Ramón Bautista Mestre (August 21, 1937 – March 6, 2003), 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, was Governor of Córdoba from July 12, 1995 to July 12, 1999. He also served as Federal Interventor of

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; gn, Taragui), officially the Province of Corrientes ( es, Provincia de Corrientes; gn, Taragüí Tetãmini) is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (fr ...

(December 16, 1999 to March 20, 2001),

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(from March 20, 2001 to December 21, 2001), and Mayor of the City of Córdoba (from December 1983 to December 1991).

Biography

Mestre was born in

San Juan, Argentina San Juan () is the capital and largest city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the (over ...

. He enrolled at the

National University of Córdoba The National University of Córdoba ( es, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba,) is an institution of higher education in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Founded in 1613, the university is the oldest in Argentina, the third oldest university of t ...

School of Dentistry, and was elected President of the Student Union Organization. A member of the centrist

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'', or UCR) and protégé of Córdoba Governor

Justo Páez Molina Justo Pastor Páez Molina (August 7, 1902, El Salto, Córdoba – April 22, 1969, Córdoba) was an Argentine politician. He served as Governor of Córdoba from October 12, 1963 to June 28, 1966. References 1902 births 1969 deaths ...

, Mestre began his political career as Deputy Health Secretary (1964) for Governor Páez Molina, and later as the Governor’s Chief of Staff (1965). Following the 1966 military coup d'état that overthrew President

Arturo Illia Arturo Umberto Illia (; 4 August 1900 – 18 January 1983) was an Argentine politician and physician, who was President of Argentina from 12 October 1963, to 28 June 1966. He was a member of the centrist Radical Civic Union. Illia reached the ...

, as well as Paez Molina and all other governors, he worked as a dentist in the private field. He married the former Cristina Sueldo, and they had four children. was 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 ...

for Córdoba Province in 1973, and became leader of the UCR caucus until 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 ...

Career

In 1983, he was elected Mayor of Córdoba for the 1983–87 period, and was reelected for a new period from 1987 to 1991. His administration completed numerous public works, notably the restoration of the Suquía River shore along the city. He then created his own organization in the UCR, ''Participación y Renovación'', to challenge

Eduardo Angeloz Eduardo César Angeloz (October 18, 1931 – August 23, 2017) was an Argentine politician. He was a presidential candidate and Governor of Córdoba from 1983 to 1995. Angeloz was born in Río Tercero, Córdoba, and received a law degree from ...

in the latter's 1991 bid for a third term as governor. Mestre lost the primaries; but he established a name as a natural candidate for the 1995 elections.''Página/12''. March 6, 2003.
/ref> In 1994, he was elected to the National Convention that would approve extensive

Constitutional amendments A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

. In 1995, he was elected Governor of Córdoba. During his brief tenure, Mestre advanced a regional alliance with the governors of Entre Ríos and

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 28th ...

s that became the " Center Region." Mestre hoped to accelerate growth in Córdoba; but the province struggled under the nation's economic downturn, and added to suspicions of corruption among Mestre appointees, the high fiscal deficit, as well as his own, unaccommodating style of governing, his administration quickly became unpopular. He failed to win reelection in 1999, and 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 ...

won the Córdoba governorship for the first time, electing

José Manuel De la Sota José Manuel de la Sota (28 November 1949 – 15 September 2018) was an Argentine politician who was a member of Justicialist Party. He was the governor of Córdoba Province from 1999 until 2007, and was reelected to the post for the 2011–15 ...

as the 56th Governor. In 1999 until 2001, Mestre served as Federal Interventor in

, and was appointed Minister of the Interior during 2001. As the Interior Ministry oversaw

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

at the time, Mestre bore much of the responsibility in the repression of demonstrators at the

Plaza de Mayo The Plaza de Mayo (; en, May Square) is a city square and main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time know ...

during the December 2001 riots that resulted in several deaths, and precipitated the fall of the President

Fernando de la Rúa Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) was an Argentine politician and a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) political party who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1999 to 21 December 2001. De la Rúa was born in ...

Death

Mestre announced his candidacy for Governor of Córdoba, but died in 2003, as a result of

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...

External links

Ramón Bautista Mestre Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mestre, Ramon 1937 births 2003 deaths People from San Juan Province, Argentina Argentine dentists Governors of Córdoba Province, Argentina National University of Córdoba alumni Mayors of Córdoba, Argentina Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Córdoba Radical Civic Union politicians Deaths from hepatitis 20th-century dentists Ministers of Internal Affairs of Argentina