Alfonsín, Raúl

▪ president of Argentina

in full  Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín Foulkes  

born March 13, 1926/27, Chascomús, Buenos Aires provincia, Arg.

 

 civilian president of Argentina (1983–89), elected after eight years of military rule, and leader of the moderate Radical Civic Union (Spanish: Unión Cívica Radical, or UCR).

      Alfonsín attended the Liceo Militar (military academy) General San Martin, obtained a law degree from the National University of La Plata (1950), and founded the newspaper El Imparcial in his native Chascomús. After serving for a decade in provincial politics, he was elected to the National Congress (1963) under a UCR president, who later fell victim to a military takeover (1966). Alfonsín ran unsuccessfully for the UCR nomination in the 1973 presidential election, which was won by a candidate from the rival Peronist party who was later overthrown by the military (1976). In response to human rights abuses perpetrated by state security forces during the ensuing regime, Alfonsín wrote La cuestión Argentina (1981; “The Argentine Question”) and cofounded the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights. After the United Kingdom defeated Argentina in the Falkland Islands War (1982), the discredited military allowed a freely contested presidential election (1983), in which Alfonsín, as the UCR candidate, defeated the Peronist contender.

      Although his presidency was plagued by high inflation, severe national debt, labour disputes, and a discontented military, Alfonsín remained committed to democracy. In an attempt to stabilize the economy, he negotiated loans from the International Monetary Fund and introduced an economic program, the Austral Plan (1985), that met with limited success. He prosecuted members of the armed forces for the human rights abuses of the late 1970s, and several high-ranking officials received life prison sentences. Later, under increased pressure from the military, including several armed revolts in 1987 and '88, Alfonsín pardoned most convicted officers and proposed renewed military investment. Constitutionally barred from seeking another term in 1989 (he later backed a reform that allowed presidents to run for a second term), Alfonsín was succeeded by Carlos Saúl Menem (Menem, Carlos), a Peronist.

      After leaving office, Alfonsín remained active in national politics and in the affairs of the UCR. In 1992 he established the Argentine Foundation for the Freedom of Information. He also served as a member of the South American Peace Commission and as a vice president of the Socialist International.

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