Lisandro de la Torre (6 December 1868 – 5 January 1939) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

politician, born in

Rosario, Santa Fe Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

. He was considered as a model of ethics in politics. He was a national deputy and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, a prominent polemicist, and founder of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

in 1914. He ran twice for the office of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, in 1916 and in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. De la Torre became a lawyer in 1890. His thesis about

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and communes, as well as other works of his, gave rise to the idea of

municipal autonomy A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the g ...

in Argentina, which was included in the

Argentine Constitution The Constitution of the Argentine Nation ( es, Constitución de la Nación Argentina) is the basic governing document of Argentina, and the primary source of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a constitutional ...

in the 1994 reform. In 1898 he founded the newspaper ''La República'' ("The Republic") in Rosario.

Beginnings in politics

A member of the

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the So ...

(''Unión Cívica Radical'', UCR) under the leadership of

Leandro Alem Leandro Nicéforo Alem (born Leandro Alén; 11 March 1841 – 1 July 1896) was an Argentine politician, founder and leader of the Radical Civic Union. He was the uncle and political teacher of Hipólito Yrigoyen. He was also an active Freema ...

, de la Torre abandoned the party in 1897 due to disagreement with the new leader,

Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (; 12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union and two-time President of Argentina, who served his first term from 1916 to 1922 and his second ...

. Later, in 1908, he was part of the founding group of the Southern League (''Liga del Sur''), a local party. In 1911 he was elected for the provincial legislature representing the

San Lorenzo Department The San Lorenzo Department (in Spanish, ''Departamento San Lorenzo'') is an administrative subdivision (''departamento'') of Santa Fe Province, Argentina. It is located in the south of the province. It limits with the populous Rosario Department an ...

; in 1912 he became a representative of Santa Fe (''diputado'') for the Southern League in the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the National Congress. On 14 December 1914 de la Torre took part of the constitutive assembly of the

(''Partido Demócrata Progresista'', PDP) at the

Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

. The new party appointed him the presidential candidate for the 1916 elections, with Alejandro Carbó as the vice-president. The PDP was defeated by the UCR's candidate (H. Yrigoyen). De la Torre also lost the 1919 elections where he had presented as a candidate for

representing the city of Buenos Aires. De la Torre's PDP participated in the shaping of a new provincial constitution for Santa Fe, in 1921, which was considered modern and progressive for the time, but ended up being

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ed by the

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

governor Enrique Mosca. De la Torre was elected national representative for Santa Fe in 1922. In 1925, however, he announced his retirement from active politics. In 1928 the PDP was overwhelmingly defeated in the province, which moved the wannabe-governor Francisco Correa to exclaim, "We are too few to win, but too many to disappear". In 1931 the PDP entered the Democratic-Socialist Alliance, which appointed De la Torre and Nicolás Repetto for the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

, but they were defeated by

Agustín Pedro Justo Agustín Pedro Justo Rolón (26 February 1876 – 11 January 1943) was an Argentine military officer, diplomat and politician, who served as the president of Argentina from 1932 to 1938 during the Infamous Decade. Justo took part in the coup of ...

and

Julio Argentino Pascual Roca Julio Argentino Pascual Roca Funes (17 May 1873 – 8 October 1942) was an Argentine politician and diplomat. He was born to Clara Funes and General Julio Roca, who would become President of Argentina and dominate national politics for a gener ...

Work in the National Senate

In 1932 the PDP met triumph again when Luciano Molinas became the governor of Santa Fe. At the same time, de la Torre became a

national senator. In 1935 he initiated an investigation on the meat trade, which had been previously attempted without success by his fellow party member Julio Noble. In the midst of the investigation, de la Torre's disciple, senator-elect

Enzo Bordabehere Enzo Bordabehere (25 September 1889 – 23 July 1935) was an Argentine lawyer and politician. He was a National Senator for Santa Fe Province, and was assassinated in Congress during a session in the Argentine Senate. Biography Born in Pays ...

, was murdered by

Ramón Valdez Cora Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...

, and the province of Santa Fe was intervened. The bullet that killed Bordabehere, it is said, was destined for de la Torre. Valdez Cora was sentenced to 20 years of prison, of which he served 18. He was released in 1953, but died shortly after that, 18 months later. The murder was depicted by

Juan José Jusid Juan José Jusid (born September 28, 1941) is an Argentine film director and screenwriter. Career Jusid was born in Buenos Aires. He started his professional career as an actor, puppeteer and stage photographer in the 1960s then switched to fil ...

's 1984 film, ''

Asesinato en el Senado de la Nación ''Asesinato en el Senado de la Nación'' ( en, Murder in the Senate of the Nation, italics=yes) is a 1984 Argentine historical crime drama film directed by Juan José Jusid and written by Carlos Somigliana. It stars José Soriano, Miguel Ángel ...

''. The debate had been caused by some

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

laws, destined to protect the prices of grains, beef, wine, etc. De la Torre and two ministers exchanged insults until eventually the senator was challenged to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

. He accepted the challenge of Federico Pinedo, Minister of Finance, but refused the duel with the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Duhau, since he did not consider Duhau a gentleman. Pinedo shot to kill, but missed, and de la Torre missed deliberately, so neither was injured, but reconciliation never came. De la Torre was a member of the Senate until 1937.

De la Torre's death and legacy

Although some Historians considered he was overwhelmed by his economic problems, it is generally agreed that Lisandro de la Torre was deeply saddened by Bordabehere's murder, as well as feeling disgusted and disheartened with the corruption and injustice prevalent in Argentina's politics at the time. He committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by shooting himself in the heart with a revolver on 5 January 1939, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. His ashes are now in an urn, buried in the El Salvador Cemetery of Rosario. The

Dr. Julio Marc Provincial Historical Museum The Dr. Julio Marc Provincial Historical Museum (in Spanish, ''Museo Histórico Provincial Dr. Julio Marc'') is a museum in Rosario, Argentina. It comprises more than 30 rooms hosting collections of archaeological items, Spanish-American art, n ...

, also in Rosario, displays a reproduction of de la Torre's residence in 22 Esmeralda St. of Buenos Aires, with the original furniture. A meatpacking plant in Buenos Aires, famously the site of a major labor conflict in 1959, was named after him.Barricadas de carne en Mataderos
at www.clarin.com Today, a ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

'' (neighbourhood) in the north-east of the city (

Barrio Lisandro de la Torre Lisandro de la Torre is a barrio (traditional neighborhood) in the north-east of Rosario, Argentina. It carries the name of a renowned local politician, Lisandro de la Torre (1868–1939), but is most commonly referred to as Arroyito. It is a ...

, also known as ''Arroyito'', the home of the

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the English- ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club) carries his name, as well as a one-block street in the southern region, and many streets and avenues throughout Argentina. A movie filmed in 1984, called ''

Asesinato en el senado de la nación ''Asesinato en el Senado de la Nación'' ( en, Murder in the Senate of the Nation, italics=yes) is a 1984 Argentine historical crime drama film directed by Juan José Jusid and written by Carlos Somigliana. It stars José Soriano, Miguel Ángel ...

'', dramatized the final days before the murder of Enzo Bordabehere. De la Torre was portrayed by

Pepe Soriano José Carlos "Pepe" Soriano (born September 25, 1929) is a prominent Argentine actor, director, and playwright. Early life Soriano was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Enrolling at the prestigious University of Buenos Aires Law School ...

; the movie was directed by

Bibliography

Works by Lisandro de la Torre include: * ''Intermedio filosófico'' ("Philosophical intermission") * ''Cuestiones monetarias y financieras'' ("Monetary and financial matters") * ''Grandeza y decadencia del fascismo'' ("Greatness and decadence of fascism") * ''Las dos campañas presidenciales'' ("The two presidential campaigns")

References

Biography
of Lisandro de la Torre (in Spanish). Efemérides Culturales Argentinas, website of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Argentina.

in Todo-Argentina.net (in Spanish)

(in Spanish)

(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Torre, Lisandro de la 1868 births 1939 deaths 1939 suicides People from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine people of Spanish descent Civic Union (Argentina) politicians Radical Civic Union politicians Democratic Progressive Party (Argentina) politicians Candidates for President of Argentina Members of the Argentine Senate for Santa Fe Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Santa Fe Argentine male writers People of the Infamous Decade Argentine politicians who committed suicide Suicides by firearm in Argentina University of Buenos Aires alumni