Andrés Framini

Andrés Framini (August 2, 1914 – May 9, 2001) was an Argentine labor leader and politician.

Biography

Early career Andrés Framini was born in the working-class La Plata suburb of Berisso, in 1914. He entered the labor force as a peon in one of Buenos Aires' many textile manufacturers, eventually working for the important Piccaluga facility in the southside Barracas section of the city. Poor pay and working conditions provided Labor Minister and then Vice President Juan Perón a powerful political opportunity, which he seized by aggressively lobbying employers for a redress of these grievances, which had hitherto been quite difficult for most working-class Argentines to do. The Vice President's receptiveness to reform and his assurances of change earned Framini's support. Following President Edelmiro Farrell's October 13, 1945, arrest of the increasingly popular Perón, Framini participated actively in the October 17 mobilizations that freed the populist leader and forced the regime to call elections for early in 1946; Perón was elected handily.

Encouraged by these developments, the Textile Workers' Association (AOT) was formed ten days later as an affiliate of the umbrella CGT, and Framini was elected factory shop steward. Following a series of failed strikes in 1953 against President Perón's austerity plan, Framini displaced the AOT's more militant, left-wing leadership, becoming the powerful union's Secretary General. In that capacity, he was among those present at the June 16, 1955, rally at the Plaza de Mayo in support of the president following his excommunication by Pope Pius XII, a day earlier. As Perón spoke, Argentine Air Force Gloster Meteor jets flew overhead, dropping their ordnance and killing over 350 before flying to safety in neighboring Uruguay; Perón was ultimately overthrown on September 19.

Resistance and the CGT's reorganization The moderately anti-Peronist new president, Gen. Eduardo Lonardi, held talks with the CGT that sought to allow the continued existence of the 2.5 million-member labor union (the largest in Latin America, at the time), while coercing the CGT to abandon Peronism.

The two leaders' differences were superficial, initially, and the two formed part of the Peronist Tactical Command, the movement's secret political think tank. Perón's frustrated December 1964 return to Argentina only exacerbated tensions between the two factions and, in February 1966, the CGT was divided. Framini counted on strong supporters, such as CGT Secretary General José Alonso, rail workers' leader Lorenzo Pepe, and the sanitation workers' leader Amado Olmos. As head of the UOM (the CGT's largest union), however, Vandor was able to eject Alonso as CGT head. Vandor's faction of the CGT benefited as well from the June 28, 1966, coup d'état against President Arturo Illia (overthrown for allowing Peronists to take their seats in Congress following a 1965 election victory). Illia's replacement, Gen. Juan Carlos Onganía, appointed a Labor Minister, Rubens San Sebastián, whose self-professed strategy vis-à-vis the CGT was that of "divide and conquer;" San Sebastián's support for Vandor eventually helped lead the AOT to replace Framini for his deputy, Juan Carlos Laholaberry, in 1968.

Later life Framini's own exit from the AOT was far from ceremonious: as the rank-and-file voted, they learned that he had been apparently kidnapped. The prominent Buenos Aires daily, Crónica, exposed the kidnapping as a hoax, however, and Framini kept a low profile for some time. The incident inspired Víctor Proncet's script for director Raymundo Gleyzer's 1973 drama Los traidores (The Traitors) – a banned film which, to date, has not been shown publicly.

Following the Peronists' return to power in 1973, Framini was unable to return to political prominence. The early morning hours of March 24, 1976, found him and Mrs. Framini away from home – a coincidence that saved their lives when the newly installed military dictatorship raided their home with the intention of eliminating the retired labor leader. The Framinis were forced to sell the home and relocate to a tiny apartment, where they remained due to economic duress following the end of the dictatorship in 1983.

Framini received numerous recognitions in later years. His 1962 electoral victory was honored with the bestowment of the title of "Former Governor-elect of the Province of Buenos Aires" by Governor Eduardo Duhalde and the Argentine Chamber of Deputies recognized him for his historical role as a Notable Argentine, in 1997. Framini opposed President Carlos Menem's abandonment of his populist Peronist platform (on which he was elected in 1989) and offered his support to a small left-wing party in 2000. He attended a May 9, 2001, tribute to the populist former first lady, Eva Perón, at the Argentine Workers' Center headquarters. There, Leonardo Favio's Perón: A Symphony of Feelings (1999) was shown as part of the tribute, and when the projection came to an end, Andrés Framini was found dead in his seat; he was 86. He was buried in La Chacarita Cemetery.