Hilda Victoria Montenegro (born 31 January 1976) is an Argentine politician who has been a member of the

Buenos Aires City Legislature The Buenos Aires City Legislature ( es, Legislatura de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, links=no, commonly known as the ) is a central part of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is housed in the Legislature Palace ( es ...

since 2017 for the

Kolina Kolina (an acronym of Corriente de Liberación Nacional; lit. "National Liberation Current") is a Kirchnerism, kirchnerist political party in Argentina founded in 2010 by Alicia Kirchner, sister of former president of Argentina, Néstor Kirchner. ...

party. Montenegro is the daughter of two ''" desaparecidos"'', alleged political dissidents of the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

who ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. Raised under a false name by a family linked to the dictatorship, Montenegro discovered her true identity in 2000 with the help of the

Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo ( es, italic=no, Asociación Civil Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo) is a human rights organization with the goal of finding the children stolen and illegally adopted during the 1976–1983 Argentine military dicta ...

, becoming the 66th grandchild to have their identity restored.

Early life

Hilda Victoria Montenegro was born on 31 January 1976 in Hurlingam,

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 ...

, daughter of Roque Orlando Montenegro and Hilda Ramona Argentina Torres. Her parents were originally from

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, they were both active in the ERP-PRT. On 13 February 1976, when Victoria was only 13 days old, she and her parents were kidnapped from their home by the military; her parents were " disappeared", and she was illegally appropriated and given to an army colonel, Herman Antonio Tetzlaff. She was raised by Tetzlaff and his wife, María del Carmen Eduartes, as their own daughter, under the name of "María Sol Tetzlaff". Growing up, she wanted to join the Army, but ultimately didn't due to recurrent anxiety attacks.

Restoration of her identity

In 1993, the

accused Tetzlaff of illegal appropriation of minors in the framework of the 1976–83 dictatorship, and Montenegro – then still known as María Sol, aged 16 – was forced to take a blood test, which was then run through the Grandmothers' genetic data bank. In 2000, the results showed she was not Tetzlaff and Eduartes' biological daughter, and her real parents were Roque Montenegro and Hilda Torres; she was the 66th grandchild whose identity was restored by the Grandmothers. She initially refused to co-operate in the trial against Tetzlaff – which eventually led to his imprisonment – and kept going by María Sol. She met her biological parents' family for the first time in 2001. Roque Montenegro's body was found in a mass grave in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, in 2012. Evidence suggests he was a victim of a death flight. Her mother remains missing.

Political career

Montenegro's involvement in politics began in 2008, when she got a job at the Ministry of Social Development. In 2011 she joined

, a

kirchnerist Kirchnerism ( es, Kirchnerismo ) is an Argentine political movement based on populist ideals formed by the supporters of Néstor Kirchner and his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who consecutively served as Presidents of Argentina. Althoug ...

political party founded by

Alicia Kirchner Alicia Margarita Kirchner (born 18 July 1946) is an Argentine politician. She is the elder sister of the late former President Néstor Kirchner and served in his government as Minister of Social Development, a role which she held under President ...

. She became the party's Human Rights secretary, and in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, she was the fifth candidate in the Front for Victory (FPV) list for 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 ...

in the City of Buenos Aires. From 2014 to 2015 she was head of the National Coordination Unit for Prevention, Assistance and the Eradication of Violence against Women of the National Women's Council ( es, Consejo Nacional de las Mujeres, CNM). She was a candidate to the Chamber of Deputies again in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, this time as the fourth candidate in the FPV list. However, once again the list didn't receive enough votes for her to be elected. Ahead of the 2017 legislative election in Buenos Aires, Montenegro was selected to be the third candidate in the Unidad Porteña list for the

; the list won the simultaneous and mandatory primaries on 13 August and, on the general election, received 21.26% of the vote – enough for Montenegro to be elected. She was sworn in on 5 December 2017. As of 2020, she was the national vice president of Kolina. In the

2021 elections Many elections occurred in 2021. The National Democratic Institute maintains calendar of elections around the world * 2021 United Nations Security Council election * 2021 national electoral calendar * 2021 local electoral calendar Africa * 2021 ...

, Montenegro was re-elected to the City Legislature on the

Frente de Todos The Frente de Todos (translated as "Everyone's Front") is a coalition of Peronist and Kirchnerist political parties in Argentina formed to support President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Kirchner. Fernández won the 2019 gene ...

list, as the second candidate behind Alejandro Amor.

Personal life

Montenegro and her husband, Gustavo, have three sons: Gonzalo, Sebastián and Santiago.

Electoral history

References