The mayor of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, confirmed this Thursday (23) his intention to run for president in the October elections. Larreta is one of the main names in the opposition to the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández.
“I want to be president so that together we can end hatred and transform our country forever,” wrote the 57-year-old politician on his social media, along with a two-and-a-half-minute video in which he explains his motivations.
“Many ask me if I dream of becoming president. It would be an honor, of course, but it’s not a place you can reach. The presidency must be the beginning of the path of great transformation, which will not be achieved by a group of enlightened people or a charismatic leader. We’ve been betting on charisma for years and look how we’re doing”, he joked.
Larreta, a member of the Republican Proposal (PRO), a party to which former president Mauricio Macri also belongs, who led Argentina between 2015 and 2019.
Larreta was born in Buenos Aires and an economist by profession and has been in charge of the Argentine capital since 2015. The mayor’s political career began in 1993, when, during the Peronist government Carlos Menem, he was part of the Undersecretary of Investments of the Ministry of Economy.
Two years later, he was named general manager of the National Social Security Administration and, in 1998, he became Undersecretary for Social Policies. In 2000, during the government of Fernando de La Rúa, he was named intervenor of the Comprehensive Medical Assistance Program and in 2001 he became president of the Institute of Social Security of the province of Buenos Aires.
At the end of 2001, he was appointed Director General of Taxes and, after the serious economic, political and social crisis that shook the country, he entered party politics at the hands of Macri, with whom he founded PRO in 2005.
Within the party, other opposition leaders can present pre-candidacies, such as the former governor of Buenos Aires, María Eugenia Vidal, the president of PRO, Patricia Bullrich and Macri himself.
Argentina will hold primary elections next August and each coalition will be able to present one or more lists of pre-candidates, although only the most voted in each coalition will be able to compete in the October general elections.
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