Life and times

Arnoldo Aníbal Castillo was born to Carmen Berrondo and Gualberto Castillo in Quilmes, a suburb of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, in 1922. His parents relocated to Catamarca

Catamarca

Catamarca may refer to:*San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Argentina*Catamarca Province, Argentina...

, in the Argentine Northwest

Argentine Northwest

The Argentine Northwest is a region of Argentina composed by the provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán.-Geography:The region had 5 different biomes:* Sub-Andean humid Sierras of the east...

, early in his childhood. Castillo enrolled 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,...

, wher he studied mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...

, and at the National University of San Juan

National University of San Juan

The National University of San Juan is a public university in Argentina. Its seat is located in the city of San Juan, capital of the province of the same name, in the Cuyo region...

, to study mining engineering. Unable to graduate, he was subsequently hired as a public administration

Public administration

Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....

 clerk at Vialidad Nacional, the National Highway Bureau, and became a specialized advisor in the construction of mountain roads.

His experience took him to Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 in 1949, and helped plan that country's stretch of the Pan-American Highway

Pan-American Highway

The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...

. Returning to Catamarca, he worked as a consultant from 1950 to 1963, when he was elected to the Provincial Legislature on the centrist 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-P) ticket. Castillo was elected Mayor of Catamarca in 1966, in the first direct election

Direct election

Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the...

 for that post in the province's history; a coup d'état that June led to his removal by military authorities, however.

The same regime, represented in Catamarca by de facto Governor Horacio Pernasetti, appointed Castillo Mayor of Catamarca in 1972, and he served until elections in 1973

Argentine general election, March 1973

The first Argentine general election of 1973 was held on 11 March. Voters chose both the President and their legislators and with a turnout of 85.5%, it produced the following results:-President:...

 brought Peronists back to power. A subsequent dictatorship

National Reorganization Process

The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...

 again called on Castillo during an institutional crisis in the province, and replaced the military governor with the respected highway planner in 1981; Castillo resigned his membership in the UCR, and he served in the post until new elections in 1983

Argentine general election, 1983

The Argentine general election of 1983 was held on 30 October and marked the return of Democracy after the 1976's dictatorship self-known as National Reorganization Process...

 restored democracy, upon which his membership in the UCR was reinstated.

The new governor, Ramón Saadi

Ramón Saadi

Ramón Eduardo Saadi is a former Argentine senator and former governor for Catamarca Province and a member of the Argentine Justicialist Party...

 of the (Peronist) 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...

, faced a crisis of his own when the rape and murder of a local teen, María Soledad Morales, in September 1990, was placed at the hands of two youths whose fathers were close to Governor Saadi. Saadi, an ally of President Carlos Menem

Carlos Menem

Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...

, was replaced with a Federal Receivership

Receivership

In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...

 by order of the President within days of the tragedy; ultimately, however, Catamarca voters turned against the ruling Justicialists, and Castillo was elected governor in elections in 1991

Argentine legislative election, 1991

The Argentine legislative elections of 1991 were held between August and December, though most polls took place on 8 September. Voters chose their legislators and governors and, with a turnout of 79.9%, it produced the following results:-Argentine Congress:...

.

Castillo's tenure was marked by an emphasis on infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

 investments, notably road building and rural electrification

Rural electrification

Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Electricity is used not only for lighting and household purposes, but it also allows for mechanization of many farming operations, such as threshing, milking, and hoisting grain for storage; in areas...

. Two landmark projects include the Cuesta de El Portezuelo road and the San Francisco Pass

San Francisco Pass

The San Francisco Pass is one of the most important passes of the Andes mountains which connects Argentina and Chile. The highest point of this pass is at AMSL.- Location :...

, which improved links between both sides of the rugged Ancasti

Sierras pampeanas

The Sierras pampeanas or Pampas Sierras is a geographical region of Argentina.The Sierras pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa region of Northwest Argentina...

 range, and facilitated commerce with neighboring Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, respectively. The governor responded to the province's judicial bottlenecks by decreeing that, counter to the provincial constitution, candidates from anywhere in Argentina could be eligible for the bench in Catamarca. Castillo was challenged in his 1995 campaign for reelection by Ramón Saadi, who was defeated by 8%; the strength of the UCR in Catamarca led Castillo to forego joining the 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...

 formed at the national level with the center-left Frepaso in 1997.

His tenure, in turn, was criticized for refusing to advertise in El Ancasti

El Ancasti

El Ancasti is a local daily newspaper published in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Argentina.El Ancasti was founded on July 8, 1988, and like the town of the same name, was named for a Cácan term referring to the Andes that dominate Catamarca Province.El Ancasti became Catamarca's leading news...

, Catamarca's only important news daily, as well as for its numerous lawsuits against the publication. Around 200 fraudulent pensions awarded during the Castillo tenure sent three of his officials to prison shortly after his retirement.

He was succeeded as governor by his son, Oscar

Oscar Castillo

Oscar Aníbal Castillo is an Argentine Radical Civic Union politician, currently a Senator for the Civic and Social Front of Catamarca and a former governor of that province. He is the son of the late Arnoldo Castillo, a leading figure in the Catamarca UCR.Castillo was born in San Fernando del...

, in 1999, and retired from public office; the UCR retained the governor's post in subsequent elections. Suffering from Type II diabetes, his health deteriorated in his later years. Arnoldo Castillo died in Catamarca in 2005, at age 83. A monument in his honor was unveiled in Catamarca in 2010.