The Olivos Pact ( es, Pacto de Olivos) refers to a series of documents signed on November 17, 1993, between the governing
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 ...
of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...
, and former President and leader of the opposition
UCR,
Raúl AlfonsÃn
Raúl Ricardo AlfonsÃn (12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after more than ...
, that formed the basis of the
constitutional reform of 1994. These memorandum of understanding were signed in the official presidential residence, the
Quinta de Olivos
The Quinta presidencial de Olivos, also known as Quinta de Olivos, is an architectural landmark in the north side Buenos Aires suburb of Olivos and the official residence of the President of Argentina.
It is one of the President's official res ...
.
Context
Raúl AlfonsÃn
Raúl Ricardo AlfonsÃn (12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after more than ...
was the president of Argentina for the
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión CÃvica 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 ...
(UCR) from 1983 to 1989, and resigned during an economic crisis.
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...
, from 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 ...
(PJ), was elected in 1989. The
Convertibility plan
The Convertibility plan was a plan by the Argentine Currency Board that pegged the Argentine peso to the U.S. dollar between 1991 and 2002 in an attempt to eliminate hyperinflation and stimulate economic growth. While it initially met with cons ...
ended the economic crisis and increased his popularity, allowing the PJ to win the
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
and
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
midterm elections. The presidential
term of office
A term of office, electoral term, or parliamentary term is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject ...
was of six years, with no reelection. Menem sought to change that with an
amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...
to the
Constitution of Argentina
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 ...
. For this he would require a
supermajority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
of two thirds of both houses of the
Argentine Congress
The Congress of the Argentine Nation ( es, Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina. Its composition is bicameral, constituted by a 72-seat Senate and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies. The Senate, ...
. Although that was a feasible option at the
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 el ...
, it was a remote possibility at the
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 ...
. Menem sought creative alternatives for that, such as a
legal technicality
The term legal technicality is a casual or colloquial phrase referring to a technical aspect of law. The phrase is not a term of art in the law; it has no exact meaning, nor does it have a legal definition. It implies that strict adherence to the ...
that the requirement would be two thirds of the legislators present at the Congress during the session instead of two thirds of the complete body (and thus exploit circumstances where opposing legislators may be absent). Radical governors such as
Carlos Maestro
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewhere ...
and
Horacio Massaccesi
Horacio Massaccesi (born September 12, 1948) is an Argentine politician and former Governor of RÃo Negro Province.
Life and times
Early career
Massaccesi was born in 1948 to an Italian Argentine family in Villa Regina, then a largely agricult ...
commented that they would not oppose an amendment approved that way.
Agreed terms
![Alfonsin menem quinta olivos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Alfonsin_menem_quinta_olivos.jpg)
Political agents of Menem and AlfonsÃn met in secret and negotiated some points. Both leaders met personally in secret, on November 4, 1993. AlfonsÃn accepted to instruct the radical legislators to support the amendment, and allow the presidential re-election for a single period. In exchange, the PJ agreed on a number of proposals by AlfonsÃn, to reduce the political clout of the president and the ruling political party. The presidential term of office was reduced to four years. The senate would be composed by two senators for the victor party at each province and one for the next party; instead of only a senator for the victor. The judges would be controlled by the
Council of Magistracy of the Nation
The Council of Magistracy of the Nation ( es, Consejo de la Magistratura de la Nación) is an organ of the Judicial Branch of the Government of Argentina. It is in charge of appointing judges, of presenting charges against them to an Accusation Jur ...
, a body that would include members of the opposition. The capital city of
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 RÃo de la Plata, on South ...
, a
federal district
A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...
with a mayor appointed by the president, would become an
autonomous administrative division
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy†...
with its own elected mayor; as a traditional anti-Peronist district it was expected that such a mayor would be radical.
Menem, however, did not accept a turn into a
semi-presidential system
A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...
or even into a
parliamentary republic
A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...
, as proposed by AlfonsÃn. The proposed
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
office was demoted into the
Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers
The Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Argentine Nation ( es, Jefe de Gabinete de Ministros de la Nación Argentina; JGM), more commonly known simply as the Cabinet Chief ( es, Jefe de Gabinete) is a ministerial office within the governmen ...
, a minister with higher political clout than the others, but still less than that of a prime minister. As a
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
leader, Menem refused to give up the political clout of the presidentialist system.
Menem also agreed to include a
ballotage
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
system, but with complex conditions.
Consequences
Both parties gave their blessing to the pact. Congress approved it on December 29, 1993, and the executive power promulgated it the same day. This called for elections the following years, for members of the constituent assembly for the
1994 amendment of the Constitution of Argentina
The 1994 amendment to the Constitution of Argentina was approved on 22 August 1994 by a Constitutional Assembly that met in the twin cities of Santa Fe and Paraná. The calling for elections for the Constitutional Convention and the main issues t ...
. The contents of the pact were approved, and Menem ran and won the re-election in the
1995 presidential election.
References
External links
Todo argentina: Historia Argentina, La democracia, Año 1993 , La presidencia de Menem (1989-1995)
{{Authority control
Presidency of Carlos Menem
Political history of Argentina
1993 in Argentina
1993 documents