Adolfo “Fito” Aguirre is the current Secretary of International Relations of the CTA Autónoma, as well as an Argentine union and political leader.
A member of the Asociación Trabajadores del Estado (ATE), he began and developed his political activity in the province of Buenos Aires, where he settled at the age of eighteen, holding various positions in the provincial and national leadership of both the union and the labor central. He was a provincial deputy (1997–2001) and candidate for Governor of Buenos Aires Province (2015).
Early Life of Adolfo “Fito” Aguirre
He was born in the city of San Juan on April 8, 1964. Son of Marta Ortman and Rogelio Aguirre, he is the oldest of three siblings: Elisa Aguirre and Gustavo Aguirre. He is the father of six children—Adolfo, Germán, Valentín, Sofía, Ulises, and Salvador Aguirre—and grandfather to one grandson, Mariano Aguirre. His childhood took place in San Juan, and at the age of nine he moved with his family to Bahía Blanca. He began studying music, and at 18, he moved to La Plata to continue his studies at the Gilardo Gilardi Conservatory.
Political and Union Activity
Adolfo Fito Aguirre began his political activism in 1983, the year Argentina returned to democracy, joining the ranks of the Peronist Youth. In La Plata, he built the Student Center of the Conservatory of Music and served as its president in 1984 and 1985.
Early Work
In 1987 he started working at the General Directorate of Culture and Education of the Province of Buenos Aires. There he began his political-union activity within ATE and forged ties with leaders Germán Abdala and Víctor De Gennaro. He organized the Juventud de Trabajadores Estatales (JTE), within the context of the Peronist renewal aligned with Governor Antonio Cafiero and the trade union movement known as Grupo de los 25. In 1988, he organized the Internal Delegate Board of ATE in the Education sector of the provincial government and was elected General Delegate in December that year.
Leadership in ATE
From 1991 onward, he was part of the provincial leadership of ATE as Secretary of Press and Propaganda. During this period, ATE was one of the leading organizers of the creation of the Central de Trabajadores de la Argentina (1991), in response to the state reform policies promoted by President Carlos Menem. This political moment also saw a split within the Justicialist Party, leading to the formation of the Grupo de los 8 in Congress—composed of Germán Abdala, Juan Pablo Cafiero, Chacho Álvarez, and Darío Alessandro—which gave rise to the Frente Grande in 1993.
In 1995, Aguirre engaged in various cultural activities, notably founding the movement “Con Gusto a Calle,” which brought together artists, journalists, and researchers. One of its main events was a tribute to tango composer and social commentator Enrique Santos Discépolo on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
In 1997, Aguirre was elected provincial deputy for the Frente Grande, a position he held until 2001. One of his most significant contributions was the approval of the collective bargaining law for state workers.
Foro por los Derechos de la Niñez, la Adolescencia y la Juventud
In 2004, together with Estela de Carlotto and Carlos Cajade, he founded the Foro por los Derechos de la Niñez, la Adolescencia y la Juventud of Buenos Aires Province. Today, the forum includes numerous social, union, and professional organizations focused on child policy. In 2005, he was among the promoters of the new “Law for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children, Adolescents and Youth,” which repealed the outdated “Agote Law.” As coordinator of the forum, he followed the implementation of this new law in the years that followed.
In 2006, he was elected Secretary of International Relations of the CTA. On the international stage, he participated in the founding of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in 2006 and the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) in 2008, serving as its Vice President.
Since 2009, from the Unidad Popular party—founded by Víctor De Gennaro and Claudio Lozano—and in alliance with other groups, he ran as a candidate for provincial senator (2011) and provincial deputy (2013). In 2015, he ran for Governor of Buenos Aires Province for the Frente Popular.
Today, Adolfo “Fito” Aguirre is active in international trade union affairs, within the ITUC and TUCA frameworks, as well as in SIGTUR, an alliance of trade union centrals from the Global South. In 2018, he promoted and helped found the Coordinación Nacional de Trabajadores Industriales (CNTI).