Secretariat of Public Works (Argentina)

Secretariat of Public Works
Secretaría de Obras Públicas

Palacio de Hacienda, headquarters
Secretariat overview
Formed1898; 126 years ago (1898)
Superseding Secretariat
JurisdictionGovernment of Argentina
HeadquartersPalacio de Hacienda, Buenos Aires
Secretariat executive
  • Luis Giovine, Secretary
Child agencies
    • Vialidad Nacional
Websiteargentina.gob.ar/obras-publicas
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The Secretariat of Public Works (Spanish: Secretaría de Obras Públicas, formerly Ministry of Public Works) of Argentina is a secretariat and former ministry of the national executive power that oversaw and advised on the elaboration and maintenance of roadways, urban and hydraulic infrastructure and other types of public works.

From 2003 to 2015 it was known as the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services; it was reorganized as a secretariat of the Interior Ministry during the 2015–2019 presidency of Mauricio Macri, and reinstated as a ministry with its original name in 2019 under President Alberto Fernández.

The ministry was dissolved following a presidential decree from President Javier Milei, and turned into a secretariat,[1] controlled by the Ministry of Economy.

Attributions

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As established by the ruling Ley de Ministerios ("Ministries Law"), adopted in December 2019, the Ministry of Public Works was reinstated (from having previously been part of the Interior Ministry's portfolio) due to the "importance of counting with a centralized organ to co-ordinate the national government's policy on public works and hydraulic infrastructure.[2]

The Ministry's responsibilities and attributions are outlined in Article 21 of the current law, which states that, among others, it is within the ministry's competence overseeing the design and execution of plans and programs pertaining to public works and infrastructure on an international, national, regional, provincial and municipal level; co-ordinating these policies alongside the provincial governments and the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, intervening in the construction and fiscalization of transport (roads, airports and sea and river ports) and hydraulic infrastructure; and co-ordinating and executing the necessary public works to ensure civil protection of Argentina's inhabitants, as well as creating and upkeeping policies and regulations on public services within the competent areas, among others.[2]

Structure and dependencies

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As of 2019 the Ministry of Public Works is organized into the following centralized dependencies:[3]

  • Secretariat of Administrative Management (Secretaría de Gestión Administrativa)
  • Secretariat of Public Works (Secretaría de Obras Públicas)
    • Undersecretariat of Planning and Territorial Co-ordination for Public Works (Subsecretaría de Planificación y Coordinación Territorial de la Obra Pública)
    • Undersecretariat of Public Works Execution (Subsecretaría de Ejecución de Obra Pública)
  • Secretariat of Hydraulic Infrastructure and Policy (Secretaría de Infraestructura y Política Hídrica)
    • Undersecretariat of Hydraulic Works (Subsecretaría de Obras Hidráulicas)
    • Undersecretariat of Operational Management for Hydraulic Projects (Subsecretaría de Gestión Operativa de Proyectos Hídricos)

Additionally, a number of decentralized dependencies also report to the Ministry of Public Works, including the National Directorate of Roads (DNV), the National Hydraulic Works and Sanitation Authority (ENOHSA), the National Water Institute (INA), the National Institute of Seismic Prevention (INPRES), the National Regulatory Dam Safety Authority (ORSEP).[4] Several state-owned enterprises are also overseen by the Ministry of Public Works, such as AySA and ACUMAR, the Matanza–Riachuelo River Basin Authority.[5][6]

Headquarters

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The Secretariat is headquartered in the Palacio de Hacienda ("Palace of the Treasury"), located in the Monserrat barrio of Buenos Aires, which has historically housed the Ministry of Economy (formerly known as the Ministry of the Treasury) as well as other ministerial portfolios such as transport and production.[7] The building was built in two stages from 1937 to 1950 and stands on Hipólito Yrigoyen street, across from the emblematic Plaza de Mayo square and the Casa Rosada, seat of the Presidency.[8]

From 1936 to 1991 the Ministry of Public Works was housed in the iconic Ministry of Public Works Building (Edificio del Ministerio de Obras Públicas), located on 9 de Julio Avenue in downtown Buenos Aires, which is famous for its large steel image of Eva Perón. Nowadays the building houses the Health Ministry, but it is still sometimes known by its former name.[9]

List of ministers and secretaries

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No. Minister Party Term President
Ministry of Public Works (1898–1958)
1 Emilio Civit National Autonomist Party 12 October 1898 – 1904 Julio Argentino Roca
2 Wenceslao Escalante National Autonomist Party 1904 – 12 October 1904
3 Adolfo Orma National Autonomist Party 12 October 1904 – 12 March 1906 Manuel Quintana
4 Miguel Tedín Independent 14 March 1906 – 12 July 1907 José Figueroa Alcorta
5 Carlos Maschwitz Independent 12 July 1907 – 4 November 1907
6 Ezequiel Ramos Mexía National Autonomist Party 4 November 1907 – 16 July 1913
Roque Sáenz Peña
7 Carlos Meyer Pellegrini Independent 21 July 1913 – 16 February 1914
8 Manuel Moyano Independent 16 February 1914 – 12 October 1916
Victorino de la Plaza
9 Pablo Torello Radical Civic Union 12 October 1916 – 12 October 1922 Hipólito Yrigoyen
10 Eufrasio Loza Radical Civic Union 12 October 1922 – 13 January 1925 Marcelo T. de Alvear
11 Roberto M. Ortiz Radical Civic Union 13 January 1925 – 12 October 1928
12 José Benjamín Ábalos Radical Civic Union 12 October 1928 – 6 September 1930 Hipólito Yrigoyen
13 Octavio Sergio Pico Radical Civic Union 6 de septiembre de 1930 – 16 de abril de 1931 José Félix Uriburu
14 Pablo Calatayud Radical Civic Union 17 April 1931 – 20 February 1932
15 Manuel Ramón Alvarado National Democratic Party 20 February 1932 – 1936 Agustín Pedro Justo
16 Eleazar Videla Independent (Military) 1936 – 20 February 1938
17 Manuel Ramón Alvarado National Democratic Party 20 February 1938 – 8 March 1940 Roberto M. Ortiz
18 Luis Alberto Barberis National Democratic Party 8 March 1940 – 2 September 1940
19 Salvador Oría Radical Civic Union 2 September 1940 – 4 June 1943 Roberto M. Ortiz
Ramón Castillo
20 Ismael Galíndez Independent (Military) 7 June 1943 – 14 October 1943 Pedro Pablo Ramírez
21 Ricardo A. Vago Independent (Military) 14 October 1943 – 24 February 1944
22 Juan Pistarini Independent (Military) 24 February 1944 – 4 June 1952 Pedro Pablo Ramírez
Edelmiro Julián Farrell
Peronist Party Juan Domingo Perón
23 Roberto M. Dupeyron Peronist Party 4 June 1952 – 21 September 1955
24 José Blas Paladino Independent 23 September 1955 – 13 November 1955 Eduardo Lonardi
25 Pedro Mendiondo Independent 13 November 1955 – 1 May 1958 Pedro Aramburu
Ministry of Public Works and Services (1958–1973)
26 Justo Policarpo Villar Radical Civic Union 18 June 1958 – 25 June 1959 Arturo Frondizi
27 Alberto Costantini Independent 25 June 1959 – 28 April 1961
28 Arturo Acevedo Independent 28 April 1961 – 15 January 1962
29 José Mazar Barnett Radical Civic Union 15 January 1962 – 25 March 1962
30 Arturo Acevedo Independent 25 March 1962 – 30 April 1962
José María Guido
31 Julio César Crivelli Independent 30 April 1962 – 12 December 1962
32 Horacio Jorge Zubiri Radical Civic Union 12 December 1962 – 12 October 1963
33 Miguel Ferrando Radical Civic Union 12 October 1963 – 28 June 1966 Arturo Illia
34 Luis María Gotelli Independent 28 June 1966 – 8 June 1970 Juan Carlos Onganía
35 Aldo Ferrer Radical Civic Union 8 June 1970 – 26 October 1970 Roberto Levingston
36 Oscar Colombo Independent 26 October 1970 – 8 June 1971
Alejandro Lanusse
37 Pedro A. Gordillo Independent 8 June 1971 – 25 May 1973
Ministry of Planning (1976–1978)
38 Ramón Genaro Díaz Bessone Independent (Military) 25 October 1976 – 30 December 1977 Jorge Rafael Videla
39 Carlos E. Laidlaw Independent (Military) 30 December 1977 – 30 October 1978
Ministry of Public Works and Services (1981–1991)
40 Diego Urricarriet Independent (Military) 29 March 1981 – 12 December 1981 Roberto Viola
41 Sergio Martini Independent 22 December 1981 – 1 July 1982 Leopoldo Galtieri
42 Conrado Bauer Independent 2 July 1982 – 10 December 1983 Reynaldo Bignone
43 Roque Carranza Radical Civic Union 10 December 1983 – 27 May 1985 Raúl Alfonsín
44 Roberto Tomasini Radical Civic Union 27 May 1985 – 3 July 1986
45 Pedro Trucco Radical Civic Union 3 July 1986 – 16 September 1987
46 Rodolfo Terragno Radical Civic Union 16 September 1987 – 26 May 1989
47 Roberto Pedro Echarte Radical Civic Union 26 May 1989 – 8 July 1989
48 Roberto José Dromi UCEDE 8 July 1989 – 4 January 1991 Carlos Menem
Ministry of Economy, Public Works and Services (1991–1999)
49 Domingo Cavallo Justicialist Party 1 March 1991 – 6 August 1996 Carlos Menem
50 Roque Fernández Justicialist Party 6 August 1996 – 10 December 1999
Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing (1999–2001)
51 Nicolás Gallo Radical Civic Union 10 December 1999 – 5 October 2000 Fernando de la Rúa
52 José Luis Machinea Radical Civic Union 5 October 2000 – 5 March 2001
53 Ricardo López Murphy Radical Civic Union 5 March 2001 – 20 March 2001
54 Carlos Bastos Independent 20 March 2001 – 21 December 2001
Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services (2003–2015)
55 Julio de Vido Justicialist Party 25 May 2003 – 10 December 2015 Néstor Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Ministry of the Interior, Public Works and Housing (2015–2019)
56 Rogelio Frigerio Republican Proposal 10 December 2015 – 10 December 2019 Mauricio Macri
Ministry of Public Works (2019–2023)
57 Gabriel Katopodis Justicialist Party 10 December 2019 – 10 December 2023 Alberto Fernández
Secretary of Public Works (2023–)
59 Luis Giovine Independent 10 December 2023 – present Javier Milei

References

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  1. ^ Qué ministerios ELIMINÓ Javier MILEI tras su ASUNCIÓN on Cronista.com, 10 Dec 2023
  2. ^ a b "Decreto 7/2019". Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina (in Spanish). 10 December 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Administración Pública Nacional" (PDF). Jefatura de Gabinete de Ministros (in Spanish). 29 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Ministerio de Obras Públicas". argentina.gob.ar/obras-publicas (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  5. ^ "AySA: Galmarini y Katopodis recorrieron planta potabilizadora". Ámbito (in Spanish). 18 December 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Acumar. El Gobierno incorporó a un exfuncionario echado durante el kirchnerismo". La Nación (in Spanish). 13 January 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  7. ^ "El Palacio de Hacienda fue declarado Monumento Histórico". nueva-ciudad.com.ar (in Spanish). 28 December 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ Mejía, Virginia (28 December 2018). "Monumento histórico: el Palacio de Hacienda, mucho más que una sede ministerial". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  9. ^ Igal, Daniel (20 October 2016). "La historia del edificio de Obras Públicas, un gigante que cumple 80 años". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 May 2020.
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