Antonio Bonfatti (born December 1, 1950) is an Argentine physician and politician from the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, who was

Governor of Santa Fe The Governor of Santa Fe ( es, Gobernador de la Provincia de Santa Fe) is a citizen of Santa Fe Province, in Argentina, holding the office of governor for the corresponding period. Currently the governor of Santa Fe is Omar Perotti, of the Justicia ...

. From 2016 to 2021, he was president of the Socialist Party.

Life and times

Bonfatti was born in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

in 1950. He enrolled at the

National University of Rosario The National University of Rosario ( es, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, UNR) is a research public university located in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Overview Rosario National University (UNR) was created in 1968 by ...

and was accepted into the School of Medicine. There, he developed an interest in

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, and in 1972, co-founded the Popular Socialist Party with activists

Guillermo Estévez Boero Guillermo Estévez Boero (28 December 1930 – 3 February 2000) was an Argentine student activist, lawyer and Socialist politician. Estévez Boero was born in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, and studied law at the National University of the Littoral, ...

and

Hermes Binner Hermes Juan Binner (June 5, 1943 − June 26, 2020) was an Argentine physician and a politician. He was Governor of Santa Fe from 2007 to 2011.Medical Degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1974, and for the next two years, worked with Binner in a

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

clinic outside Rosario. The

March 1976 coup March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

prompted him to relocate to

Las Parejas Las Parejas is a city in the southwest of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, on National Route 178. Las Parejas has 11,301 inhabitants as per the . The town was founded in 1889 on lands belonging to the Ferrocarril Central Argentino railway com ...

, a small town west of Rosario. He would remain in Las Parejas, working as a physician in a provincial SAMCo clinic and for the Steelworkers' Union in the field of

occupational medicine Occupational medicine, until 1960 called industrial medicine, is the branch of medicine which is concerned with the maintenance of health in the workplace, including prevention and treatment of diseases and injuries, with secondary objectives ...

. Upon the return of democracy in 1983, he was elected Mayor. Bonfatti's term expired in 1989, at which time he was elected to the City Council for a four-year term. He maintained his medical practice during his tenure as mayor and councilman, and in 1993 earned a

postgraduate degree Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

healthcare administration Health administration, healthcare administration, healthcare management or hospital management is the field relating to leadership, management, and administration of public health systems, health care systems, hospitals, and hospital networ ...

. The election of Hermes Binner as Mayor of

in 1995 was followed by Bonfatti's appointment as Municipal Secretary of Public Health. He was named Secretary of Government by Mayor Binner in 1997 and remained in the post until the end of Binner's term in 2003, when Bonfatti was elected to the Provincial Legislature. His entry into the legislature coincided with Binner's election as governor, and the Socialist Party caucus elected Bonfatti as its leader. Governor Binner, who was re-elected in 2007, appointed Bonfatti Minister of Government and State Reform. Bonfatti streamlined the bureaucratic and electoral process in the province during his tenure, and was endorsed by Binner as candidate for governor in 2011 on the Progressive, Civic, and Social Front, whose nomination he sought without opposition. He was elected governor on July 24 with nearly 40% of the vote; followed by

Republican Proposal Republican Proposal ( es, link=no, Propuesta Republicana) is a centre-right political party in Argentina. It is usually referred to by its abbreviation, PRO. PRO was formed as an electoral alliance in 2005, but was transformed into a national p ...

candidate, actor Miguel del Sel, with 36%; and Congressman

Agustín Rossi Agustín Oscar "Chivo" Rossi (born 18 October 1959) is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician. Rossi has held a number of important political posts throughout his career, most notably as Minister of Defense during the presidencies of Cristin ...

of the FpV, with 23%.

External links

Gobierno de Santa FeAntonio Bonfatti. Gobernador

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonfatti, Antonio 1950 births Living people People from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine people of Italian descent National University of Rosario alumni Argentine physicians Mayors of Rosario, Santa Fe Governors of Santa Fe Province Socialist Party (Argentina) politicians