Alfredo Avelín (1 May 1927 – 26 January 2012) was an Argentine politician, physician and author. He served as Governor of his province of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

and as a member of the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation ( es, Honorable Senado de la Nación Argentina) is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 185 ...

and

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. Avelín was born in San Juan Province to parents of Lebanese descent. He earned a medical degree at the University of Córdoba, and later founded the Colegio Médico de la Provincia. Entering politics, he founded the

Renewal Crusade The Renewal Crusade ( es, Cruzada Renovadora) is a political party in San Juan Province, Argentina. The party was founded by Alfredo Avelín on after he left the Radical Civic Union. Avelín would represent the party as Mayor of San Juan City a ...

party. He became Mayor of the provincial capital,

, in 1958, at the age of 31. He was ultimately elected to the

Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de Diputados de la Nación), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress ( es, Congreso de la Nación). It is made up of 257 ...

in 1989, and to the

, in 1992. On 16 May 1999, Avelín was elected as governor of his province with 55%, heading the list of the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education, which would win the presidency of Argentina later the same year. He defeated the incumbent Governor, Jorge Escobar. Like the rest of the nation, San Juan experienced economic upheaval and unrest during his term in office; by 2001, wages were not being paid to provincial employees, and the province was bankrupt. Following the downfall of the government of President de la Rua, Avelín was a fierce opponent of the austerity measures proposed by the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

, saying, "The only thing lacking for us is to pull down the Argentine flag and replace it with the IMF's." In 2002, Avelín was impeached and deposed as governor by a majority of provincial deputies following massive demonstrations. Avelín considered running again for the governorship in 2007 against the incumbent,

José Luis Gioja José Luis Gioja (born 1949) is an Argentine Justicialist Party (PJ) politician, former governor of San Juan Province and former President of the Argentine Senate. Early life and education Gioja was born in Rawson, a suburb of San Juan, Argentin ...

. His daughter,

Nancy Avelín Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

, who also served as a senator, was eventually the candidate for the Renewal Crusade that year. Alfredo Avelín died on 26 January 2012.Murió el exgobernador Alfredo Avelín

References

personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avelin, Alfredo 1927 births 2012 deaths People from San Juan, Argentina Argentine people of Lebanese descent National University of Córdoba alumni Argentine physicians Mayors of places in Argentina Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in San Juan Members of the Argentine Senate for San Juan Governors of San Juan Province, Argentina