Mayor of Buenos Aires

History

Ever since the federalization of Buenos Aires in 1880, during the government of President Nicolás Avellaneda, the city of Buenos Aires – federal capital of Argentina – became a separate entity from Buenos Aires Province, operating as a non-autonomous city directly dependent on the government of Argentina. The Mayor of Buenos Aires (intendente) was from that point on appointed directly by the President of Argentina, while the city's Deliberative Council (Concejo Deliberante) served as the only democratically elected local authority. The first mayor (Spanish: Intendente) of the City of Buenos Aires was Torcuato de Alvear, who was appointed by President Julio Argentino Roca following the city's federalization in 1880.

In the 1990s during the presidency of Carlos Menem, calls for Buenos Aires to become politically autonomous grew, and the issue was one of the main points of the 1993 Pact of Olivos, which led to the 1994 amendment of the Constitution of Argentina. The 1994 amendments (specifically article 129 of the new constitution) granted autonomy to the city, with the appointed mayor replaced by an elected chief of government. The capital thus had the right to elect its chief executive for the first time. In popular usage, especially outside of Argentina, the chief is still often called mayor.

The 1996 elections in Buenos Aires were the first held in the city's history to elect local authorities, following the 1994 amendment of the Constitution of Argentina which granted autonomy to the city and allowed it to vote for its own head of government and legislature. The election resulted saw Radical Civic Union senator Fernando de la Rúa become the city's first democratically elected chief of government, and the FREPASO coalition of progressive and left-leaning parties become the largest bloc in the Constitutional Convention, which was tasked with writing and adopting a new Constitution for the newly-autonomous city.

Mayors (1883–1996)

The party of the mayor reflects party registration, as opposed to the party lines run under during the general election.

Chiefs of government (1996–present)

The Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires constitutes the executive branch leadership of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, established in 1996 following the city's constitutional declaration of autonomy. The Chief of Government is directly elected by popular vote for a four-year term, with the possibility of one consecutive re-election. The office includes a Deputy Chief of Government, elected on the same ticket, who assumes temporary executive authority during the leader's absence or permanently in case of vacancy.

Limitations on the autonomy of the city

Because the City of Buenos Aires is not a province, but rather enjoys a regime of autonomy guaranteed by the National Constitution, there are divergences, both in the political and legal world, about the scope and limits of that autonomy. It is the National Congress that is responsible for specifying the limitations of Buenos Aires autonomy.

This has been carried out by Law No. 24,588 of 1996, known as Cafiero Law. Among the limitations established by the Cafiero Law are various judicial jurisdictions (civil, criminal, labor, commercial), the security police, various areas of transportation, powers regarding labor policy, the port area, etc. These limitations have generated complaints from various Buenos Aires political sectors and in general, Buenos Aires residents and citizens of the rest of the provinces have considerably different points of view on the limitations on the autonomy of Buenos Aires, especially in budgetary matters, that is, where the funds should come from to sustain these activities.