Argentine 12-time Grand Prix winner Carlos Reutemann passes away at 79
Argentine racing legend Carlos Reutemann has passed away at the age of 79.
Reutemann won 12 Grands Prix for Brabham, Ferrari and Williams over a 146-race career from 1972 to 1982.
Though he never won the world title many thought his talents deserved, he did finish in the top three in the championship on four occasions, missing out on the 1981 crown by just a single point in a final race showdown in Las Vegas with Brazil's Nelson Piquet.
Reutemann, who also claimed two World Rally Championship podiums in Argentina, turned his attention to politics after hanging up his helmet.
From the racetrack to politics
He was first elected in an upset as governor of his home province of Santa Fe in 1991, riding a wave of popularity for then-President Carlos Menem and becoming a leading figure in the conservative wing of the big-tent Justicialist Party (PJ).
The PJ, founded by the populist leader Juan Perón in 1945, took a turn to the right in the early 1990s - and though Reutemann supported the shift, he avoided becoming closely tied to the increasingly unpopular Menem.
Barred from re-election, he was elected senator in 1995 and in 1999 returned by Santa Fe voters as governor.
Following the country's 2001 collapse, Reutemann was touted as a possible presidential candidate in 2003 - elections Peronists were sure to win, as they were in opposition during the 2001 crisis.
A nepotism scandal nixed his chances, however, leading to the election of center-left Peronist Governor Néstor Kirchner.
Reutemann was instead returned to the Senate, where in 2009 he broke from Kirchner and co-founded the Federal Peronist caucus - a group of 4 center-right Peronist senators opposed to the Kirchnerist majority.
His ties to Peronism were further strained by his 2015 endorsement of hard-right candidate Mauricio Macri - who narrowly won, only to become the first Argentine president to lose re-election amid a 2019 "Macrisis."
Reutemann kept a very low profile, speaking for a total of 10 minutes in 21 years in the Senate. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2017, and died following two hospital stays since May in his native city of Santa Fe.
At: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.12-time-grand-prix-winner-carlos-reutemann-passes-away-aged-79.3bnZRohyUiw5X66koDB5a8.html
Argentine racing great Carlos Reutemann admires a photo of his 1974 Argentine Formula One Grand Prix win, awarded to him by populist President Juan Perón (in photo, at left).
Reutemann was later elected governor and senator as a Peronist - but his steady shift to the right after 2003 distanced him from the largely center-left party.
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Super scary!
When he returned to his home in Santa Fe, Argentina, and entered politics, maybe he felt he should start representing their rigid, authoritarian attitude toward government, too, less acceptant of "others."
The superficial view I got of Santa Fe is that it is a more industrial-focused town, which, if true, could explain their political differences.
Too bad Carlos Reutemann has passed. There's no doubt he was very celebrated and favored in his original home! No doubt he'll be missed.
On edit: Surprised to learn Santa Fe was founded in 1573. Amazing!
Argentina's third-largest province (around 3.5 million people), it has a diversified economy - but was historically agricultural, with its politics still dominated by small and medium landowners (which included Reutemann).
Middle-class in outlook, these smallholders are sensitive to the risk of being cheated by large landowners, banks and milling conglomerates - but are largely dismissive of the working class and the poor, and of any politician seen to represent them (i.e. Peronists, particularly Kirchnerists).
Reutemann very much represented that point of view.
Indeed, Santa Fe farmers made up most of the 1,900 or so cheated by grain exporter Vicentín during the Macri years.
The owners - led by Macri pal Alberto Padoán - apparently decided to clean their own company out (much as the S&Ls, Eastern Airlines, Circuit City, Sears, and Toys-r-Us were), and then sell it to Swiss giant Glencore - leaving over $1.3 billion in unpaid debts, between farmers, suppliers, and banks.
The Vicentín scandal, is still very much in limbo - not least because Santa Fe Province judges have gone out of their way to prevent the federal government from intervening.
And the affected farmers? They seem to prefer to kiss the money that's owed to them goodbye (nearly $400 million), before letting the government intervene on their behalf - for purely political reasons.
And Reutemann shared that kind of obtuseness. A great driver - but a mediocre "celebrity" politician in every way, sadly.
Thanks for reading and for the photos - a great teaching tool always. Have a great Weekend. 