Estela Mercedes Regidor Belledone (born 24 March 1970) is an Argentine politician who served as a National Deputy elected in Corrientes Province. A member of the Radical Civic Union, Regidor was elected at the 2017 legislative election.

Estela Regidor
Sesión 13-06-2018 Diputada Regidor.jpg
National Deputy
In office
10 December 2017 – 10 December 2021
ConstituencyCorrientes
Personal details
Born (1970-03-24) 24 March 1970 (age 54)
Mercedes, Corrientes Province, Argentina
Political partyRadical Civic Union
Other political
affiliations
Encuentro por Corrientes (2009–present)
Juntos por el Cambio (2015–present)
Alma materUniversity of Buenos Aires

Early and personal life

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Regidor Belledone was born on 24 March 1970 in Mercedes, in Central Corrientes Province.[1] She studied law at the University of Buenos Aires, graduating in 1998, and specialized on pension law.[2]

Political career

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Regidor was appointed comptroller of the Social Prevision Institute (IPS, Instituto de Previsión Social) of Corrientes Province in 2009.[1] In 2016, she was appointed head of the Comprehensive Attention Unit of ANSES in Corrientes Province.[3]

At the 2017 legislative election, Regidor was the first candidate in the Encuentro por Corrientes (ECO)–Cambiemos list. The list was the most voted in the province, with 55.43% of the vote, and Regidor was easily elected.[4][5]

As national deputy, Regidor formed part of the parliamentary commissions on Pensions and Social Security, Labour Legislation, Political Trials, Families and Childhood, and Elderly People.[1] She was a vocal opponent of the legalization of abortion in Argentina, voting against the two Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy bills that were debated by the Argentine Congress in 2018 and 2020.[6][7] During her speech during the debate on the 2018 bill, she made a controversial analogy with dogs, stating that "when our dogs get pregnant, we don't take them to the vet for them to have an abortion; we give away the pups."[8][9] She later introduced an unsuccessful bill to establish an "early adoption" programme.[10]

In 2021, Regidor caused controversy when leaked voice notes between her and her legislative aides revealed she was extorting her staff to take up to 50% of their salaries.[11][12] The scandal led to her taking an unpaid leave from her position in the Chamber of Deputies.[3] She also presented herself to a Corrientes tribunal for investigation.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Estela Mercedes Regidor Belledone". Directorio Legislativo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Estela Regidor promete una férrea defensa de los intereses correntinos". Diario Época (in Spanish). 15 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Pidió licencia la diputada correntina acusada de pedirle un "reintegro" a sus colaboradores". El Diario.ar (in Spanish). 7 May 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Resultados de las elecciones 2017, provincia por provincia". Clarín (in Spanish). 23 October 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Cómo quedará conformado el Congreso a partir del 10 de diciembre". Primera Fuente (in Spanish). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  6. ^ Serra, Laura (14 June 2018). "Uno por uno, cómo votó cada diputado el proyecto de legalización del aborto". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Legalización del aborto: cómo votó cada diputado y cada bloque". Perfil (in Spanish). 11 December 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Estela Regidor, la diputada que comparó el aborto con "los perritos"". Clarín (in Spanish). 13 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  9. ^ "La diputada que comparó el aborto con "los perritos"". La Voz (in Spanish). 13 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  10. ^ "La diputada que comparó fetos con perritos presentó un proyecto de adopción temprana". Perfil (in Spanish). 28 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Escandalosos audios: una diputada radical fue acusada de quedarse con el 50% del sueldo de sus asesores". Infobae (in Spanish). 7 May 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Escandalo: denuncian que la diputada radical, Estela Regidor, se quedó con la mitad del sueldo de sus asesores". Página/12 (in Spanish). 7 May 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Luego de la difusión de los audios, la diputada Regidor se presentó a la Justicia". Télam (in Spanish). 12 May 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
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