Adolfo Rodríguez Saá
Encyclopedia
Adolfo Rodríguez Saá Páez Montero (born July 25, 1947) is an Argentine
Peronist
politician. He was the governor of the province of San Luis
during several terms, and briefly served as President of Argentina
.
and his great-uncle were both governors of the province, and his father was the police chief. He graduated as a lawyer from the National University of Cuyo
and the University of Buenos Aires
, and became a provincial legislator in 1973, at the age of 25.
The Rodriguez Saá family is well known in the Province of San Luis and can be traced to the nineteenth century and to descendants of the famous federal revolutionist Juan Saa, an important figure in the battle of Pavon (XIX century). His predecessor as governor, Alicia Lemme, was known for her protest in the Casa Rosada against the "corralito financiero" which froze the funds deposited by the Province of San Luis in 2002.
Rodríguez Saá was elected governor of San Luis for the Justicialist Party
and stayed in office during several consecutive terms, from 1983 to 2001. He improved the finances of the province and obtained several awards.
resigned after the riots of 2001
. As his vicepresident Carlos Álvarez
had resigned as well months before, the Congress called for a special assembly to designate a new president. Adolfo Rodríguez Saá was elected by 169 votes against 138. He was supported by the PJ
and smaller right-wing parties such as Republican Force
and Action for the Republic
. On the other hand, the UCR
and Alternative for a Republic of Equals
voted against him. Thus, Rodríguez Saá became president. He was replaced in the governor's office by vice-governor María Alicia Lemme, and took office as on December 23, 2001.
He got a mandate of interim president, with instructions from the Assembly to call for elections the following March 3, with the run-off on March 17 if needed. The new president would complete De la Rúa's mandate. Those elections would be held with Ley de Lemas
, and the victor would take government on April 5.
During his short time in office, he announced the creation of a new currency, the argentino
(not backed up by reserve currency
but by the real estate properties of the nation), to remedy the shortage of cash caused by the economic crisis. The civil unrest of previous days resurfaced when he announced his cabinet, as it included Carlos Grosso as Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers
. Grosso was a former mayor of Buenos Aires, with a high negative image. As a result, Rodríguez Saá gave up his whole cabinet before the could even take office, with the sole exception of Rodolfo Gabrielli, in the Interior Ministry. He also declared a default
on the Argentine national debt, which was celebrated by the chamber of deputees.
He said in an interview that he had cleaned the budget of unneeded deficits, and prepared a budget proposal to send to the Congress in a few days. He called for a meeting with governors in Chapadmalal, but only 5 governors attended. On December 30, he returned to San Luis with Daniel Scioli
and resigned, alleging lack of support from the rest of the Justicialist Party. In his last speech he recounted the achievements of his 1-week administration and accused Justicialists governors and legislators of meanness and shortsightedness. He dispatched his resignation from San Luis to Buenos Aires, and the Congress accepted it on January 1, 2002. After new deliverations they elected Eduardo Duhalde
as president, this time with a mandate that would fill the remaining time of De la Rúa's mandate.
Hes brother is currently a candidate in the 2011 Presidential Elections for the Frente Compromiso Federal party. His national program aims to replicate the "San Luis" model nationwide. The province of San Luis was voted the best managed in the country by private consultants for the seventh consecutive year, in Tax Efficiency Policy, Social indicators, Infrastructure, Fiscal Solvency and International Trade. Moreover, in its ambition to create a Silicon Valley, San Luis came fourth in a ranking of 150 'digital cities' developed by Motorola.
's term, Rodríguez Saá ran for president in the April 2003 elections. Those elections allowed the Lemas law, and the PJ did not provide an official candidate. Each precandidate was allowed instead to run for presidency on his own "lema", and Rodríguez Saá did so. The other candidates of the PJ were Néstor Kirchner and Carlos Menem. Rodríguez Saá came in fourth, with 14.1% of the vote, after both of them and Ricardo López Murphy.
During the first years of Néstor Kirchner's rule, Adolfo Rodríguez Saá joined Menem and his brother Alberto (by then, the new governor of San Luis) to create an alternative political group against Kirchner within the PJ. He was elected Senator
for San Luis for this group at the 2005 election
He is senator since then.
, is currently the governor of San Luis. The very wealthy Saá family of Argentina and Chile are originally Arab Christians from Ramallah, Palestine. Many fellow Saá family members live in the United States and most spell their family name as "Saah" rather than Saá, however both are used widely in the Americas as well as back home in Palestine.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Peronist
Peronism
Peronism , or Justicialism , is an Argentine political movement based on the programmes associated with former President Juan Perón and his second wife, Eva Perón...
politician. He was the governor of the province of San Luis
San Luis Province
San Luis is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country . Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan.-History:...
during several terms, and briefly served as President of Argentina
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
.
Biography
Rodríguez Saá was born to an important political family in San Luis. His grandfather and namesake Adolfo Rodríguez SaáAdolfo Rodríguez Saá (elder)
Adolfo Rodríguez Saá was Governor of the San Luis Province in Argentina. His grandson Adolfo Rodríguez Saá, would serve as President of Argentina. He was also grandfather and brother of San Luis Province Governors Alberto Rodríguez Saá and Ricardo Rodríguez Saá....
and his great-uncle were both governors of the province, and his father was the police chief. He graduated as a lawyer from the National University of Cuyo
National University of Cuyo
The National University of Cuyo is the largest center of higher education in the province of Mendoza, Argentina....
and the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
, and became a provincial legislator in 1973, at the age of 25.
The Rodriguez Saá family is well known in the Province of San Luis and can be traced to the nineteenth century and to descendants of the famous federal revolutionist Juan Saa, an important figure in the battle of Pavon (XIX century). His predecessor as governor, Alicia Lemme, was known for her protest in the Casa Rosada against the "corralito financiero" which froze the funds deposited by the Province of San Luis in 2002.
Rodríguez Saá was elected governor of San Luis for the Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
and stayed in office during several consecutive terms, from 1983 to 2001. He improved the finances of the province and obtained several awards.
Presidency
The Argentine president Fernando De la RúaFernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa is an Argentine politician. He was president of the country from December 10, 1999 to December 21, 2001 for the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education ....
resigned after the riots of 2001
December 2001 riots (Argentina)
The December 2001 uprising was a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina, which took place during December 2001, with the most violent incidents taking place on December 19 and December 20 in the capital, Buenos Aires, Rosario and other large cities around the country.- Background :The...
. As his vicepresident Carlos Álvarez
Carlos Alvarez
Carlos Alvarez is the name of:*Carlos Alvarez , former Mayor of Miami-Dade County*Carlos Álvarez , Argentine politician and former vice-president*Carlos Alvarez , accused Cuban spy...
had resigned as well months before, the Congress called for a special assembly to designate a new president. Adolfo Rodríguez Saá was elected by 169 votes against 138. He was supported by the PJ
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
and smaller right-wing parties such as Republican Force
Republican Force Tucumán
The Republican Force Tucumán is a provincial conservative political party in Tucumán Province, Argentina.The party was set up by Antonio Domingo Bussi, who was Tucumán's Governor during the eary years of the 1976-83 dictatorship, and was found guilty of murder, kidnapping, and corruption...
and Action for the Republic
Action for the Republic
Action for the Republic is a conservative political party in Argentina.Founded in 1998 by Domingo Cavallo as a defender of neo-liberal ideologies, it became the third party in the 1999 elections...
. On the other hand, the UCR
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
and Alternative for a Republic of Equals
Support for an Egalitarian Republic
Civic Coalition ARI is a social liberal Argentine political party, founded in 2001 by Elisa Carrió. It is a member of the Civic Coalition with centrist and centre-left parties.- Creation and political representation :...
voted against him. Thus, Rodríguez Saá became president. He was replaced in the governor's office by vice-governor María Alicia Lemme, and took office as on December 23, 2001.
He got a mandate of interim president, with instructions from the Assembly to call for elections the following March 3, with the run-off on March 17 if needed. The new president would complete De la Rúa's mandate. Those elections would be held with Ley de Lemas
Ley de Lemas
||The ley de lemas is the Spanish name of the double simultaneous voting system which is, or has been, used in elections in Argentina, Uruguay and Honduras...
, and the victor would take government on April 5.
During his short time in office, he announced the creation of a new currency, the argentino
Argentine argentino
-Gold currency:The Argentino was an Argentine currency equal to 5 pesos oro sellado.The 1/2 argentino coin was issued in 1881 and 1884 and it weighs 4.0322 grams. The argentino coin was issued from 1881 to 1896 and it weighs 8.0645 grams...
(not backed up by reserve currency
Reserve currency
A reserve currency, or anchor currency, is a currency that is held in significant quantities by many governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves...
but by the real estate properties of the nation), to remedy the shortage of cash caused by the economic crisis. The civil unrest of previous days resurfaced when he announced his cabinet, as it included Carlos Grosso as Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers
Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers
The Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers is a political office of Argentina, created by the 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution. The current office holder is Aníbal Fernández.-Attributions:...
. Grosso was a former mayor of Buenos Aires, with a high negative image. As a result, Rodríguez Saá gave up his whole cabinet before the could even take office, with the sole exception of Rodolfo Gabrielli, in the Interior Ministry. He also declared a default
Default (finance)
In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...
on the Argentine national debt, which was celebrated by the chamber of deputees.
He said in an interview that he had cleaned the budget of unneeded deficits, and prepared a budget proposal to send to the Congress in a few days. He called for a meeting with governors in Chapadmalal, but only 5 governors attended. On December 30, he returned to San Luis with Daniel Scioli
Daniel Scioli
Daniel Osvaldo Scioli was Vice President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007 and is the current Governor of Buenos Aires Province and the president of the Justicialist Party. He is a sportsman, an entrepreneur and a politician.- Family :...
and resigned, alleging lack of support from the rest of the Justicialist Party. In his last speech he recounted the achievements of his 1-week administration and accused Justicialists governors and legislators of meanness and shortsightedness. He dispatched his resignation from San Luis to Buenos Aires, and the Congress accepted it on January 1, 2002. After new deliverations they elected Eduardo Duhalde
Eduardo Duhalde
-External links:...
as president, this time with a mandate that would fill the remaining time of De la Rúa's mandate.
Hes brother is currently a candidate in the 2011 Presidential Elections for the Frente Compromiso Federal party. His national program aims to replicate the "San Luis" model nationwide. The province of San Luis was voted the best managed in the country by private consultants for the seventh consecutive year, in Tax Efficiency Policy, Social indicators, Infrastructure, Fiscal Solvency and International Trade. Moreover, in its ambition to create a Silicon Valley, San Luis came fourth in a ranking of 150 'digital cities' developed by Motorola.
After presidency
After the end of Eduardo DuhaldeEduardo Duhalde
-External links:...
's term, Rodríguez Saá ran for president in the April 2003 elections. Those elections allowed the Lemas law, and the PJ did not provide an official candidate. Each precandidate was allowed instead to run for presidency on his own "lema", and Rodríguez Saá did so. The other candidates of the PJ were Néstor Kirchner and Carlos Menem. Rodríguez Saá came in fourth, with 14.1% of the vote, after both of them and Ricardo López Murphy.
During the first years of Néstor Kirchner's rule, Adolfo Rodríguez Saá joined Menem and his brother Alberto (by then, the new governor of San Luis) to create an alternative political group against Kirchner within the PJ. He was elected Senator
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
for San Luis for this group at the 2005 election
Argentine legislative election, 2005
Argentina held national parliamentary elections on Sunday, 23 October 2005. For the purpose of these elections, each of the 23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are considered electoral districts....
He is senator since then.
Personal life
Rodríguez Saá had five children with his first wife and one with his second one. His brother, Alberto Rodríguez SaáAlberto Rodríguez Saá
Alberto José Rodriguez Saá is an Argentine lawyer and politician. In 2007 he was reelected as governor of San Luis Province, Argentina to serve what will be his second term lasting until 2011...
, is currently the governor of San Luis. The very wealthy Saá family of Argentina and Chile are originally Arab Christians from Ramallah, Palestine. Many fellow Saá family members live in the United States and most spell their family name as "Saah" rather than Saá, however both are used widely in the Americas as well as back home in Palestine.
External links
The Rodriguez Saá Family Rodríguez Saá's last speech and resignation.- BBC News. 31 December 2001. Argentina 'to cancel' elections.
- BBC News. Argentina's seven-day president — Rodríguez Saá's profile.
- CNN.com. 31 December 2001. Argentina president resigns - Becomes third leader in 10 days to quit.