Gerardo Zamora (born 6 January 1964) 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 from

Santiago del Estero Province Santiago del Estero (), also known simply as Santiago, is a province in the north of Argentina. Neighboring provinces, clockwise from the north, are Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán. History The indigenous inhabitant ...

. Governor of Santiago del Estero since 2005, he was 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 ...

(UCR).

Early life and education

Born in rural Bowen,

Mendoza Province Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic o ...

, Zamora's family moved to

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...

in 1968. He later became a leader in student politics, serving as President of the UCR student chapter ''Franja Morada'' at the

Catholic University of Santiago del Estero The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and as President of the UCR's youth wing for two terms. He became a lawyer and continued his political activities.

Political career

Elected to the Provincial Legislature in Santiago del Estero in 1991, he served in the post until 1993, and was elected Mayor of the city of

in 1995. He became a provincial deputy once again in 1997 and served as President of the UCR caucus until 1999. In that year he was elected vice-mayor of Santiago del Estero and took over as Mayor in 2001 when the incumbent resigned. In 2003 he was elected Mayor of the city in his own right with 64% of the vote, serving until 2004. Zamora has been a key UCR supporter of

Peronist Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...

Presidents

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, Secretary General of UNASUR and ...

and

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President ...

(a 'K' Radical, as UCR allies of

Kirchnerism 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 ...

are known), and opposed leading UCR figures' plans to support an opposing candidate to the Kirchners in the 2007 presidential elections. He was elected governor in 2005 on the

Civic Front for Santiago The Civic Front for Santiago ( es, Frente Cívico por Santiago, links=no) is a Peronist provincial political coalition in Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina. It operates as part of Frente de Todos. The Civic Front is effectively a coalition ...

ticket, with the support of some Peronists and

Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

as well as most Radicals (UCR) in the province. From 2005 until 2007, Zamora's vice-governor was

Emilio Rached Emilio Alberto Rached (born 2 June 1959 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province) is an Argentine politician, formerly of the Radical Civic Union. Elected for the Civic Front for Santiago, he sat in the Argentine Senate representing Santiago del Estero ...

; Rached was elected to the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation ( es, Honorable Senado de la Nación Argentina) is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 185 ...

in 2007, and later broke ranks with the governor. Zamora was re-elected governor in 2008 with 85% of the vote. Governor Zamora sought an amendment to the provincial constitution that would enable a third consecutive term; the amendment was defeated in an October 22, 2013,

Argentine Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Argentina ( es, link=no, Corte Suprema de Argentina), officially known as the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation ( es, link=no, Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación Argentina, CSJN), is the highest court ...

ruling, however. His alliance with Kirchnerists had by then led to his break with the UCR, which opted to endorse former Vice Governor

in a

Progressive, Civic and Social Front The Progressive, Civic and Social Front (, FPCyS) is a center-left political coalition in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. History It was first formed in Santa Fe Province in 2006, but was adapted in other provinces for the 2013 Argentine legisl ...

ticket for the upcoming 2013 gubernatorial elections. Zamora nominated his wife, Claudia Ledesma, as the Civic Front for Santiago candidate for governor and she defeated Rached by a 65-to-15% margin; the outgoing governor was concurrently elected to the Argentine Senate. In 2013, his ex-vicegovernor, Emilio Rached, declared that Zamora acts like the "Mafia" Supported by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a bid to broaden her support among ''

Radicales K K Radicalism also known as ''Radicales K'' were a faction within the Radical Civic Union (UCR), a political party in Argentina. History Early history and foundation (early-2000s-2007) President Néstor Kirchner (2003–2007) was a Peronist ...

'', Zamora was elected Provisional President of the Argentine Senate with the support of Kirchner's majority

Front for Victory The Front for Victory ( es, Frente para la Victoria, FPV) was a centre-left Peronist electoral alliance in Argentina, and is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner we ...

caucus; he took office on 28 February 2014.

Personal life

Zamora has married twice; he has one son from his first marriage, and two sons and a daughter from his second. His current and second wife,

Claudia Ledesma Abdala Claudia Alejandra Ledesma Abdala de Zamora (born 14 September 1974) is an Argentine politician, currently serving as a National Senator for Santiago del Estero Province and as Provisional President of the Argentine Senate since 2019. A member of ...

, has served as Governor of Santiago del Estero and as provisional president of the Senate as well.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zamora, Gerardo 1964 births Living people People from Mendoza Province Argentine people of Spanish descent 20th-century Argentine lawyers Mayors of Santiago del Estero Governors of Santiago del Estero Province Members of the Argentine Senate for Santiago del Estero Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Santiago del Estero Radical Civic Union politicians