Gustavo Melella was chosen to continue at the head of the government of Tierra del Fuego, with more than 50% of the votes. He is a radical allied to Kirchnerism and with a good relationship with the President, Alberto Fernández. He ran with the Unidos Hacemos Futuro list and his running mate was his current vice-president, Mónica Urquiza.
Melella was born in the city of San Justo, in La Matanza, the son of a bricklayer and a dressmaker, he studied at a Salesian school and graduated as a teacher in philosophy and educational sciences. He traveled to Tierra del Fuego at the age of 26 to be part of the Río Grande congregation at the Salesian Agrotechnical School and was its rector until 2002..
From then on he began working in the municipality of Río Grande. He was director of Local Development in 2004, from 2005 to 2011 he was secretary of Production and in 2011 he was elected mayor of the city of Río Grande and re-elected in 2015 with 53% of the vote.
The results of the elections in Tierra del Fuego
He is a member of the FORJA Concertación Party, a party of radical origin that ran for the Fueguina Concertación front, which includes the Fueguino Popular Movement (MOPOF), the Patagonian Social Party (PSP) and other provincial forces of center-left.
On June 16, 2019, he was elected governor of Tierra del Fuego. and on June 18 of that year he revealed his homosexuality in a radio interview, where he also said that he had been in a relationship for 16 years.
Allegations of sexual abuse
After his statement in which he said he was homosexual, allegations of sexual abuse appeared against him, of which he was acquitted. The governor-elect said that the case was promoted by “a national media”, and that they used as a witness a former employee of the municipality’s workshop, who “later retracted before the Justice and ended up receiving a social house for his daughter from the government of the province.” Given this, he concluded: “This witness and others were denounced for false denunciation.”
Regarding why he decided to share this information about his life in an interview, he said that it was not something that nobody knew. “The journalist asked me very naturally and I think he had no reason to lie. I don’t think the same is true that all governors-elect are asked about his sexual life. I am reserved with my personal life, but since they speculate and say things, I said: that’s it, that’s it,” he told PROFILE in an interview.
pension policy
At the end of 2022, he unanimously achieved the approval of the early retirement project in Tierra del Fuego which offers the possibility that public employees can retire at the age of 55 until 2027. In this way, some people will be able to access a retirement credit that includes 88% of their active salary.
After the approval, the former president, Mauricio Macri, had questioned pro-government supporters and their own for supporting this initiative. “It is a shame what the legislators of Tierra del Fuego from the FdT (Front of All) and Together for Change (JxC) did. They relaxed retirement requirements for public employees and they will be able to retire with 20 years of contributions regardless of age, ”said Macri on his Twitter account and shot: “The party is paid for by those who work. Either we are the change or we are nothing.
Melella quickly pointed out: “You disrespect all the Fuegian people, the public servants of our province, the entire Fuegian political arc; even, to their own space, ”she assured. In this way, she defined the former president as a “repeater of set phrases” and added: “You are the best disciple of adjustment, cutbacks and hunger of the Argentine people.”
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