Miguel Saiz is an Argentine

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...

 politician latterly of the Radical Civic Union

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...

 (UCR), currently serving as governor of Río Negro Province

Río Negro Province

Río Negro is a province of Argentina, located at the northern edge of Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.Its capital is Viedma...

.

Born in Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

, Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, Saiz studied at the National University of Córdoba

National University of Córdoba

The National University of Córdoba, , is the oldest university in Argentina, and one of the oldest in the Americas. It is located in Córdoba, the capital of Córdoba Province. Since the early 20th century it has been the second largest university in the country in terms of the number of students,...

 and became a lawyer. He became affiliated with the centrist UCR in 1983, and subsequently directed the National Register of Secured Credit, was Vice President of the Forensic Fund of Río Negro, and President of the SanCor

SanCor

SanCor is one of the leading dairy producers in Argentina . It holds one fifth of the total production in the country, and 90% of the Argentine exports of dairy products...

 co-operative's insurance

Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

 division. He was elected Councilman in General Roca

General Roca, Río Negro

General Roca is a city in the northeast of the Argentine province of Río Negro, northern Patagonia. UN/LOCODE is ARGNR.It was founded on September 1, 1879 by Coronel Lorenzo Vintter during the Conquest of the Desert...

 in 1989, and mayor of the city in 1991; he wasre-elected in 1995 and served in the post until 1999. He became a provincial deputy that year and was president of the Río Negro chapter of the UCR-led Alliance

Alliance for Work, Justice and Education

The Alliance for Work, Justice and Education was a party coalition in Argentina around the turn of the third millennium...

 (in power nationally between 1999 and 2001).

Saiz was elected governor of the province in 2003, defeating Carlos Soria

Carlos Soria

Carlos Soria is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, currently mayor of General Roca, Río Negro Province. He was the Secretary of Intelligence of the Argentine Republic during parts of 2002...

. He became a leading supporter within UCR ranks of the left-wing Peronist President

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...

 Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...

, and helped form the "K Radicals" caucus (UCR supporters of Kirchner).

Saiz ran for re-election against 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...

 politician Miguel Ángel Pichetto

Miguel Ángel Pichetto

Miguel Ángel Pichetto is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician. He is a Senator for Río Negro Province and leads his party in the Senate. He was the defeated candidate to be governor of Río Negro in the 2007 elections....

 in the 2007 gubernatorial race

Argentine general election, 2007

Argentina held national presidential and legislative elections on October 28, 2007, and elections for provincial governors took place on staggered dates throughout the year. For the national elections, each of the 23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are considered electoral districts...

. President Kirchner considered backing Saiz at the expense of his own party, though ultimately opted to play no role in the provincial election. Saiz won re-election over Pichetto by around 5% with the support of various leftist parties, and his membership in the UCR was subsequently suspended by the party committee.