Horacio Daniel Usandizaga (b. June 15, 1940 in J.B.Molina, ), also known informally as ''El Vasco'' (

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: The

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

), 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Usandizaga studied to become a lawyer and entered political activity as a member of the

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'') in 1961. He was first a councillor and then Mayor of Rosario from 11 December 1983 to 10 December 1987. He was re-elected for four more years but resigned and left office on 22 May 1989. A man of hot temper, Usandizaga had publicly promised that he would leave if

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 ...

was elected

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, as eventually happened. His term was completed by

Héctor Cavallero Héctor Cavallero (2 October 1939 – 2 October 2020), nicknamed ''El Tigre'' ("The Tiger"), was an Argentine politician, who was mayor of Rosario, Santa Fe, and a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies for the Province of Santa Fe. Biogra ...

, of the

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. Usandizaga stood as candidate for Governor of Santa Fe in 1991, 1995 and 1999, but on all three occasions he failed to win, in part due to the

electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...

in place at the time (the now-repealed

Ley de Lemas ''Ley de Lemas'' is a form of the double simultaneous vote (DSV) electoral system which is, or has been, used in elections in Argentina, Uruguay, and Honduras. It is an unusual variant of open list proportional representation, and works as follow ...

). He was elected as the provincial representative (''Diputado'') in the National Congress in 1993, and was a member of 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 ...

from 29 November 1995 to 9 December 2001. He was re-elected, but at the end of 2002 he announced he would retire from active politics upon the partial renewal of the Upper House on 9 December 2003. In 2007, he was elected as president of

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central () is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on December 24, 1889, by a group of railway workers, taking its name from the Englis ...

, the club that he supported since childhood. He obtained 63% of the votes.

Sources

Intendentes de Rosario
- Mayors of Rosario (in Spanish) on the website of the Municipality.
List of Argentine Senators
- historical records by province. {{DEFAULTSORT:Usandizaga, Horacio Mayors of Rosario, Santa Fe People from Rosario, Santa Fe 1940 births Living people Members of the Argentine Senate for Santa Fe Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Santa Fe Members of the Argentine Council of Magistracy Radical Civic Union politicians Argentine football chairmen and investors Argentine people of Basque descent