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Leandro Santoro (born 11 June 1976) is an Argentine political scientist, professor and politician, currently serving as a National Deputy since 2021. Santoro previously served as a member of the Buenos Aires City Legislature from 2017 to 2021.

Though his political career began in the Radical Civic Union (UCR), since 2015 Santoro has been aligned with the National Alfonsinist Movement, a faction of the UCR that broke away with the party and backed the Front for Victory. In the Chamber of Deputies, he sits in the Frente de Todos parliamentary bloc.

Early life and career

Santoro was born on 11 June 1976 in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Boedo. He was raised by a single mother and attended the Colegio Salesiano San Francisco de Sales, a Catholic boys' school. Starting at age 13, he joined the Radical Civic Union (UCR) inspired by his admiration of then-president Raúl Alfonsín. In time, Santoro would become a leader in the Juventud Radical [es], the UCR's youth wing.[1]

In 1999, Santoro and other members of his local UCR committee camped outside the Hospital Italiano, where Alfonsín had been hospitalised following a potentially lethal accident, for 40 days. The event helped forge a deeper connection between Alfonsín and Santoro. He formed part of Los Irrompibles, an alfonsinist group within the UCR founded by Jesús Rodríguez.[2]

Santoro studied political science at the University of Buenos Aires, and later taught courses at the university's UBA XXI programme.[3]

Political career

Following Alfonsín's death in 2009, Santoro and other alfonsinists started getting closer to the Front for Victory, which then supported the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In 2014, upon Fernández de Kirchner's invitation, he formed part of the state delegation that visited Pope Francis in the Vatican.[4] In 2015, he joined Leopoldo Moreau in breaking away from the UCR and founding the pro-Kirchner National Alfonsinist Movement. That year, he was Mariano Recalde's running mate for Chief of Government of Buenos Aires in the Front for Victory list: the ticket received 21.91% of the vote and landed third.[5]

In 2017, Santoro was elected to the Buenos Aires City Legislature as the fourth candidate in the Unidad Porteña list, which received 21.26% of the vote.[6] Following the 2019 general election, he joined the Frente de Todos and sat in the unified FdT bloc in the Legislature.

In the 2021 legislative election, Santoro ran for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies as the first candidate in the Frente de Todos list in Buenos Aires. With 25.06% of the vote, the FDT was the second-most voted alliance in the city, enough for Santoro to make it past the D'Hondt cut and be elected, alongside Gisela Marziotta and Carlos Heller.[7] He was sworn in on 4 December 2021, and began his mandate on 10 December 2021.[8]

Personal life

Santoro was married to Cecilia Moreau, a fellow politician and daughter of the prominent political leader (and Santoro's former political mentor) Leopoldo Moreau.[2][5] Santoro and Moreau have a daughter together, Francisca.[9] Since 2021, Santoro has sat in the Chamber of Deputies alongside both Moreaus.

Santoro has since married a childhood friend, pharmacist Clara González Sorey, with whom he has had a daughter with, Antonia.[9]

Sports-wise, he is a supporter of the local Boedo-based San Lorenzo de Almagro.[10]

Electoral history

Executive

Electoral history of Leandro Santoro
Election Office List Votes Result Ref.
Total % P.
2015 Deputy Chief of Government of Buenos Aires Front for Victory 400,522 21.91% 3rd Not elected [11]
2023 Chief of Government of Buenos Aires Union for the Homeland 581,450 32.27% 2nd Not elected [12]

Legislative

Electoral history of Leandro Santoro
Election Office List # District Votes Result Ref.
Total % P.
2017 City Legislator Unidad Porteña 4 City of Buenos Aires 408,462 21.26% 2nd[a] Elected [13]
2021 National Deputy Frente de Todos 1 City of Buenos Aires 461,514 25.06% 2nd[a] Elected [14]
  1. ^ a b Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.

References

  1. ^ Soriano, Fernando (31 October 2021). "Vida y política de Leandro Santoro: del niño que soñaba ser como Alfonsín al test que le dijo que era kirchnerista". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Quién es Leandro Santoro, el hiperalfonsinista candidato a vice de Recalde". El Cronista (in Spanish). 7 May 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  3. ^ "¿Quién es Leandro Santoro?: el precandidato por el Frente de Todos en la Ciudad que se alejó de la UCR tras la muerte de Raúl Alfonsín". Crónica (in Spanish). 24 July 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Exclusivo: cómo vivió el radical Santoro el encuentro con el Papa". Perfil (in Spanish). 20 September 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Quién es Leandro Santoro, el radical K que eligió Alberto Fernández para representar al Gobierno en CABA". A24 (in Spanish). 7 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Lista de Unidad Porteña: Daniel Filmus y candidatos a diputados por Buenos Aires". Clarín (in Spanish). 19 October 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Uno por uno: ¿Quiénes entran al Congreso de la Nación y quiénes perdieron la banca?". iProfesional (in Spanish). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Todas las fotos de la jura de los nuevos diputados". Ámbito (in Spanish). 7 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b "La mujer del vice de Recalde apoya a Lousteau". Quiero a mi País (in Spanish). 11 May 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Quién es Leandro Santoro, el amigo de Alberto Fernández que quiere encabezar la lista del Frente de Todos en la Ciudad". iProfesional (in Spanish). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Elecciones 2015". eleccionesciudad.gob.ar (in Spanish). Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Elecciones 2023". eleccionesciudad.gob.ar (in Spanish). Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Elecciones 2017" (PDF). tsjbaires.gov.ar (in Spanish). Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Elecciones 2021". argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Dirección Nacional Electoral. Retrieved 4 February 2023.[permanent dead link]

External links