Ex-Argentine president Menem dies aged 90
BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s former president Carlos Menem, who marked his country with a neoliberal approach to the economy, died in a Buenos Aires clinic on Sunday at the age of 90.
Menem had been in poor health and was hospitalised several times in recent months for pneumonia.
Incumbent President Alberto Fernandez, who declared three days of national mourning for Menem, tweeted his ‘deep regret’ at the news of his passing and extended condolences to Menem’s family.
Menem will be buried Monday in the Islamic cemetery in Buenos Aires next to his son, Carlos Menem, Jr, who died in 1995 in a helicopter accident.
The former president’s wake began Sunday night at the Congress building, where vicepresident and Senate leader Cristina Kirchner received Menem’s family and coffin, draped with the Argentine flag.
An emotional Fernandez and his wife, Fabiola Yanez, arrived an hour later and offered their condolences to the family.
After that, the doors were opened to admit the hundreds of mourners lined up outside.
Born in July 1930 into a family of Syrian immigrants, which earned him the nickname ‘The Turk’, Menem prided himself on never having lost an election.
He served two terms as president, from 1989 to 1999. After withdrawing from the race for a third term, he was elected to the Senate in 2005, and was reelected several times since.
Menem identified as a follower of Peronism, the leftist movement based on the legacy of former president Juan Peron that today covers a broad spectrum of political leanings in Argentina.