsogaray forged an alliance with the late

's Justicialist Party in 1989, following their nomination of pro-market Governor

, and endorsed Justicialist candidate Eduardo Vaca that year in a tightly contested seat in the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...

representing the City of Buenos Aires. Argentine Senators were indirectly elected at the time, and Alsogaray's endorsement in the electoral college gave Vaca the seat, despite the latter's coming in second to centrist UCR candidate Fernando de la Rúa.''La Nación'' (April 2, 2005)
/ref> The Universidad Francisco Marroquín granted Alsogaray an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in 1985. A vocal supporter of the era's

s, he prevailed on President Menem to appoint his daughter, María Julia, Secretary of the Environment, in which post she served from 1991 to 1999, and himself served in numerous consultative posts during the Menem presidency, endorsing the populist-turned-

president in his 1995 election. Among his most notable roles in this era was as director of a feasibility study in 1995-96 for the replacement of Buenos Aires' two international airports for an island terminal on the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

; opposed by de la Rúa, who had been elected Mayor (and would later be president), the project never materialized. His UCedé party languished despite his renewed influence as much due to public mistrust of his policies, as because of rivalries in the party itself – notably between his daughter and Adelina D'Alessio de Viola (whom he had Menem appoint as head of the Banco Hipotecario). Commenting on the dispute, he remarked that ''"would it that one's political party could do without affiliates...or women!"''

Final years

In his last public appearances, Alsogaray urged his followers to take up the banners of

and the social market economy, while expressing his pessimism about the management of Néstor Kirchner, which he associated with aspects of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. He died on April 1, 2005, at his home in the Recoleta neighborhood of

, after a long illness, at the age of 91.Murió Alvaro Alsogaray
'' La Nación'', 1de abril de 2005

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alsogaray, Alvaro 1913 births 2005 deaths People from Esperanza, Santa Fe Argentine people of Basque descent National University of Córdoba alumni Colegio Militar de la Nación alumni 20th-century Argentine engineers 20th-century Argentine businesspeople Ministers of economy of Argentina Ambassadors of Argentina to the United States Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Candidates for President of Argentina Union of the Democratic Centre (Argentina) politicians Argentine anti-communists Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Conservatism in Argentina