Alfredo Avelín

Infobox_Governor
name= Alfredo Avelín


order=
office= Governor of San Juan
term_start= 1999
term_end= 2002
lieutenant= Wbaldino Acosta
predecessor= Jorge Escobar
successor= Wbaldino Acosta
birth_date= 1927
birth_place=
profession= Physician
party= Alliance for Work, Justice and Education
footnotes=

Alfredo Avelín (b. May 1, 1927) is an Argentine politician, physician and author. He served as Governor of his province of San Juan and as a member of the Argentine Senate and Chamber of Deputies.

Of Lebanese descent, Avelín founded the Renewal Crusade party. He became Mayor of the provincial capital San Juan at the age of 31 and was elected to the national Chamber of Deputies for San Juan in 1989 and the Senate in 1992. [http://www.politicaymunicipios.com.ar/despachos.asp?cod_DES=2543&ID_Seccion=49]

On 16 May 1999, Avelín was elected as governor of his province with 55%, heading the list of the Alliance for Work, Justice and Education which would win the Presidency of Argentina later the same year. He defeated the incumbent Governor, Jorge Escobar. His period in office were marked by economic turbulence and public unrest in San Juan, like the country as a whole. By 2001, provincial employees were not paid and the province was insolvent. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E7D7133BF93BA25752C1A9679C8B63]

Following the downfall of the government of President de la Rua, Avelín was a fierce opponent of the austerity measures proposed by the International Monetary Fund, saying, "The only thing lacking for us is to pull down the Argentine flag and replace it with the IMF's." In 2002, Avelín was impeached and deposed as governor by a majority of provincial deputies following massive demonstrations. [http://www.lanacion.com.ar/archivo/nota.asp?nota_id=426029]

Avelín proposed to stand again for the governorship in 2007 against the incumbent José Luis Gioja. [http://www.derf.com.ar/despachos.asp?cod_des=150081&ID_Seccion=18] His daughter, Nancy Avelín, who also served as a Senator, was eventually the candidate for the Renewal Crusade that year.