Manuela Jimena Castañeira (born 22 November 1984) is an Argentine sociologist, feminist activist and politician. She is the leader of the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

Movimiento al Socialismo Movement for Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (; MAS or MAS-IPSP), is a socialist political party in Bolivia. Its followers are known as ''Masistas''. In the December 2005 election, MAS-IPSP won the first ...

() and was the party's presidential candidate 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 ...

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 ...

, and 2023 general elections. In all occasions, she did not receive enough votes in the PASO primaries to make it past the threshold to participate in the general election.

Early life and education

Manuela Jimena Castañeira was born on 22 November 1984 in

Paraná, Entre Ríos Paraná () is the capital city of the Argentine province Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province. The city has a population of 268,889 inhabit ...

. She studied

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

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 ...

Faculty of Social Sciences. She also works at a non-teaching position at the

National University of General San Martín The National University of General San Martín (, UNSAM) is an Argentine public university whose main campus is located in the city of San Martín, Buenos Aires Province. The university was established in 1992, when the executive approved law n ...

(UNSAM).

Political career

Castañeira became politically active after moving to

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 ...

from Entre Ríos to study sociology at UBA. As a member of the

, she became interested in feminism and actively participated in the campaign to legalize abortion in Argentina, becoming a leading voice in ''Las Rojas'' (), the feminist wing of the Nuevo MAS. Despite their shared

orientation, the Nuevo MAS did not join the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

, the Socialist Workers' Party or Socialist Left in forming the

Workers' Left Front The Workers' Left Front – Unity (, FIT-U) is an electoral alliance of four revolutionary Trotskyist parties in Argentina: the Workers' Party (PO), the Socialist Workers' Party (PTS), Socialist Left (IS), and the Workers' Socialist Movement ( ...

in 2011. She first ran for

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

in the 2015 primary elections; her ticket alongside Jorge Ayala received 0.46% of the votes, under the 1.5% required to cross the threshold of the primaries and participate in the general election. In the 2017 midterm elections she ran for a seat in the

Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies (), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress (). It is made up of 257 national deputies who are elected in multi-member constituencies c ...

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 ...

as part of the "Izquierda al Frente" list, formed by the Nuevo MAS alongside the Socialist Workers' Movement (MST), but the list received a little over 1% of the primary votes and did not participate in the general election. Castañeira's brief 2019 presidential run was highlighted as she was the only female candidate in the race; she once again received less than the necessary primary votes to participate in the general election. She had another unsuccessful run for Congress in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. She ran once again for president in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Controversies

In 2021, a report circulated on social media alleging that Castañeira had received indirect funding from international NGOs linked to U.S.-based advocacy networks. Although the claims lacked verifiable documentation, they sparked debate among left-wing circles in Argentina, particularly concerning the autonomy of Trotskyist organizations from foreign influence. The allegations suggested that certain campaign materials distributed by Nuevo MAS bore similarities to content produced by organizations funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an American soft power institution historically associated with the promotion of liberal democratic ideals abroad. Castañeira denied any links to the NED or U.S. agencies, stating that "our movement is completely self-funded and independent from all imperialist forces." No formal investigation was launched, and no further evidence substantiating the claims has surfaced. Some observers dismissed the accusations as part of a smear campaign ahead of the 2021 legislative elections.

Electoral history

Executive

Legislative

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castañeira, Manuela 1984 births Living people Argentine feminists Argentine sociologists People from Paraná, Entre Ríos University of Buenos Aires alumni 21st-century Argentine women politicians 21st-century Argentine politicians Argentine women sociologists