Matías David Rodríguez (14 December 1981 – 18 October 2023) was an Argentine politician who served as a National Senator for

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

. A member 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 ...

and

La Cámpora La Cámpora is an Argentine left-wing political youth organization supporting the governments of Néstor Kirchner, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and Alberto Fernández. It is named after former Peronism, Peronist president Héctor José Cá ...

, Rodríguez was elected in

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 sat in the

Frente de Todos The Frente de Todos (translated as "Everyone's Front") was a centre-left political coalition of political parties in Argentina formed to support President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Kirchner. Fernández won the 2019 gen ...

parliamentary bloc. Rodríguez previously served as a National Deputy from 2015 to 2019, and as head of the provincial branch of

ANSES The National Social Security Administration (; mostly known by its acronym ANSES) is a decentralized Argentine Government social insurance agency managed by the Secretariat of Labour, Employment and Social Security controlled by the Ministry ...

in Tierra del Fuego from 2012 to 2015.

Early and personal life

Matías David Rodríguez was born in

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

, Tierra del Fuego on 14 December 1981. He was married to Laura Beatriz Ávila and had two children.

Political career

Rodríguez became a supporter of former 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 ...

during his presidential campaign in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, when he became part of the "Kirchner Presidente" committee in Tierra del Fuego. Later, in 2007, Rodríguez was one of the founders of

in the province. In 2012, Rodríguez was appointed chief of the Tierra del Fuego branch of

, Argentina's national social security agency. Two years later, in the 2015 legislative election, he ran for a seat in the National Chamber of Deputies as the first candidate in the

Front for Victory The Front for Victory (, 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 were elected as representatives ...

list. The list received 42.01% of the vote, and Rodríguez was comfortably elected alongside the next candidate in the list, Analuz Carol. They were sworn in on 4 December 2015. As a national deputy, Rodríguez served as secretary on the parliamentary commission on small and medium-sized businesses (PyMES), and formed part of the commissions on commerce, finances, industry, and tourism. In the 2019 legislative election, Rodríguez ran for one of Tierra del Fuego's three seats in 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 ...

as the first candidate in the

(FDT) list, followed by María Eugenia Duré. With 41.1% of the vote, the FDT was the most-voted list in Tierra del Fuego, and both Rodríguez and Duré were elected for the majority seats. As senator, he formed part of the commissions on accords, administrative and municipal affairs, national defense, and national economy and investment. Rodríguez was a supporter of the legalisation of abortion in Argentina, voting in favour of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill in 2018 as deputy and in 2020 as senator.

Death

On 18 October 2023, Rodríguez was found dead inside his home in Ushuaia. It was reported that his body had sustained a gunshot wound. The initial investigation concluded that his death was a suicide as Rodriguez had left behind a note that stated he had found his wife in bed with his friend, the current intendant of Ushuaia, Walter Vuoto, and that they had confessed to him they had been lovers for some time.

References

External links

Profile on the official website of the Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Matias David 1981 births 2023 deaths 2023 suicides People from Ushuaia Members of the Argentine Senate for Tierra del Fuego Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Tierra del Fuego Justicialist Party politicians Members of La Cámpora Argentine deputies 2015–2017 Argentine deputies 2017–2019 Suicides by firearm in Argentina