Juan Zabaleta

Juan Horacio "Juanchi" Zabaleta (born 29 April 1967) is an Argentine politician and retired racing driver, currently serving as intendente (mayor) of Hurlingham, a partido in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. He was first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. From 2021 to 2022, he was the country's Minister of Social Development in the cabinet of President Alberto Fernández.

Juan Zabaleta
Mayor of Hurlingham
Assumed office
14 October 2022
Preceded byDamián Selci
In office
10 December 2015 – 5 August 2021
Preceded byLuis Emilio Acuña
Succeeded byDamián Selci
Minister of Social Development
In office
10 August 2021 – 13 October 2022
PresidentAlberto Fernández
Preceded byDaniel Arroyo
Succeeded byVictoria Tolosa Paz
Personal details
Born (1967-04-29) 29 April 1967
Haedo, Argentina
Political partyJusticialist Party
Other political
affiliations		Front for Victory (2003–2017)
Unidad Ciudadana (2017–2019)
Frente de Todos (2019–present)

Early life

Zabaleta was born on 29 April 1967 in Haedo, a suburb in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation. In his youth, he was a co-pilot for racing driver Luis "Patita" Minervino in Turismo Carretera.[1] Zabaleta and Minervino won thirteen races and were runners-up in 1995 and 1996 for Chevrolet. In 2012, now as a mechanical technician, Zabaleta successfully lobbied for the state purchase of Turismo Carretera and the public transmission of races during the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.[2]

Political career

Zabaleta began his political activism in the Justicialist Party. He was director of union affairs in the National Social Security Administration (ANSES) from 2004 to 2007, and administrative manager in the General Secretariat of ANSES starting in 2007. He also served as Administrative Director of the Argentine Senate under Amado Boudou.[3] From 2009 to 2011 he was Undersecretary of Institutional Affairs at the Ministry of Economy.[4]

In 2015, Zabaleta ran for the mayoralty of Hurlingham as part of the Front for Victory; he won with 38% of the vote.[5] He took office on 12 December 2015, succeeding Luis Acuña.[6] He was re-elected for a second term in 2019 with over 54% of the vote, as part of the Frente de Todos coalition.[7]

Ministry of Social Development

On 9 August 2021, Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero confirmed Zabaleta would be the next Minister of Social Development of Argentina, in replacement of Daniel Arroyo, who resigned to focus on his campaign to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in the 2021 legislative election.[8][9] Zabaleta was one of two ministerial replacements ahead of the 2021 election, alongside Jorge Taiana, who replaced Agustín Rossi as Minister of Defense.[10]

In October 2022, he resigned from the position, citing his wish to return to Hurlingham as mayor. Having taken a leave of absence, he returned to the mayorship.[11] He was succeeded as minister by Victoria Tolosa Paz.[12]

Personal life

Zabaleta lives in Hurlingham and is married to Carolina Olzagasti. He has six children.[13]

References
  1. "Zabaleta, a las corridas: participó de una exhibición de Turismo Carretera junto al 'Patita' Minervino". Primer Plano (in Spanish). 26 April 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  2. "Quién es "Juanchi" Zabaleta, el nuevo ministro de Desarrollo Social". Ámbito (in Spanish). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  3. "Quién es Juan "Juanchi" Zabaleta, el elegido de Fernández para el ministerio de Desarrollo Social". Río Negro (in Spanish). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  4. "Juan Zabaleta, un intendente peronista y cercano a Alberto Fernández que buscará darle un nuevo perfil al Ministerio de Desarrollo Social". Infobae (in Spanish). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  5. "JUAN ZABALETA, EL NUEVO INTENDENTE DE HURLINGHAM". Hurlingham al Día (in Spanish). 29 October 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  6. "Juan Zabaleta asumió como Intendente de Hurlingham". Zona Norte Diario (in Spanish). 12 December 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  7. "Arrasó Zavaleta en Hurlingham: fue reelecto con más del 54% de votos". Letra P (in Spanish). 27 October 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  8. "Quién es Juan Zabaleta, el nuevo ministro de Desarrollo Social". Página/12 (in Spanish). 29 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  9. "Quién es "Juanchi" Zabaleta, el nuevo ministro de Desarrollo Social". El Cronista (in Spanish). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  10. "Juan Zabaleta y Jorge Taiana, confirmados como nuevos ministros de Desarrollo y Defensa". Perfil (in Spanish). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  11. Fuego Simondet, Javier (10 October 2022). "El regreso de Juan Zabaleta a Hurlingham no será fácil: la Cámpora le cambió el gabinete y solo tiene cuatro concejales de 20". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  12. "¿Cuándo asume Zabaleta en Hurlingham?". La Noticia Web (in Spanish). 12 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  13. de León, Pablo (29 July 2021). "Quién es Juanchi Zabaleta: de corredor de autos y secretario de Amado Boudou a nuevo ministro de Desarrollo Social". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 August 2021.
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