02/24/2021 18:19
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 02/24/2021 18:19
The Senate
paid tribute
this Wednesday to former president and senator Carlos Menem, who died ten days ago, after being admitted to a Buenos Aires sanatorium.
His daughter Zulemita was present in one of the boxes of the enclosure and
was moved
by the speeches
, in which the "charisma" of the representative of La Rioja was praised and described as a "political animal".
Dressed in black, Zulemita was accompanied by the former president's historic secretary, Ramón Hernández, and by the vice-governor of La Rioja, Florencia López, who was her partner in the 2017 elections for senator.
The daughter of the former president gave the first signs of emotion in the initial seconds of the tribute, when dissident Peronist María Clara Vega, from La Rioja, took the floor.
"It was with great sadness that we received on February 14 the news of the death of the
last charismatic leader
of Argentine politics, which has marked a before and after in the destiny of this country," said Vega, who defined Menem as "the great leader of the end times ".
In addition, Vega asked the Menem family to allocate La Rosadita, his house in the city of Anillaco, for a "museum of interpretation that tells his life and work."
Zulemita Menem, Zulema Yoma and Eduardo Menem, at the wake of former President Carlos Menem in the Blue Room of Congress.
Photo Delfina Linares / Senate Communication
The tribute also featured speeches by the other two representatives of La Rioja in the upper house, Julio Martínez and Ricardo Guerra.
"It took us
44 years to beat him
in La Rioja. He was a person of unmatched charisma and a security in his empathy with people that was enviable," recalled the radical Martínez who defeated Menem as part of the formula of Cambiemos con la current mayor of La Rioja, Inés Brizuela.
Martínez described the late former president as "a political animal who died with his boots on."
Ricardo Guerra, who took over this Tuesday as Menem's substitute, spoke of the "deep vocation for peace of the Argentines" and mentioned "the
high honor and great responsibility
" of replacing him.
San Luis Adolfo Rodríguez Saá also had his turn, who reviewed the former president's political career and did not skimp on praise: he said that Menem was a "great of Argentine politics", as well as
a "respectful and patient visionary."
Adolfo Rodríguez Saá and Carlos Menem, in the Senate in March 2010. Photo Néstor Sieira
Among the anecdotes he told, Rodríguez Saá mentioned the visit that the ex-president made
to Admiral Isaac Rojas
, one of the leaders of the military revolution that overthrew Juan Domingo Perón in 1955.
"In that visit, Menem showed that beyond the discrepancies and adversities, it was necessary to put Argentina above the passions," the San Luis sentenced.
He also recalled the "popularity" of Menem in sports: "He stood out with his enormous personality, we remember him playing basketball, soccer, tennis. And he was a great friend, he was a great friend. He was a fanatic fan River".
The intervention concluded with a
minute of silence
in honor of the former president.
With information from Télam
AFG
Look also
The deputy governor of La Rioja resigned from Carlos Menem's bench in the Senate and Ricardo Guerra will occupy the position
The legacy of President Menem