Juan Manuel Abal Medina
Encyclopedia
Juan Manuel Abal Medina is an Argentine journalist and politician who served as Secretary General of the Peronist Movement between 1972 and 1974, and would later become a prominent lawyer in Mexico
.
and became a supporter of Julio Meinvielle
's Nationalist Restoration Guard. Abal Medina joined the editorial board of Azul y Blanco, a weekly news magazine in Buenos Aires
, in 1966. Directed by Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo and Ricardo Curutchet, both scions of traditional Argentine upper class families, the nationalist publication supported the Argentine military, which had taken power in a 1966 coup. Azul y Blanco opposed the government of General Juan Carlos Onganía
, however, which its editors believed to be subordinating national interests to those of foreign investors
. Abal Medina married the former Cristina Moldes in 1966, and they had five children.
His younger brother, Fernando, worked in the periodical's circulation office, and in 1968, co-founded the Montoneros
guerrilla organization, becoming its first leader. Fernando Abal Medina participated in the May 1970 abduction and subsequent murder of a former dictator, General Pedro Aramburu, and on September 4, was killed in a police raid in the Buenos Aires suburb of William Morris
.
, and the latter's close ally, CGT
Secretary General José Ignacio Rucci
, however. Perón had been in exile since the 1955 coup
, and was represented in Argentina by a series of appointed delegates. Daniel Paladino, Perón's delegate since 1969, fell out of favor with much of the party machinery (as well as with their chief base of support, the CGT labor union) over differences in strategy as well as over his relatively conciliatory stance toward the dictatorship, and was dismissed by the national committee in November 1971. His successor, Héctor Cámpora, was supported by the left-leaning Peronist Youth, and assumed the post during a period of increasingly bold overtures toward the banned Peronist Movement by the dictator, General Alejandro Lanusse. Pursuant to an August 1971 announcement that preparations of elections would begin, and despite his original intent that Peronists be excluded, he allowed the courts to legalize Peronism on January 26, 1972.
Backed by labor, and in good terms with the military, Abal Medina was named Secretary of Operativo Retorno ("Operation Return") by Cámpora. Perón was 76, and rumors that he was suffering from both ill health and early signs of senility conspired with the myriad conditions imposed by President Lanusse on Peronists to make the exiled leader's return increasingly unlikely. The decision to field Cámpora as a stand-in candidate in elections announced for March 1973
resulted in Abal Medina's election as Secretary General of the Justicialist Party on June 25, 1972, and he became Perón's official delegate in September. Abal Medina's ties to the military and the right notwithstanding, Perón calculated that naming a brother of the late Fernando Abal Medina would do much to placate the restive Montoneros. A series of secret negotiations with military officers and Lanusse's Interior Minister, Arturo Mor Roig, ultimately led to Lanusse's permission for Perón's return, which took place on November 17.
Abal Medina led the selection process for the over 3,500 FREJULI candidates for Congressional, provincial, and local offices in these, the first elections in Argentina of any kind since 1965. He was, moreover, instrumental in persuading Rucci to drop his opposition to a number of key nominations, among them to the candidate for Governor of Buenos Aires, Oscar Bidegain, and to Cámpora, himself. Camporá was elected President in a landslide on March 11, and among the Peronist Youth, whose preferred candidates Abal Medina had retained on the ballot over Rucci's heated objections, the skilled young negotiator was now seen as a future leader.
He made the first serious mistake, however, when the candidate he chose for a Senate seat
for Buenos Aires
(his friend and former newspaper colleague, Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo), was defeated in an upset by the neophyte UCR
candidate, Fernando de la Rúa
. His choices for other offices would also become complications for Abal Medina. Eight of the candidates he chose for the Lower House
to represent Buenos Aires were, in fact, elected. One of these, Nilda Garré Coppello
, began an extramarital affair with Abal Medina, resulting in the termination of both their marriages in 1973; Garré and Abal Medina married that year, and they would have three children.
Garré, Santiago Díaz Ortiz, and the six others soon became known in Congress as the "Gang of Eight" for their increasingly vocal opposition to Perón's nomination of his right-wing wife, Isabel, as his running mate in snap elections called for September
. Abal Medina's support of the Perón—Perón ticket, in turn, distanced him from the Montoneros
, one of whose leaders, José Pablo Ventura, issued a public threat against him, shouting at a rally: "Abal Medina: your blood is a bargain in Argentina!"
The alliance of Montoneros with Perón had effectively ended when, in September 1973, Rucci was assassinated. The murder of numerous others would follow, and on March 23, 1974, Abal Medina suffered an attempt on his life. He was convinced, however, that the attack had been carried out by a new threat sponsored from within the Perón government: the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (Triple A). The Triple A was secretly commanded by Perón's astrologer and closest adviser, José López Rega
, who had been given the Social Welfare portfolio (and thus controlled 30 percent of the federal budget). Abal Medina's car was bombed shortly afterward in a second (unsuccessful) attack, and in May, he was removed as Secretary General of the party.
in 1980, where he died shortly afterward.
Abal Medina also sought exile in Mexico upon obtaining safe conduct in 1982. Divorced from his second wife, he had a minor post at the Traffic and Transportation Secretariat, and would serve as an agent of CISEN
(Mexican State Intelligence) during the 1988 — 94 tenure of Interior Secretary
Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios
. He became close to the PRI (the ruling party in Mexico until 2000), maintained a close friendship with the leader of the rival PRD
, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
, and frequently visited Cuba
n leader Fidel Castro
.
He established a successful law practice in Mexico, and would later open offices in Spain
and Argentina. The CEO of Telmex
, Carlos Slim, hired Abal Medina as an adviser for his growing interests in Argentina, and in 2007, he was invited by outgoing Argentine President Néstor Kirchner
to join the cabinet of his wife and successor, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
. He cited worsening respiratory problems and refused, however; Abal Medina visits Argentina often. His eldest son, Juan Manuel
, served both Kirchner administrations in a number of significant political and policy posts.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Early life and entry into politics
Abal Medina was born to a wealthy family of a conservative Catholic orientation. He enrolled at the Colegio Nacional de Buenos AiresColegio Nacional de Buenos Aires
Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the tradition of the European gymnasium it provides a free education that includes classical languages such as Latin and Greek. The school is one of the most prestigious in Argentina...
and became a supporter of Julio Meinvielle
Julio Meinvielle
Father Julio Meinvielle was an Argentine priest and prolific antisemitic writer.-Background:Meinvielle studied for his Doctorate in Philosophy and Theology in Rome and soon afterwards became a prolific writer of religious, historical and economic books within the school of Thomism...
's Nationalist Restoration Guard. Abal Medina joined the editorial board of Azul y Blanco, a weekly news magazine in 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 1966. Directed by Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo and Ricardo Curutchet, both scions of traditional Argentine upper class families, the nationalist publication supported the Argentine military, which had taken power in a 1966 coup. Azul y Blanco opposed the government of General Juan Carlos Onganía
Juan Carlos Onganía
Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was de facto president of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as military dictator after toppling, in a coup d’état self-named Revolución Argentina , the democratically elected president Arturo Illia .-Economic and social...
, however, which its editors believed to be subordinating national interests to those of foreign investors
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
. Abal Medina married the former Cristina Moldes in 1966, and they had five children.
His younger brother, Fernando, worked in the periodical's circulation office, and in 1968, co-founded the Montoneros
Montoneros
Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...
guerrilla organization, becoming its first leader. Fernando Abal Medina participated in the May 1970 abduction and subsequent murder of a former dictator, General Pedro Aramburu, and on September 4, was killed in a police raid in the Buenos Aires suburb of William Morris
William C. Morris, Buenos Aires
William C. Morris is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area and is located in the Hurlingham Partido.- Name :...
.
Perón and Peronism
Abal Medina was introduced to Perón in 1971. He had not been a Peronist; indeed, Meinvielle's GRN, to which he had belonged as a youth, was among the most anti-Peronist political groups in Argentina. He soon developed a good rapport with the leader of the Steelworkers' Union, Lorenzo MiguelLorenzo Miguel
Lorenzo Miguel was a prominent Argentine labor leader closely associated with the steelworkers' union.-Early life and his rise in the UOM:...
, and the latter's close ally, CGT
General Confederation of Labour (Argentina)
The General Confederation of Labour of the Argentine Republic is a national trade union centre of Argentina founded on September 27, 1930, as the result of the merge of the USA and the COA trade union centres...
Secretary General José Ignacio Rucci
José Ignacio Rucci
José Ignacio Rucci was an Argentine politician and union leader, appointed general secretary of the CGT in 1970...
, however. Perón had been in exile since the 1955 coup
Revolución Libertadora
The Revolución Libertadora was a military uprising that ended the second presidential term of Juan Perón in Argentina, on September 16, 1955.-History:...
, and was represented in Argentina by a series of appointed delegates. Daniel Paladino, Perón's delegate since 1969, fell out of favor with much of the party machinery (as well as with their chief base of support, the CGT labor union) over differences in strategy as well as over his relatively conciliatory stance toward the dictatorship, and was dismissed by the national committee in November 1971. His successor, Héctor Cámpora, was supported by the left-leaning Peronist Youth, and assumed the post during a period of increasingly bold overtures toward the banned Peronist Movement by the dictator, General Alejandro Lanusse. Pursuant to an August 1971 announcement that preparations of elections would begin, and despite his original intent that Peronists be excluded, he allowed the courts to legalize Peronism on January 26, 1972.
Backed by labor, and in good terms with the military, Abal Medina was named Secretary of Operativo Retorno ("Operation Return") by Cámpora. Perón was 76, and rumors that he was suffering from both ill health and early signs of senility conspired with the myriad conditions imposed by President Lanusse on Peronists to make the exiled leader's return increasingly unlikely. The decision to field Cámpora as a stand-in candidate in elections announced for March 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:...
resulted in Abal Medina's election as Secretary General of the Justicialist Party on June 25, 1972, and he became Perón's official delegate in September. Abal Medina's ties to the military and the right notwithstanding, Perón calculated that naming a brother of the late Fernando Abal Medina would do much to placate the restive Montoneros. A series of secret negotiations with military officers and Lanusse's Interior Minister, Arturo Mor Roig, ultimately led to Lanusse's permission for Perón's return, which took place on November 17.
Abal Medina led the selection process for the over 3,500 FREJULI candidates for Congressional, provincial, and local offices in these, the first elections in Argentina of any kind since 1965. He was, moreover, instrumental in persuading Rucci to drop his opposition to a number of key nominations, among them to the candidate for Governor of Buenos Aires, Oscar Bidegain, and to Cámpora, himself. Camporá was elected President in a landslide on March 11, and among the Peronist Youth, whose preferred candidates Abal Medina had retained on the ballot over Rucci's heated objections, the skilled young negotiator was now seen as a future leader.
He made the first serious mistake, however, when the candidate he chose for a Senate seat
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
for 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...
(his friend and former newspaper colleague, Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo), was defeated in an upset by the neophyte UCR
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...
candidate, Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa
Fernando de la Rúa is an Argentine politician. He was president of the country from December 10, 1999 to December 21, 2001 for the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education ....
. His choices for other offices would also become complications for Abal Medina. Eight of the candidates he chose for the Lower House
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
to represent Buenos Aires were, in fact, elected. One of these, Nilda Garré Coppello
Nilda Garré
Nilda Garré , a former leftist militant, is the current Minister of Security of Argentina, and the former Minister of Defense since 2005. She was the first woman to hold each office in the country.- Career :...
, began an extramarital affair with Abal Medina, resulting in the termination of both their marriages in 1973; Garré and Abal Medina married that year, and they would have three children.
Garré, Santiago Díaz Ortiz, and the six others soon became known in Congress as the "Gang of Eight" for their increasingly vocal opposition to Perón's nomination of his right-wing wife, Isabel, as his running mate in snap elections called for September
Argentine general election, September 1973
The second Argentine general election of 1973 was held on 23 September. Turnout was 85.5%, and it produced the following results:-Background:...
. Abal Medina's support of the Perón—Perón ticket, in turn, distanced him from the Montoneros
Montoneros
Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...
, one of whose leaders, José Pablo Ventura, issued a public threat against him, shouting at a rally: "Abal Medina: your blood is a bargain in Argentina!"
The alliance of Montoneros with Perón had effectively ended when, in September 1973, Rucci was assassinated. The murder of numerous others would follow, and on March 23, 1974, Abal Medina suffered an attempt on his life. He was convinced, however, that the attack had been carried out by a new threat sponsored from within the Perón government: the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (Triple A). The Triple A was secretly commanded by Perón's astrologer and closest adviser, José López Rega
José López Rega
José López Rega was Argentina's Minister of Social Welfare during the Peronist government started in 1973 by Juan Perón and continued after Perón's death in 1974 by his third wife and vice-president, Isabel Martínez de Perón , until the coup d'etat of 1976 that initiated the so-called National...
, who had been given the Social Welfare portfolio (and thus controlled 30 percent of the federal budget). Abal Medina's car was bombed shortly afterward in a second (unsuccessful) attack, and in May, he was removed as Secretary General of the party.
Exile and new associations
Perón died in July, and was succeeded by his wife, whose government presided over sprilaing violence and inflation, was overthrown in a March 1976 coup. Most lawmakers and other political figures had advance knowledge of the March 24 coup, and Peronists (nearly all of whom were to be arrested) took added precautions, with some opting to leave the country. Abal Medina sought refuge in the Mexican Embassy, and would remain there for years until safe conduct was granted. He shared the refuge with Cámpora, who was allowed to leave to MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1980, where he died shortly afterward.
Abal Medina also sought exile in Mexico upon obtaining safe conduct in 1982. Divorced from his second wife, he had a minor post at the Traffic and Transportation Secretariat, and would serve as an agent of CISEN
Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional
Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional is a Mexican intelligence agency controlled by the Office of Coordination of the Presidency. CISEN was established in 1989 after its predecessors ceased to operate...
(Mexican State Intelligence) during the 1988 — 94 tenure of Interior Secretary
Secretary of the Interior (Mexico)
The Mexican Secretary of the Interior is the head of the Secretariat of the Interior, concerned with the country's internal affairs, the presentation of the president's bills to Congress, their publication and certain issues of national security. The country's main intelligence agency, CISEN,...
Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios
Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios
Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios was a controversial Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party...
. He became close to the PRI (the ruling party in Mexico until 2000), maintained a close friendship with the leader of the rival PRD
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano is a prominent Mexican politician. He was a former Head of Government of the Federal District and a founder of the Party of the Democratic Revolution .-Biography:...
, and frequently visited Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n leader Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
.
He established a successful law practice in Mexico, and would later open offices in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Argentina. The CEO of Telmex
Telmex
Telmex is a telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunication products and services in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and other countries in Latin America. In addition to traditional fixed-line telephone service, Telmex also offers Internet access, data,...
, Carlos Slim, hired Abal Medina as an adviser for his growing interests in Argentina, and in 2007, he was invited by outgoing Argentine President 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 ...
to join the cabinet of his wife and successor, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
. He cited worsening respiratory problems and refused, however; Abal Medina visits Argentina often. His eldest son, Juan Manuel
Juan Manuel Abal Medina, jr.
Juan Manuel Abal Medina, jr. is an Argentine academic, political scientist, and author. He was appointed Communications Secretary by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2011.-Life and times:Abal Medina was born in Buenos Aires...
, served both Kirchner administrations in a number of significant political and policy posts.