From kidnapping victim to president: how a football club president reshaped Argentine politics.
Mauricio Macri’s path to the presidency was unconventional. After a traumatic 1991 kidnapping, he pivoted from a successful business career—including leading the Boca Juniors football club to sixteen titles—into politics. He eventually became the first incumbent president in Argentine history to lose a reelection bid in 2019.
Born in 1959, Mauricio Macri was groomed by his father, Franco, to lead the family’s Socma Group holding company. After studying civil engineering and business, Macri gained prominence as president of Boca Juniors from 1994 to 2007. His tenure there was marked by initial struggles, but he eventually transformed the club’s profitability and performance, securing sixteen titles. This high-profile success provided a platform for his political ambitions, leading him to found the Commitment for Change party in 2003.
Macri’s political career began in earnest when he was elected Chief of Government of Buenos Aires in 2007. His administration focused on infrastructure, including the Metrobus system and expanding bicycle lanes, while navigating complex disputes over the city’s autonomy and police jurisdiction. His refusal to appeal a 2009 court ruling that permitted same-sex marriage—a move that strained his relationship with then-Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio—signaled his moderate social stance. In 2015, he achieved a historic victory, becoming the first president elected in a runoff ballotage in Argentina, ending twelve years of Kirchnerism.
As president from 2015 to 2019, Macri pursued a neoliberal agenda, shifting to a floating exchange-rate system, removing export taxes, and reducing energy subsidies. While praised for anti-corruption efforts and improving international marketability, his term faced significant criticism. Economic reforms failed to curb inflation, real wages declined, and external debt increased. In the 2019 general election, he was defeated by Alberto Fernández, marking the first time an incumbent president in Argentina failed to win a second term.
Source: Mauricio Macri
