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Carlos Alberto "Chacho" Álvarez (; born 26 December 1948) is an Argentine politician. He was Vice President of Argentina during the first 10 months of President Fernando de la Rúa's term, and headed the ALADI Secretariat from 2011 to 2017.


Biography

Álvarez was born in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
. His father was a
printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...
worker, and the younger Álvarez's first experience in politics would be in the splinter
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
CGT de los Argentinos, formed in 1968 by Raimundo Ongaro. He earned his degree in history at the University of Buenos Aires. Álvarez married three times in his youth: Marta Chojo, Gloria López Lecube, and Liliana Chiernajowsky. He had two daughters with his second wife, though his third marriage would be the most enduring. He met Liliana Chiernajowsky, who had spent 7 years as a
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
during the
Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...
, shortly after her release in 1981. They had one daughter. He served as an adviser at the Regional Economies Commission of the
Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...
from 1983 to 1989. Álvarez established ''Unidos'' in 1985, a periodical in support of the progressive wing of the
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...
that would become influential in Argentine universities through the student organization APU. He was elected National Deputy for the Justicialist Party in 1989, but split from the party shortly afterward over disagreements with President
Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...
's turn to the right, creating an independent caucus known as The Group of Eight. Álvarez joined a group of politicians of different progressive parties, as well as former Justicialists, in 1991 to create the Frente Grande coalition party. He was again elected congressman for the 1993–97 period, as well as a member of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the
1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution 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, Argentina, Santa Fe and Paraná, Argentina, Paraná. The calling for elections for the Constit ...
. He took part in the creation of the FrePaSo coalition in 1994. Nominated candidate for vice-president on José Octavio Bordón's ticket, they obtained second place in the 1995 presidential elections. FrePaSo joined the
Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union (, UCR) is a major political party in Argentina. It has reached the national government on ten occasions, making it one of the most historically important parties in the country. Ideologically, the party has stood for r ...
in 1997 to form the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education (usually known as the ''Alianza''). Álvarez was reelected that year to the Chamber of Deputies, this time within the Alianza, in 1997. He ran again as a vice-presidential nominee in 1999, and was elected Vice President of Argentina with Alianza nominee Fernando de la Rúa in the 1999 presidential elections. Revelations of bribery on the part of President de la Rúa in the passage of a labour flexibility law bill in 2000 led Álvarez to resign his post on 6 October 2000, denouncing corruption in the administration and in the Senate. His resignation was followed a year later by de la Rúa's own resignation in the face of the December 2001 riots in Argentina. He retired from public life for five years. His marriage to Liliana Chiernajowsky ended, and his notable later relationships included those with politician Vilma Ibarra and actress Soledad Silveyra. He was appointed as President of
Mercosur The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full me ...
's permanent representatives committee, CRPM (''Comisión de Representantes Permanentes del Mercosur''). He took office on 9 December 2005, was reelected in 2007, and served until December 2009. Álvarez underwent
vascular bypass A vascular bypass is a surgical procedure performed to redirect blood flow from one area to another by reconnecting blood vessels. Often, this is done to bypass around a diseased artery, from an area of normal blood flow to another relatively norm ...
surgery in 2009, and recovered. He took office as General Secretary of the Latin American regional trade organization, ALADI (''Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración''), on 1 September 2011 and served in that capacity for six years.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Carlos 1948 births Living people Politicians from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Spanish descent University of Buenos Aires alumni Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Ambassadors of Argentina to Peru Vice presidents of Argentina Justicialist Party politicians Front for a Country in Solidarity politicians Broad Front (Argentina) politicians