Sergio Edgardo Acevedo (born 1 May 1956) 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 ...

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...

politician, formerly a provincial governor and secretary in the national government.

Life and times

Born in Esquel,

Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Andes ran ...

, Acevedo moved to Pico Truncado in 1958. He became a lawyer and married, having three children. He was elected mayor of Pico Truncando in 1983, serving until 1987 when he became a provincial deputy. In 1991 he returned to be mayor. From 1995 to 1999, Acevedo was a national deputy, and became vice-governor of

Santa Cruz Province Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

under then-governor Néstor Kirchner. In 2001 he was elected once again to Congress. Acevedo was appointed Secretary of Intelligence by President Eduardo Duhalde, serving from 2002 to mid-2003. He was confirmed by President Néstor Kirchner, but later resigned to take up the post of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Santa Cruz Province, swapping positions with Héctor Icazuriaga. He was elected with almost 75% of the popular vote. Acevedo resigned as governor in March 2006 citing personal reasons. However, his resignation came after clashes with the national government and amid controversy over police brutality in repressing the Las Heras riot and a corruption scandal involving the family of President Kirchner. The President had himself been governor of Santa Cruz and there had been allegations that public contracts were granted based on bribes and kick-backs. Members of his family held senior positions and Acevedo retained Carlos Kirchner as his provincial minister of works. He was prevented from sacking Carlos Kirchner, allegedly due to interference from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

. A judge, the President's nephew, declined to continue the investigation and Acevedo was replaced by

Carlos Sancho Carlos Alberto Sancho is an Argentine Justicialist Party (PJ) politician and former governor of Santa Cruz Province. Sancho ran the family real estate and construction firm. A supporter of Governor Néstor Kirchner, he became a member of the Deli ...

, vice-governor and employer of the President's son. It was widely speculated at the time that Acevedo resigned due to Presidential interference, in particular with oil and privatisation policy, and he has subsequently become a vocal, if equivocal, opponent of his former mentor and patron. He has set up a political faction, the Santa Cruz Coalition (''Convocatoria Santacruceña''), gathering together Peronists and others opposed to the Front for Victory of Kirchner and

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 politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President ...

. Several provincial deputies and former provincial ministers joined the team. Following his reappearance on the political scene, there was speculation that Acevedo would run as running mate to

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 National Deputy for Chaco Province and Buenos ...

or Adolfo Rodríguez Saá in the 2007 Presidential elections, but he ruled himself out at an early stage.''Clarín''
/ref> His coalition, by now called 'New Movement' (''Nuevo Movimiento'') backed UCR Eduardo Costa for Governor of Santa Cruz, who was defeated by Kirchner's candidate

Daniel Peralta Daniel Román Peralta (born 1 July 1955) is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician who was governor of Santa Cruz Province from 2007 to 2015. Early life and career Peralta was born in Cañada de Gómez, Santa Fe Province. His parents, N� ...

in 2007, although the different opposition parties within the Change to Grow coalition fell out over the placings on the regional list for national deputies in the election. Nevertheless, Acevedo's team largely collaborated with opposition forces in municipal and provincial elections across Santa Cruz.

Life and times

References

See also