Eduardo Duhalde facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eduardo Duhalde
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Duhalde during Javier Milei's inauguration, 2023
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| 95th President of Argentina | |
| Interim 2 January 2002 – 25 May 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Adolfo Rodríguez Saá (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Néstor Kirchner |
| Vice President of Argentina | |
| In office 8 July 1989 – 10 December 1991 |
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| President | Carlos Menem |
| Preceded by | Víctor Hipolito Martínez |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Ruckauf |
| National Senator | |
| In office 11 December 2001 – 2 January 2002 |
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| Constituency | Buenos Aires |
| Member of the Constitutional Convention | |
| In office 1 May 1994 – 22 August 1994 |
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| Constituency | Buenos Aires |
| Governor of Buenos Aires | |
| In office 10 December 1991 – 10 December 1999 |
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| Vice Governor | Rafael Romá |
| Preceded by | Antonio Cafiero |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Ruckauf |
| National Deputy | |
| In office 10 December 1987 – 6 July 1989 |
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| Constituency | Buenos Aires |
| Mayor of Lomas de Zamora | |
| In office 11 December 1983 – 10 December 1987 |
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| Preceded by | Military Junta |
| Succeeded by | Hugo Toledo |
| In office 8 August 1974 – 24 March 1976 |
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| Preceded by | Pedro Pablo Turner |
| Succeeded by | Military Junta |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Eduardo Alberto Duhalde
5 October 1941 Lomas de Zamora, Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Political party | Justicialist Party |
| Spouse | Hilda Beatriz González |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires |
| Signature |  |
Eduardo Alberto Duhalde (born 5 October 1941) is an Argentine politician. He served as the interim President of Argentina from January 2002 to May 2003. Before that, he was Vice President and Governor of Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
Duhalde was born in Lomas de Zamora. He became a local leader and was appointed mayor in 1973. He was removed from office during a military takeover in 1976. When democracy returned in 1983, he was elected mayor again.
In 1989, he became Vice President of Argentina under President Carlos Menem. Duhalde later resigned as Vice President to become Governor of Buenos Aires Province in 1991. He was re-elected governor in 1995.
He ran for president in 1999 but lost to Fernando de la Rúa. After de la Rúa resigned during protests in December 2001, Congress chose Adolfo Rodríguez Saá as president. When Rodríguez Saá also resigned, Congress appointed Duhalde. During his time as president, Argentina's economy slowly recovered. He supported Néstor Kirchner in the 2003 presidential election, who won against Menem. Duhalde has mostly retired from politics since 2011.
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Early Life and Career
Eduardo Alberto Duhalde was born in Lomas de Zamora, near Buenos Aires. He finished his law studies in 1970. The next year, he was elected to the city council and became its leader. He joined the Justicialist Party (PJ).
In 1973, he was appointed mayor of Lomas de Zamora. This was part of a political change happening in the country. He was removed from office during a military takeover in 1976. For the next few years, he worked as a real estate agent.
When democracy returned in 1983, Duhalde ran for mayor of Lomas de Zamora again. He won by a very small number of votes. He later reported that someone tried to get his support for a possible military takeover against the new president, Raúl Alfonsín. Duhalde refused and told Alfonsín directly. In 1987, he was elected as a national deputy and became vice president of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies.
Vice Presidency and Governorship
In 1989, the Justicialist Party held elections to choose their presidential candidate. Carlos Menem won, and Duhalde became his running mate for Vice President. They won the general elections.
Duhalde preferred working directly in local government rather than in the legislature. Menem suggested he run for governor of the large Buenos Aires Province. Duhalde agreed, asking for more money for the province. He was elected governor in 1991.
Duhalde wanted to run for president in 1995. However, President Menem changed the Argentine Constitution to allow himself to run for a second term. Duhalde couldn't win against Menem in the party's internal elections. So, Duhalde also changed the provincial constitution to allow himself to be re-elected as governor. He won the election and was re-elected governor in 1995. Menem also won his re-election.
After 1995, Duhalde started to criticize Menem more. He felt Menem should focus more on the original ideas of the Peronist party.
Since the new constitution only allowed one re-election, the party started looking for a new leader after Menem's term. Duhalde announced his plan to run for president in 1999. This led to a strong rivalry with Menem. Menem tried to promote other candidates to challenge Duhalde.
Duhalde's public image faced some challenges during this time. Some issues were related to the national government, while others involved the Buenos Aires provincial police. The party lost the 1997 elections. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled that Menem could not run for president again. Duhalde ran with Palito Ortega as his vice president, but they lost to Fernando de la Rúa.
De la Rúa's government faced a big economic crisis and protests in 2001. He resigned after only two years. Some people thought Duhalde had played a role in de la Rúa's resignation. However, Duhalde and other Peronists said they had no interest in removing de la Rúa. They believed their party would easily win the 2003 elections because de la Rúa was so unpopular.
Presidency
Becoming President
President de la Rúa resigned during the December 2001 riots. Since his vice president had already resigned, Congress had to choose a new president. They first chose Adolfo Rodríguez Saá, the governor of San Luis Province.
However, Rodríguez Saá's first actions caused more protests. He resigned a few days later. He accused Duhalde and other governors of working against him.
Congress met again to choose another president. Duhalde was a strong candidate. Raúl Alfonsín, a former president, strongly supported Duhalde. He told his party's lawmakers to vote for Duhalde. This support helped Duhalde become president. Duhalde was appointed president on 2 January 2002.
Economic Changes
Duhalde, Alfonsín, and other leaders agreed to help Argentina's industries grow. Duhalde created a new Ministry of Production to help with this goal.
At his inauguration, Duhalde announced he would end the "convertibility plan." This plan had tied the Argentine peso to the US dollar. It was seen as a main cause of the economic crisis. Duhalde decided to let the peso's value drop, which is called a devaluation. The exchange rate changed from 1 peso for 1 dollar to 3 pesos for 1 dollar. This was a big change.
The lower value of the peso made Argentine exports cheaper and more attractive. This helped businesses and created more jobs. However, it also made imported goods more expensive and increased the cost of living.
Money held in US dollars in bank accounts was changed to pesos. This was called "pesification." There were disagreements about the exchange rate for this change. Many people had trouble taking money out of their bank accounts due to a measure called the corralito, put in place by the previous government. Duhalde had promised that people who deposited dollars would get dollars back. But his economy minister explained this was impossible. So, dollar accounts were changed to pesos at a specific rate.
Most industries benefited from these changes. The economy began to improve. A rise in the international price of soybean in 2002 also helped Argentina. The devaluation also made Argentina a cheaper place to visit, which increased international tourism.
Political Decisions
Duhalde's presidency was strongly affected by his rivalry with former president Menem. Menem wanted to run for president again in 2003, and Duhalde wanted to stop him. Duhalde looked for other candidates who could defeat Menem.
To make the election fair, Duhalde decided to hold the 2003 election using a special system. This allowed Menem, Néstor Kirchner, and Adolfo Rodríguez Saá to run against each other directly, without a party primary. None of them ran under the main Justicialist Party name. Kirchner was not very well known at the time.
Menem won the first round of the election. However, he decided not to run in the second round (called a ballotage). He feared he would lose because he was very unpopular. This meant Néstor Kirchner became president.
International Relations
Duhalde became president after the September 11 attacks in the United States. The US was very focused on fighting terrorism. Argentina had to decide how to manage its relationship with the US. Some wanted to stay close to the US for help with the crisis. Others wanted more distance. Duhalde tried to find a balance.
Argentina voted at the United Nations against human rights issues in Cuba. However, Argentina refused to send soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq. Duhalde did suggest sending peacekeeping troops and criticized international terrorism. Later, Duhalde changed Argentina's vote on Cuba to an abstention. These changes were partly influenced by the upcoming 2003 elections.
The devaluation of the peso caused a problem with Spain. Spanish companies providing services in Argentina wanted to raise their prices to make up for their losses. Duhalde did not allow this, saying the people were already suffering enough from the crisis. The prime minister of Spain, José María Aznar, spoke with Duhalde about this. The prices were not raised, but Aznar maintained good relations with Duhalde.
Later Years
Néstor Kirchner became president after Duhalde on 25 May 2003. Kirchner soon started to distance himself from Duhalde. He removed people close to Duhalde from the government to reduce Duhalde's political influence.
The rivalry continued in the 2005 elections. Both Duhalde and Kirchner had their wives run for senator in Buenos Aires province. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Néstor Kirchner's wife, won that election.
On 23 December 2009, Duhalde announced he would run for president in the 2011 presidential elections. He formed a group called Federal Peronism for party members who opposed the Kirchners. Néstor Kirchner passed away in October 2010, which paused the campaign for a few months.
Duhalde eventually withdrew his candidacy for the 2011 elections. He ran for president under a different party, the Unión Popular. He received about 6% of the votes.
In 2017, he announced his intention to run for president of the Justicialist Party.
Personal Life
Before becoming a politician, Duhalde worked as a pool lifeguard. He met his wife, Hilda González, at the pool in 1970. They married the next year. They have five sons and seven grandsons. They live in a country house in San Vicente, Buenos Aires. The house is named "Don Tomás" after Duhalde's father.
Duhalde has mostly retired from politics since his defeat in the 2011 elections. He has tried to make peace with Carlos Menem after their past political rivalry. They met during the 2013 inauguration of Pope Francis. They also met in 2005 during the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
Documentary
- A diplomatic event during Duhalde's presidency is shown in Jorge Batlle: entre el cielo y el infierno, a 2024 documentary.
See also
In Spanish: Eduardo Duhalde para niños
