José Alperovich

José Jorge Alperovich (born April 14, 1955) is an Argentine politician, currently the governor of Tucumán Province.

Alperovich was born in Banda del Río Salí to Israeli parents, in 1955. He enrolled at the University of Tucumán, and graduated as an accountant. He was a member of the centrist Radical Civic Union until he was approached by the then-Governor of Tucumán, Julio Miranda, to be provincial economy minister, joining the Justicialist Party in 2001. He became a national senator in 2001 and won as governor in 2003 and 2007.

Some commentators alleged that he would not be able to become governor if elected because of the provincial law that required him to give an oath on the Christian Bible. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court's amendment of Tucuman's Constitution allowed Alperovich to take the oath using the Hebrew Torah, helping preventing future religious discrimination against potential candidates.^[1]

Alperovich is married to Beatriz Rojkés de Alperovich, today a Congresswoman, and has four children.

Governor of Tucumán Province

Alperovich's tenure has reaped criticism for an allegedly authoritarian governing style, as well as for suspected patronage in favor of businesses related to the Alperovich family.^[2] His tenure has been marked by significant developments, mainly in the health and education fields, including a drop in the infant mortality rate to record lows.^[3] The Provincial Health Minister from 2003 to 2007, Juan Luis Manzur, was his running mate in Alperovich's successful, 2007 bid for reelection and was named the nation's Health Minister in 2009.^[4]

Alperovich obtained an amendment to the Provincial Constitution providing for the Governor's reelection, and in 2008, proposed a further amendment that would allow for indefinite reelection, albeit without success.

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