Teodoro Bronzini

Teodoro Bronzini (1888-1981) was an Argentine politician, affiliated with the Socialist Party, and one of the more prestigious Mayors in the history of the city of Mar del Plata, where he developed a public and private activity that extended for more than 60 years. His name, beyond the different political and ideological opinions, is unanimously recognized as synonymous of honesty and good administration of the public State Treasury.

Early life and career

He was born on October 10, 1888, in the neighborhood of La Boca, Buenos Aires. His parents were Italian immigrants from Recanatti, region of Le Marche, on the Adriatic Sea 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 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. She completed his primary studies and soon she graduated as bookkeeper, from which he worked taking accounting to retailers, and at other periods of his life he taught lessons of Accounting and Mathematics alternated with press activities. From 1937 he dedicated to insurance business, which became his main private activity for the rest of his life.

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, it was the main Socialist newspaper in Buenos Aires Province. 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. 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 arbitrary intervention in September 1929, just 60 days after his election, in order to prevent a new socialist mandate. Of the effective task made by the Socialist administrations during the 20s, they give a strong evidence the successive electoral victories the party gained with a percentage surpassing the 50%, all that in coexistence with politically adverse provincial and national governments. He was also nominated provincial commissioner for the period 1921/22, 1925-28 and 1930 until the military coup of September 6. It is possible to argue that the double provincial and local charges intended to offer legislative immunity as a protection to the municipal autonomy.

The fraud period

After the military government of General Uriburu reopened the supposed use of the popular sovereignty, this one was completely outmaneuvered in several provinces, specially in Buenos Aires, where the electoral fraud reached scandalous levels. It was the case of Mar del Plata, where in the first municipal election of the 30s, in spite of a blatant fraud, there was socialist representation in the Deliberative Council, integrated among others by Bronzini, who was characterized by a hard fight in defense of the popular interests. The defense of the Cooperative of Electricity and the denounce of the scandalous contract with the "Compania Argentina de Electricidad" (CADE) reached great resonance in 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), electoral fraud and gerrymandering prevented Socialism to gain seats in the local Council and elsewhere. Bronzini was provincial representative for the period 1933-36, where he specially emphasized, through the budgetary debates, a rigorous and detailed denounce of 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

Once the conservative regime fell as a consequence of the so-called "June 4th's Revolution" (1943), followed by a military government and then by Peron presidency, Bronzini returned to the Legislature for the periods 1948-51 and 1952-55 until the military coup of September 16 1955. This legislative period saw him as a strong upholder of the freedom of speech and public budget accountability. 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 4 years period. In 1962, when president Frondizi revoked the elections of March that year, the resulting provincial government prorogued 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 July 28 1966. During this mandate, that meant the last public position exerted by Bronzini, he played a key role in the amendment of the Article of incorporation of the Bank of the Province. To his proposal, the Bank had the obligation to grant loans to the townships proportionally to the funds that those had to pay to the Province. He passed away on August 20, 1981 in Mar del Plata.

References

Lombardo, Jorge Raúl: "El espacio de Bronzini; una aproximación a sus ideas y sus obras". Suárez Ed. Mar del Plata, 2006. (In Spanish)