(UCR) and several provincial parties to create the Alianza in opposition to President Carlos Menem, and she led the Alianza party list to a majority in the Lower House in the 1997 mid-term elections. Ahead of the 1999 elections, Fernández Meijide ran in the Alianza presidential primary against UCR Senator Fernando de la Rúa, to whom she lost despite having been the front-runner in many polls. She declined to be de la Rúa's running mate and instead announced her candidacy for Governor of Buenos Aires Province; she lost to Justicialist Party nominee Carlos Ruckauf by 7 points, however. De la Rúa, on the other hand, was elected President, and he appointed Fernández Meijide to his cabinet as Minister of Social Development and Environment. She was unable to put many of her social plans into action, however, due to lack of funds, and her popularity waned as the public's impatience grew. In a 2001 cabinet reshuffle brought on by economic and social crisis, the president made her chief of cabinet; she however resigned after a few days in protest at the government's economic policies. De la Rúa's government and the Alianza subsequently collapsed in 2001, after which both the UCR and FrePaSo backed the congressionally-appointed presidency of Eduardo Duhalde to remedy the country's economic crisis. Fernández Meijide afterward retired from active politics. Her Intimate History of Human Rights in Argentina was published in 2009. See also List of former Argentine Senators References Graciela Fernez Meijide: una mujer con temple de acero profile and interview, PDF format Buenos Aires Mayor to Lead Opposition in Argentina, New York Times, 1998-11-30 1931 births Living people People from Avellaneda Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine activists Argentine women activists Argentine exiles Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province Front for a Country in Solidarity politicians Members of the Argentine Senate for Buenos Aires Province People of the Dirty War Women members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Broad Front (Argentina) politicians Women government ministers of Argentina Women members of the Argentine Senate Ministers of social welfare of Argentina