Mauricio Macri, left, joined by his wife, Juliana Awada, speaking to the media in Buenos Aires during Argentina’s runoff election for president, Nov. 22, 2015. (Amilcar Orfali/LatinContent via Getty Images)
This story was updated on Nov. 24, 2015.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — The newly elected president of Argentina said he will cancel the agreement signed with Iran to jointly investigate the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires, as he vowed during the campaign.
“We will propose to the Congress to cancel the pact with Iran as we promised in the campaign,” Mauricio Macri said Monday morning in his first news conference after being elected in a runoff vote the previous day.
Macri, the opposition candidate, will take office on Dec. 10. He won the runoff with 51.4 percent of the vote, defeating Daniel Scioli, a close ally of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who garnered 48.6 percent, according to the final results released Monday.
The agreement has been criticized by Israel and Argentina’s Jews, among others. Iran has been accused of being behind the AMIA bombing, which killed 85 and injured hundreds.
Macri has a recent history of close relations with Argentine Jewry and Israel.
As mayor of Buenos Aires City, the country’s capital, Macri’s government implemented a plan to support incubators and start-ups inspired by the Israeli “Start-Up Nation” model. Local entrepreneurs visited Israel to learn how to market themselves globally, and they described their experiences on the city government’s website.
In June 2014, he traveled to Israel to participate in a mayors’ conference in Jerusalem, where he offered his support to Israel against terrorism.
“Israeli suffering has to be understood. From afar, it is easy to give advice, but you have to be in Israel to really understand the situation,” he told journalists.
Macri’s new political party, PRO, leads Argentina’s Let’s Change coalition. In 2011, the center-right party picked Rabbi Sergio Bergman to head the ticket for municipal elections. In 2013, Bergman was tapped by Macri to run for the national legislature, which he won, becoming the first rabbi to serve as a national lawmaker in the country. Macri also has ties to other Jewish candidates.
On Election Day, Macri played in a soccer game with his friends against the over-45 team that will represent Argentina at the next Pan-American Maccabi Games in Chile. The president’s team defeated the Jewish squad, 4-1.
The American Jewish Congress welcomed Macri’s election with a statement that quoted its president, Jack Rosen, saying:
“On behalf of American Jewish Congress, I would like to offer a sincere congratulations to President-elect Macri on his successful campaign. After getting to know Mr. Macri over the past few years, I am confident that the people of Argentina have elected a true leader. I look forward to continuing to work with the Argentinian president as he leads his country into an era of increased accountability and economic prosperity, and a renewed role of influence in Latin America and the world.”
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