Mercedes Margarita Oviedo (born 29 October 1952) is 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 of the

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...

who served as a National Senator for

Misiones Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...

from 2001 to 2005, and as Vice Governor of Misiones from 1999 to 2001, under

Carlos Rovira Carlos Eduardo Rovira (born February 18, 1956) is an Argentine Justicialist Party (PJ) politician, until 2007 governor of Misiones Province at the head of the Front for the Renewal of Concord. Rovira was born in Posadas and studied chemical en ...

. Born in

El Zapallar EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

, Chaco, Oviedo studied to become a teacher at the Escuela Normal Nacional Estados Unidos del Brasil, and later finished a degree on social work from the

National University of Misiones The National University of Misiones (in Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional de Misiones'', ''UNaM'') is a public university in Argentina. It has a publishing house and a radio station, ''LRH301 FM Universidad Nacional de Misiones'', that streams in ...

. Throughout her political career, she served in a number of positions related to social services in the provincial government (such as heading the social services department of the Provincial Institute for Habitational Development). In 1997, she was elected to the

Chamber of Representatives of Misiones The Chamber of Representatives of Misiones Province ( es, Cámara de Representantes de la Provincia de Misiones) is the unicameral legislative body of Misiones Province, in Argentina. It convenes in the provincial capital, Posadas. It comprises ...

on the Justicialist Party list, wherein she served as president of the parliamentary commission on social affairs. In the 1999 provincial elections, she was the running mate of

in the Justicialist Party ticket, which won with 53.74% of the vote. Upon taking office, she became the first female vice governor of Misiones and the second female vice governor in Argentina, after

Elva Roulet Elva Pilar Barreiro de Roulet (born 1932), more commonly known as Elva Roulet, is an Argentine architect and politician who was Vice Governor of Buenos Aires Province from 1983 to 1987. She also served as Secretary of Housing and Environmental S ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

. In the 2001 legislative election, Oviedo was elected to the

National Senate 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 eld ...

representing Misiones, alongside

Ramón Puerta Federico Ramón Puerta (born 9 September 1951) is an Argentine Peronist politician who has served as a governor, national senator and deputy and briefly as President of Argentina in 2001. Biography Puerta was born in Apóstoles, Misiones Provi ...

. In the Senate, she served as president of the parliamentary commission on social action and public health. In 2005, after the end of her term as senator, she was once again elected to the Chamber of Representatives of Misiones, serving until 2009. She was married to Julio Alberto Ifrán, a fellow Justicialist Party politician who served as Vice Governor of Misiones before her, although they later divorced.

References

1952 births Living people 20th-century Argentine women politicians Members of the Argentine Senate for Misiones Women members of the Argentine Senate Vice Governors of Misiones Province People from General José de San Martín, Chaco Justicialist Party politicians National University of Misiones alumni 20th-century Argentine politicians 21st-century Argentine politicians 21st-century Argentine women politicians {{Argentina-politician-stub