Argentina’s Minister of Transport dies in highway accident

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina’s Minister of Transport, Mario Meoni, died on Friday night, April 23,  in a highway accident, official sources confirmed. The accident occurred at kilometer 112 of Route 7, near the Buenos Aires provincial town of San Andrés de Giles, in the direction of Junín, of which Meoni was mayor from 2003 to 2015 and which is located about 250 kilometers from the Argentine capital.

The accident occurred at 9:30 PM (local time) when the minister lost control of his vehicle in which he was traveling alone and overturned, losing his life before being rescued, official sources have confirmed to the newspaper ‘Clarin.’ Meoni, 56, was on his way from Rosario, where he had participated in an event with the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, to the city of Junín, where his family lives.

Age 56, Meoni, who was also a deputy in the province of Buenos Aires and director of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires, had been head of the Transport portfolio since Fernandez became president in December 2019. “It was with great sadness that I received the unhappy news of the passing of @mariomeoni, Minister of Transportation of our government. With him, we lose a thorough, tireless, and honest politician. An exemplary official. It is with sincere regret that I accompany those who, like me, loved and respected him”, the President wrote in his Twitter account.

At midnight, other members of the Government expressed their sorrow for the death of the politician who began his career in the now opposition Radical Civic Union and later joined the Frente Renovador, one of the formations that make up the current ruling coalition Frente de Todos.

“Immense sadness for the death of Mario Meoni. A great guy. Great companion, enormously committed to his task at the head of the Ministry of Transportation. Deeply moved by this painful news, we accompany his family and his beloved people of Junín”, wrote the Cabinet head, Santiago Cafiero.

Opposition politicians also sent their condolences: “I am very sorry for the death of Mario Meoni, Minister of Transportation of the Nation. My condolences to his family and loved ones in this terrible moment”, said the Mayor of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta.

Meoni’s last public act took place this Friday in Rosario, where Fernández headed a federal Cabinet meeting. “With the Transportation Modernization Plan, we are carrying out the fundamental works to rebuild the country with a federal development. United, we continue to put Argentina on its feet”, reads one of the minister’s last messages on Twitter.