Teodoro Bronzini was an Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 politician, affiliated with the Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Argentina)

The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in Argentina. The history of socialism in Argentina began in the 1890s, when a group of people, notably Juan B. Justo, expressed the need for a greater social focus....

, and one of the more distinguished Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

s in the history of the city of Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...

, where he developed a public and private activity for more than 60 years. He is unanimously recognized for his honest and efficient administration of the public finance

Public finance

Public finance is the revenue and expenditure of public authoritiesThe purview of public finance is considered to be threefold: governmental effects on efficient allocation of resources, distribution of income, and macroeconomic stabilization.-Overview:The proper role of government provides a...

.

Early life and career

He was born on October 10, 1888, in the neighborhood of La Boca

La Boca

La Boca is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It retains a strong European flavour, with many of its early settlers being from the Italian city of Genoa. In fact the name has a strong assonance with the Genoese neighborhood of Boccadasse , and some people believe that...

, 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 parents were Italian immigrants from the town of Recanati

Recanati

Recanati is a town and comune in the Province of Macerata, Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, was famous for its international fair...

, in the Italian region of Marche

Marche

The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...

, on the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

 coast. His father was Juan Bronzini, a boat skipper in Italy, who in Argentina worked in the fishing industry, first in the Rio de la Plata

Río de la Plata

The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...

 and soon in Mar del Plata, where he and his family settled in 1892. Her mother was Luisa Giorgetti. At the age of 8 years, he worked in one of the old resorts on Bristol beach. Soon after, he became the newsboy at Bristol Hotel. Once he completed his basic instruction, he graduated as bookkeeper, which prepared him to work for retailers, and to teach accountancy

Accountancy

Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...

 and mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

 at a later period of his life. From 1937 he became involved in insurance

Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

 business, which would be his main private activity for the rest of his life along with press activities.

Affiliation to the Socialist Party

Bronzini joined the Socialist Party in April 1915 and on December 7 he founded the weekly magazine El Trabajo ("The Work"), becoming its first director. From 1920 until its demise in 1974, this was the main Socialist newspaper in Buenos Aires Province

Buenos Aires Province

The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

. Bronzini and other columnists developed a permanent struggle for the Socialist principles of social justice and democracy, with a big compromise towards the public liberties, favouring a suitable and honest handling of the public interests under the scope of the State, and fighting without concessions the advances of the central governments over the municipal autonomy.

In 1917 he acceded for the first time to the Deliberative Council in representation of the Socialist Party, being reelected for 1918/19. The electoral success of November 1919 allowed the revolutionary fact of consecrate Bronzini as Socialist Mayor in a city like Mar del Plata, a safe haven to the summer-visiting Argentine upper class and its local sympathizers. He is considered thus one of the first socialist Mayors of the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

. That first period (1920/21) was briefly interrupted by an arbitrary intervention of the provincial government, who had to restore him in office by judicial ruling. For the period 1922/23, Socialist councilman Rufino Inda was elected Mayor. Bronzini returned to office for the period 1924/25, as councilman in 1926/27, and again as Mayor for 1928/29. This period was also interrupted by another illegal intervention in September 1929, just 60 days after his electoral success, in order to prevent a new socialist mandate.
A strong evidence of the effective task made by the Socialist administrations during the 20s are the successive electoral victories the party won with a percentage surpassing the 50%, all that in coexistence with politically adverse provincial and national governments. Bronzini was also nominated provincial commissioner for the period 1921/22, 1925–28 and 1930 until the military coup of 6 September 1930. It is possible to argue that the double provincial and local charges intended to offer legislative immunity as a protection to the municipal autonomy.

Masonry membership

By the same time, he was president of the masonic lodge

Masonic Lodge

This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...

 Liga Masónica 9 de Julio de 1891, which still exists in Mar del Plata. Since 1939 he strongly vowed for laicism in the society, in accordance with "the liberal traditions of Argentina". The lodge published a tribute to Bronzini shortly after his death.

The patriotic fraud period

While the military government of General José Félix Uriburu

José Félix Uriburu

General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu was the first de facto President of Argentina, achieved through a military coup, from September 6, 1930 to February 20, 1932.-Biography:...

 pretended to restore democracy by calling elections in 1931

Argentine presidential election, 1931

The Argentine presidential election of 1931 was held on 8 November. With a turnout of 73.4%, it produced the following official results: aAbstentions.-Argentine Chamber of Deputies:-Argentine Senate:-Background:...

, the popular vote was actually outmaneuvered in several provinces by electoral fraud

Electoral fraud

Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...

, specially in Buenos Aires, where the fraud reached scandalous levels. In Mar del Plata, during the first municipal election of the 30s, and despite the blatant fraud, there was socialist representation in the Deliberative Council, integrated among others by Bronzini, who was characterized by an spirit defense of the popular interests. His support to the Cooperative of Electricity and the denounce of the scandalous contract with the Compania Argentina de Electricidad (CADE) made headlines on those years, at the same time that in Buenos Aires took place the famous issue of the CHADE. During that time, known in Argentina as the década infame

Infamous Decade

The Infamous Decade in Argentina is the name given to the period of time that started in 1930 with the coup d'état against President Hipólito Yrigoyen by José Félix Uriburu...

, electoral fraud

Electoral fraud

Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...

 and gerrymandering

Gerrymandering

In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...

 prevented Socialism to gain seats in the local Council and elsewhere. Bronzini eventually won a seat in the provincial house of representatives for the period 1933-36, where he specially wows, through the budgetary debates, for a rigorous accountability of the public funds and denounced in detail the conservative government vices and abuses, prompting a severe control of the public deficit. In 1934 he was a member of the convention for the reform of the provincial Constitution.

Peronism and beyond

The conservative regime fell as a consequence of the so-called June 4th Revolution of 1943, followed by a military government and then by Perón presidency. Bronzini returned to the Legislature for the periods 1948-51 and 1952-55 until the military 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:...

 of September 16, 1955. This legislative period saw him as a strong upholder of the freedom of speech and the financial accountability of the public spending. In 1957 he was elected representant for the convention of Santa Fe who reformed the National Constitution, which prevailed until the 1994 reform.

In 1958 there were new elections for Mayor, this time for a four year period. In 1962, when president Arturo Frondizi

Arturo Frondizi

Arturo Frondizi Ercoli was the President of Argentina between May 1, 1958, and March 29, 1962, for the Intransigent Radical Civic Union.-Early life:Frondizi was born in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes Province...

 nullified the elections

Argentine legislative election, 1962

The Argentine legislative elections of 1962 was held on 18 March. Voters chose their legislators and governors; with a turnout of 85.7%, it produced the following results:-Argentine Chamber of Deputies:*Results were annulled on May 1.-Background:...

 of March that year, the resulting provincial government extended the mandates of a number of council Governments, among them Mar del Plata district; as result, Bronzini continued to be Mayor until April 1963. After the renewal of the constitutional authorities in October 1963, Bronzini was elected Provincial Senator, remaining in office until the military coup of 28 July 1966. During this mandate, which was the last public position exerted by Bronzini, he played a key role in the amendment of the Statutory law

Statutory law

Statutory law or statute law is written law set down by a legislature or by a legislator .Statutes may originate with national, state legislatures or local municipalities...

of the Bank of the Province. To his proposal, the bank had to grant loans to the townships proportionally to the taxes that those had to pay to the Province. He died on 20 August 1981, in Mar del Plata.