Graciela Ocaña (born September 16, 1960) is an Argentine politician. She has a degree in political science. In 2007 she was

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

of Argentina in the government of

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 former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...

and was a national deputy for four terms. In 2017, Ocaña joined

Cambiemos (JxC, ) was a political coalition in Argentina. A liberal coalition, it was created in 2015 as Cambiemos (), and renamed in 2019. It was composed of Republican Proposal, Radical Civic Union, Civic Coalition ARI and United Republicans. These ...

as a candidate for national deputy for

Province of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. In 2021, she is a pre-candidate seeking her re-election.

Life and times

Ocaña was born and raised in the western

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 ...

suburb of San Justo in 1960. Raised without her father, she lost her mother to an accident at age five and was taken in by her maternal grandparents, both immigrants from Spain. Ocaña received her primary education at the Santa Rosa de Lima School, an institution maintained by Dominican nuns. She was transferred to the San Justo Secondary School system and enrolled at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

in 1978, where she graduated with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1983. Ocaña became affiliated with 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 ...

and found work in the private sector, managing a number of import-export businesses in the San Justo area. Ocaña became disaffected from the Justicialist Party following 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 unexpected adoption of

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

policies after taking office and, in 1993, she aligned herself with the eight

congressmen A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The ...

who had left the party to form the center-left

Frente Grande The Broad Front (, FG) is a centre-left peronist political party in Argentina most prominent in the 1990s. The party is currently part of the former ruling Unión por la Patria coalition which supported Sergio Massa's presidential campaign. ...

. An adviser to

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

Congressman "Chacho" Álvarez (the party's leader), she was elected to the Argentine Lower House of Congress as a member of the Frente Grande's successor,

FrePaSo The Front for a Country in Solidarity ( or ) was a center-left political coalition in Argentina. Its leading figures were José Octavio Bordón, Carlos "Chacho" Álvarez and Graciela Fernández Meijide. History The coalition was formed in 19 ...

, on the

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

ticket that brought Álvarez to the office of Vice President in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. Ocaña earned renown for her work in the

Money Laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

and

Capital flight Capital flight, in economics, is the rapid flow of assets or money out of a country, due to an event of economic consequence or as the result of a political event such as regime change or economic globalization. Such events could be erratic or ...

Subcommittee in Congress, where in 2001 she led investigations into businessman Emir Yoma and Córdoba Province Vice Governor Germán Kammerath, among others. President

Fernando de la Rúa Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) served as the President of Argentina from 1999 until his resignation in 2001. A member of the Radical Civic Union, he previously served as national senator for Buenos Aires across non-consecuti ...

's resignation in December and the attendant crisis dissolved the Alliance, whereby Ocaña joined fellow Congresswoman

Elisa Carrió Elisa María Avelina "Lilita" Carrió (born 26 December 1956) is an Argentine lawyer, professor, and politician. She is the leader of Civic Coalition ARI, one of the founders of Cambiemos, and was Argentine Chamber of Deputies, National Deputy f ...

's ARI, a new center-left

christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

party. Enjoying Carrió's esteem, she was invited to run on the ARI ticket for Governor of Buenos Aires Province, but declined, opting to stand for reelection as Congresswoman. Prominent in the

Small Business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

Committee, in January 2004 President

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...

appointed her Director of the National Integrated Medical Attention Plan (PAMI), a national health insurance program hitherto struggling under chronic mismanagement. Known for her differences with her boss at the time, Health Minister

Ginés González García Ginés González García (31 August 1945 – 18 October 2024) was an Argentine politician and physician who served twice as the country's Ministry of Health (Argentina), Minister of Health under the successive presidencies of Eduardo Duhalde an ...

, over

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

and

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

(which she opposed), she maintained a low profile while earning plaudits for her active intervention in a number of large public hospitals, notably the Hospital Francés. Increasingly distanced from ARI leader Elisa Carrió, Ocaña formally resigned her seat in Congress in 2006. Hoping to win a fraction of ARI voters over following their defeat in the October 2007 elections, President-elect Cristina Kirchner offered Ocaña the post of Health and Environment Minister, which the popular PAMI director accepted, taking office on December 10. Ocaña's decision to demand reimbursement for around US$60 million in PAMI services rendered to health plans administered by the CGT and other labor unions intensified CGT Secretary General Hugo Moyano's opposition to her tenure, helping result in her June 23, 2009, decision to resign her post. Her departure from the Health Ministry was not announced until after the mid-term elections on June 28, and

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighb ...

surgeon and Vice Governor

Juan Luis Manzur Juan Luis Manzur (born 8 January 1969) is an Argentine surgeon and politician currently serving as a National Senator for Tucumán Province. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 202 ...

was tapped to succeed her on July 1. In 2014, Ocaña founded the anti-corruption political party (Spanish: ''Confianza Pública''). The party, which is currently a member of the opposition coalition ''

Juntos por el Cambio (JxC, ) was a political coalition in Argentina. A liberal coalition, it was created in 2015 as Cambiemos (), and renamed in 2019. It was composed of Republican Proposal, Radical Civic Union, Civic Coalition ARI and United Republicans. These ...

'' (English: Together for Change), supported former president

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previously ...

in the

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

elections. In the 2023 local elections, she was once again elected to the

Buenos Aires City Legislature The Buenos Aires City Legislature (, commonly known as the ) is the legislative power of the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is housed in the Buenos Aires City Legislature Palace, Legislature Palace (), an archite ...

References

''Telam:'' Graciela Ocaña

Curriculum Vitae

External links

PAMI

Argentine Health Ministry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocana, Graciela 1960 births Living people Ministers of health of Argentina Justicialist Party politicians Front for a Country in Solidarity politicians Civic Coalition ARI politicians Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province Members of the Buenos Aires City Legislature Argentine deputies 2021–2023 Argentine deputies 2019–2021 Argentine deputies 2017–2019 Argentine deputies 2011–2013 Argentine deputies 2003–2005 Women members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Argentine people of Spanish descent Women government ministers of Argentina University of Buenos Aires alumni Fernández de Kirchner administration cabinet members