A member of the
Justicialist Party,[1] a Peronist party, Fernández was the party's candidate for the
2019 presidential election under the leftist
Frente de Todos alliance and defeated incumbent president
Mauricio Macri with 48% of the vote. His political position has been described as left-wing.[2] The first two years of his presidency was limited by the
COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, during which he imposed strict
lockdown measures to suppress the spread of the disease,[3] and
a debt crisis inherited from his predecessor.[4] While the economy recovered in 2021–22,[5] inflation rose to 100% (the highest since 1991).[6] His approval ratings have been constantly low throughout his presidency, only in few certain occasions over 50% approval rate, with disapproval ratings from 60% to 80%.[7][8]
According to British newspaper The Economist, Fernández was considered "a president without a plan", and his presidency to be a "weak administration",[9][10] alluding to his lack of independent decision-making. Instead, his decisions were under heavy influence of Vice President and former President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, also leader of the coalition, whom Fernández himself described as a "permanent source of consultation".[11] In April 2023, Fernández announced that he decided to not seek reelection to the presidency in the
2023 presidential election.[12] He was succeeded by
Javier Milei on 10 December 2023.[13]
Early life and career
Fernández was born in
Buenos Aires, the son of Celia Pérez and her first husband. Separated from the latter, Celia (sister of the personal photographer of
Juan Domingo Perón) married Judge Carlos Pelagio Galíndez (son of a Senator of the
Radical Civic Union).[14] Alberto Fernández, who barely knew his biological father, considers Pelagio to be his father.[14][15]
Alberto Fernández attended the
University of Buenos AiresFaculty of Law. He graduated at the age of 24, and later became a professor of
criminal law. He entered public service as an adviser to
Deliberative Council of Buenos Aires and the
Argentine Chamber of Deputies. He became deputy director of Legal Affairs of the
Economy Ministry, and in this capacity served as chief Argentine negotiator at the
GATTUruguay Round. Nominated by newly elected President
Carlos Menem to serve as
Superintendent of Insurance, Fernández served as President of the Latin American Insurance Managers' Association from 1989 to 1992, and co-founded the Insurance Managers International Association. He also served as adviser to
Mercosur and
ALADI on
insurance law, and was involved in insurance and health services companies in the private sector. Fernández was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young People of Argentina in 1992, and was awarded the Millennium Award as one of the nation's Businessmen of the Century.[16] During this time he became politically close to former
Buenos Aires Province Governor
Eduardo Duhalde.[17]
A new system of variable taxes on agricultural exports led to the
2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector, during which Fernández acted as the government's chief negotiator. The negotiations failed, however, and following Vice President
Julio Cobos' surprise, tie-breaking vote against the bill in the Senate, Fernández resigned on 23 July 2008.[20]
On 18 May 2019,
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced that Fernández would be a candidate for president, and that she would run for vice president alongside him, hosting his first campaign rally with
Santa Cruz Governor
Alicia Kirchner, sister-in-law of the former Kirchner.[25][26]
About a month later, seeking to broaden his appeal to moderates, Fernández struck a deal with
Sergio Massa to form an alliance called Frente de Todos, wherein Massa would be offered a role within a potential Fernández administration, or be given a key role within the
Chamber of Deputies in exchange for dropping out of the presidential race and offering his support.[27] Fernández also earned the endorsement of the
General Confederation of Labor, receiving their support in exchange for promising that he will boost the economy, and that there will be no labor reform.[28]
General elections
On 11 August 2019, Fernández won first place in the
2019 primary elections, earning 47.7% of the vote, compared to incumbent President
Mauricio Macri's 31.8%.[29] Fernández thereafter held a press conference where he said he called Macri to say that he would help Macri complete his term and "bring calm to society and markets", and that his economic proposals do not run the risk of
defaulting on the national debt.[30]
In the 27 October
general election, Fernández won the presidency by attaining 48.1% of the vote to Macri's 40.4%, exceeding the threshold required to win without the need for a
ballotage.[31] In Argentina, a presidential candidate can win outright by either garnering at least 45 percent of the vote, or winning 40 percent of the vote while being 10 points ahead of his or her nearest challenger. He owed his victory mainly to carrying
Buenos Aires Province by over 1.6 million votes, accounting for almost all of his nationwide margin of 2.1 million votes. By comparison,
Daniel Scioli only carried the country's largest province by 219,000 votes four years earlier.
His first legislative initiative, the Social Solidarity and Productive Recovery Bill, was passed by
Congress on 23 December.[33] The bill includes tax hikes on
foreign currency purchases,
agricultural exports, wealth, and car sales - as well as
tax incentives for production. Amid the worst
recession in nearly two decades, it provided a 180-day
freeze on
utility rates, bonuses for the nation's
retirees and
Universal Allocation per Child beneficiaries, and
food cards to two million of Argentina's poorest families. It also gave the president additional powers to
renegotiate debt terms – with Argentina seeking to restructure its US$100 billion debt with private
bondholders and US$45 billion borrowed by Macri from the
International Monetary Fund.[33] As the capital controls stayed in effect and with no prospect of being removed, the country was degraded from
emerging market to standalone market by
MSCI.[34]
Argentina
defaulted again on 22 May 2020 by failing to pay $500 million on its due date to its creditors. Negotiations for the restructuring of $66 billion of its debt continue.[43]
The
International Monetary Fund reported that the
COVID-19 crisis would plunge Argentina's GDP by 9.9 percent, after the country's economy contracted by 5.4 percent in first quarter of 2020, with unemployment rising over 10.4 percent in the first three months of the year, before the lockdown started.[44][45][46]
On 4 August, Fernández reached an accord with the biggest
creditors on terms for a
restructuring of $65bn in foreign
bonds, after a breakthrough in talks that had at times looked close to collapse since the country's ninth debt
default in May.[47]
On 22 September, as part of the
economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, official reports showed a 19% year-on-year drop in the GDP for the second quarter of 2020, the biggest drop in the country's history.[48][49] Investment went down 38% from the previous year.[48][49] The poverty rate rose to 42% in the second half of 2020, the highest since 2004.[50]Child poverty reached the 57.7% of minors of 14 years.[50]
Social policy
On 31 December 2019, Fernández announced that he would send a bill in 2020 to discuss the
legalization of abortion, ratified his support for its approval, and expressed his wish for "sensible debate".[51] However, in June 2020, he stated that he was "attending to more urgent matters" (referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the
debt restructuring), and that "he'll send the bill at some point".[52] In November 2020, Fernández's
legal secretary,
Vilma Ibarra, confirmed that the government would be sending a
new bill for the legalization of abortion to the National Congress that month.[53] The Executive sent the bill, alongside another bill oriented towards women's health care (the "1000 Days Plan"), on 17 November 2020.[54] The bill was passed by the Senate, legalizing abortion in Argentina, on 30 December 2020.[55]
On 1 March, he also announced a restructuring of the
Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI), including the publications of its accounts - which had been made secret by Macri in a 2016 decree.[56][57] The AFI had been criticized for targeting public figures for political purposes.[56]
On 17 August,
protests took place in many cities across Argentina against measures taken by Fernández, primarily the Justice Reform Bill his government had sent to the
Congress, but also, among other causes: for the "defense of institutions" and "
separation of powers", against the government's quarantine measures, the perceived lack of liberty and the increase in crime, and a raise on state pensions.[58][59]
On 4 September 2020, Fernández signed a
Necessity and Urgency Decree (Decreto 721/2020) establishing a 1% employment quota for trans and
travesti people in the
national public sector. The measure had been previously debated in the
Chamber of Deputies as various prospective bills.[60] The decree mandates that at any given point, at least 1% of all public sector workers in the national government must be transgender, as understood in the 2012
Gender Identity Law.[61]
On 20 July 2021, Fernández signed another Necessity and Urgency Decree (Decreto 476/2021) mandating the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER) to allow a
third gender option on all
national identity cards and
passports, marked as an "X". The measure applies to non-citizen permanent residents who possess Argentine identity cards as well.[62] In compliance with the 2012 Gender Identity Law, this made Argentina one of the few countries in the world to
legally recognize non-binary gender on all official documentation.[63][64]
On 12 November 2020 Fernández signed a decree legalizing the self-cultivation and regulating the sales and subsidized access of
medical cannabis, expanding upon a 2017 bill that legalized the use and research of the plant and its derivatives.[65] In June 2019, during his presidential campaign, he had signaled his intention to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, but not other types of drugs.[66]
Foreign relations
During his administration, Argentina's
relationship with Brazil became somewhat strained.[67] Brazilian president
Jair Bolsonaro refused to attend Fernández's inauguration, accusing him of wanting to create a "great
Bolivarian homeland" on the border and of preparing to provoke a
flight of capital and companies into Brazil.[68] Fernández and Bolsonaro had their first conversation through a video conference on 30 November 2020, during which both presidents agreed on the importance of cooperation and the role of
Mercosur.[69]
U.S. President
Donald Trump's top adviser for the Western Hemisphere,
Mauricio Claver-Carone, crossed Fernández in 2019 saying: "We want to know if Alberto Fernández will be a defender of democracy or an apologist for
dictatorships and leaders in the region, whether it be
Maduro,
Correa or
Morales."[70]
Under Fernández, Argentina has retired in the
Lima Group formed by North and South American nations to address the
crisis in Venezuela, after not subscribing to any of the Group's statements and resolutions.[71] Argentina voted in favor of the United Nations resolution to back the continuity of the
UN Human Rights Office report on
human rights violations in Venezuela.[72] Under Fernández, Argentina withdrew recognition of
Juan Guaidó as interim President of Venezuela.[73] In January 2020, the Fernández administration revoked
Elisa Trotta Gamus credentials, who was Guaidó's envoy to Argentina and whose representation had been approved by the Macri administration.[74] However, Fernández also refused to recognize Maduro's envoy Stella Lugo's credentials and Foreign Minister
Felipe Solá asked her to return to
Caracas.[75][76]
Alberto Fernández questioned the conclusions the
Organization of American States that the reelection of
Evo Morales was unconstitutional for
electoral fraud. Fernández's government recognized Morales as the legitimate
President of Bolivia, and granted him asylum in Argentina in December 2019.[77][78] On 9 November 2020, with
Luis Arce's victory in
2020, Fernández personally accompanied Morales to the Argentine border with Bolivia, wherein the two leaders held a public act celebrating Morales's return to his home country.[79]
In January 2020, Fernández traveled to Israel for his first presidential trip abroad. There he paid respects to the victims of the
Holocaust and maintained a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu who thanked him for keeping
Hezbollah branded as a terrorist organization, a measure taken by former President
Mauricio Macri.[80][81]
Regarding Argentina's strained relations with
Iran, Fernández publicly defended the
Memorandum of understanding between Argentina and Iran,[82] although critical of this prior to taking office.[83] In September 2020, Fernández asked Iran before the UN General Assembly to "cooperate with the Argentine justice" to bring justice to the cause and extradite those Iranian officials who stand accused of the attack. He further stated that if the officials were to be found innocent, "they could freely return to Iran or otherwise face the consequences for their actions."[82][84]
In February 2022, Russia
invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the
Russo-Ukrainian War. Fernández condemned the invasion and called on Russia to end military actions in Ukraine.[90][91] At the UN, Argentina voted to condemn the Russian invasion and demanded a full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.[92] In July 2022, Fernández stated further support to Ukraine in a phone conversation with Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to whom he promised to deliver more humanitarian aid to Ukraine.[93] Fernández rejected
sanctions against Russia and did not want to
send weapons to Ukraine.[94][95]
In September 2023, Fernández condemned
Azerbaijan for the blockade of the
Lachin corridor and urged the international community to "act preemptively" to avoid "new persecutions" of ethnic
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.[96][97]
During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Fernandez's government announced a country-wide lockdown, in effect from 20 March until 31 March, later extended until 12 April.[99][100] The lockdown was further renewed on 27 April, 11 May, 25 May, 8 June, 1 July, 18 July, 3 August, 17 August, 31 August and 21 September, and included several measures including travel, transport and citizen movement restrictions, stay-at-home orders, store closures and reduced operating hours.[101]
Responses to the outbreak have included
restrictions on commerce and movement, closure of borders, and the closure of schools and educational institutions.[102] The announcement of the lockdown was generally well received, although there were concerns with its economic impact in the already delicate state of Argentina's economy, with analysts predicting at least 3% GDP decrease in 2020.[103][104] Fernandez later announced a 700 billion pesos (US$11.1 billion) stimulus package, worth 2% of the country's GDP.[105][106][103] After announced a mandatory quarantine to every person that returned to Argentina from highly affected countries,[107][108] the government closed its borders, ports, and suspended flights.[102][109]
On 23 March, Fernández asked the Chinese president
Xi Jinping for 1,500
ventilators as Argentina had only 8,890 available.[110][111]
Included in the package was the announcement of a one-time emergency payment of 10,000 pesos (US$152, as of 20 March) to lower-income individuals whose income was affected by the lockdown, including retirees.[112] Because banks were excluded in the list of businesses that were considered essential in Fernandez's lockdown decree, they remained closed until the
Central Bank announced banks would open during a weekend starting on 3 April.[113]
Due to Argentina's notoriously low level of
banking penetration, many Argentines, particularly retirees, do not possess bank accounts and are used to withdraw funds and pensions in cash.[114] The decision to open banks for only three days on a reduced-hours basis sparked widespread outrage as hundreds of thousands of retirees (coronavirus' highest risk group) flocked to bank branches in order to withdraw their monthly pension and emergency payment.[115][116][117][118]
Due to the national lockdown, the economic activity suffered a collapse of nearly 10% in March 2020 according to a consultant firm. The highest drop was of the construction sector (32%) versus March 2019. Every economic sector suffered a collapse, with finance, commerce, manufacturing industry and mining being the most affected. The agriculture sector was the least affected, but overall the economic activity for the first trimester of 2020 accumulates a 5% contraction. It is expected that the extension of the lockdown beyond April would increase the collapse of the Argentinian economy.[119] In March, the primary fiscal deficit jumped to US$1,394 million, an 857% increase year-to-year. This was due to the public spending to combat the pandemic and the drop in tax collection due to low activity in a context of social isolation.[120] Schools were closed for over a year, and it is estimated that 1.5 million of kids abandoned school, 13% of the total.[121]
Despite the government's hard lockdown policy, Fernández has been harshly criticized [122] for not following the appropriate protocols himself. This included traveling throughout the country, taking pictures with large groups of supporters without properly wearing a mask nor respecting social distancing,[123] and holding social gatherings with union leaders.[124]
On 3 September, despite most local governments still enforcing strict lockdown measures, Fernández stated that "there is no lockdown",[125] and that such thoughts had "been instilled by the opposition", as part of a political agenda.[126] Fernández eased some lockdown measures in the Greater Buenos Aires on 6 November 2020, shifting to a "social distancing" phase.[127][128]
On 21 January 2021, Fernández became the first Latin American leader to be inoculated against the disease via the recently approved
Gam-COVID-Vac (better known as Sputnik V).[129][130] On 7 December 2021, Fernández received his
booster dose of the vaccine.[131]
Ginés González García was forced to resign as Health Minister on 19 February 2021[132] after it was revealed he provided preferential treatment for the
COVID-19 vaccine to his
close friends, including journalist
Horacio Verbitsky and other political figures. He was succeeded by the second in charge
Carla Vizzotti. The revelation was met with wide national condemnation from supporters and opposition, as Argentina had at the time received only 1,5 million [133] doses of vaccine for its population of 40 million.[134]
Fernández tested positive for the COVID-19 on 2 April 2021 having a "light fever".[135]
Justicialist Party chairmanship
On 22 March 2021, Fernández was elected by the national congress of the
Justicialist Party as the party's new national chairman, succeeding
José Luis Gioja.[136] Fernández ran unopposed, heading the Unidad y Federalismo list, which received the support of diverse sectors in the Peronist movement, including
La Cámpora.[137]
Midterm elections 2021
Confirming the trend of that year's primary elections, the Frente de Todos suffered major losses in the
November 2021 legislative elections. The FDT lost its majority in the
Senate (the first time in nearly 40 years that Peronists lost control of the upper house), and the opposition
Juntos por el Cambio coalition gained the upper hand in traditional peronist strongholds, such as
La Pampa and
Santa Cruz. Observers attributed the loss to the widespread anger over high inflation and rising poverty.[138][139] The reduced pluralities in both houses of Congress meaning the government will now have to engage in negotiations to pass any initiative requiring legislative approval.[140][141]
Controversies
Allegations of racism
On 9 June 2021, Fernández was at a meeting with business leaders alongside Spanish Prime Minister
Pedro Sánchez at the
Casa Rosada. When he sought to play up the Argentinian ties with Europe, he said "The Mexicans came from the Indians, the Brazilians came from the jungle, but we Argentines came from the ships. And they were ships that came from Europe." Fernández erroneously attributed the quote to the Mexican poet, essayist and diplomat
Octavio Paz, although it had originated from lyrics by local musician and personal friend
Litto Nebbia. Faced with the negative backlash to his comments, on the same day Fernández apologized on Twitter[142] and the next day sent a letter to the director of the
National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), clarifying his comments.[143]
In December 2022, Fernandez sparked a battle with the
Supreme Court of Argentina and a legal crisis after he said he would reject a ruling it made to give a larger proportion of state funds to the city of Buenos Aires. In a ruling the Supreme Court said the level of funds to
Buenos Aires should be raised from 1.4% of the total pool of funds to 2.95% after it was cut by government decree during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He said the ruling was unjustified and pledged to ignore it; "it is an unprecedented, incongruous, and impossible-to-enforce ruling", calling the decision politically motivated ahead of general elections next year and adding that it would hurt the other provinces. His remarks sparked off a backlash, with critics saying the rejection of a Supreme Court decision set a dangerous precedent and undermined the justice system, while several provincial governors sided with Fernandez and criticized the court ruling. Buenos Aires city mayor
Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, criticized the declaration of Fernandez, saying; "the president decided to break the constitutional order, completely violate the rule of law and attack democracy." Various industry groups criticized the move as dangerous to the rule of law.[2]
Other controversies
Fernández has engaged in disputes with users on Twitter before his presidency, in which his reactions have been regarded as aggressive or violent by some.[146][147][148] Tweets show him responding to other users with expletives such as "pelotudo" (Argentinian slang for "asshole"),[149][150] "pajero" ("wanker"),[151][147] and "hijo de puta" ("son of a bitch");[152][153] he also called presidential candidate
José Luis Espert "Pajert", a
word play between his last name and the Argentine slang for "wanker".[150] In December 2017, he responded to a female user by saying, "Girl, what you think doesn't worry me. You better learn how to cook. Maybe then you can do something right. Thinking is not your strong suit".[154][155]
In June 2020, he told journalist
Cristina Pérez to "go read the
Constitution", after being questioned about his attempts to install a government-designated administration in the Vicentín agricultural conglomerate.[156]
In a 2017 interview for the
Netflix mini-series Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President, and the Spy, Fernández stated that "To this day, I doubt that [Nisman] committed suicide";[157] however, after he became president in 2020, Fernández reportedly said, "I am convinced that it was a suicide, after doubting it a lot, I am not going to lie."[158] He was referring to
Alberto Nisman, a prosecutor investigating Fernández's vice president
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for her suspected cover-up of Iran's participation in the 1994
AMIA bombing. Nisman accused Fernández de Kirchner of secretly negotiating with Iranian officials to cover up their complicity in the attack in exchange for oil to reduce Argentina's energy deficit. Officially, the agreement called for the exchange of Argentinian grain for Iranian oil.[159] Nisman was
found dead in his apartment on 18 January 2015, only hours before he was scheduled to present his report to Congress.[160]
Personal life
Fernández married Marcela Luchetti, a fellow
University of Buenos Aires law student, in 1993.[161] They separated in 2005.[162] Fernández and Luchetti have a single child, Tani Fernández Luchetti (born 1994)[163] known in Argentina for being a
drag performer and
cosplayer who goes by the stage name Dyhzy.[164][165]
Since 2014, Fernández has been in a relationship with journalist and stage actress
Fabiola Yáñez, who has fulfilled the role of
First Lady of Argentina since Fernández's presidency began.[166] The couple own three dogs:
Dylan[167] (named after
Bob Dylan, whom Fernández has praised and cited as an inspiration[168]) and two of Dylan's puppies, Prócer[169] and Kaila.[170] On 23 September 2021, the presidential office's medical unit announced Yáñez was expecting her first child.[171] Yáñez and Fernández's son, Francisco Fernández Yáñez, was born on 11 April 2022 at Sanatorio Otamendi, in Buenos Aires.[172][173]
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^"Elecciones 2019". argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Dirección Nacional Electoral.
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^"Escrutinio Definitivo"(PDF). mininterior.gov.ar (in Spanish). Subsecretaría de Asuntos Institucionales. Archived from
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