San Martin National Institute: Who is Federico Fischbarg, the new director?

Despite being in the final stretch to become director of the San Martin National Institute , now a museum , young candidate Alberto Consuegra Sanfiel , a history graduate with a master's degree in contemporary history from the University of Havana, Cuba, didn't get the position he was rumored to win . Perhaps his Cuban background worked against him? We were never able to find out.

The truth is that the National Secretariat of Culture, headed by Leonardo Cifeli, and the National Museum Directorate , headed by María Paula Zingoni, have already welcomed Federico Ezequiel Fischbarg, who has a wealth of experience in the Masonic field, as well as in advising on national and international exhibitions , and in defending human rights organizations, as we have been able to gather from what has been published on their social networks.

In his most recent experience and until his acceptance of the new public office , he was responsible for the Archive of the Grand Lodge of Argentina of Free and Accepted Masons (remember that the Liberator José de San Martín was a Mason) and advised on the renovation of the Masonic Museum belonging to that Lodge.

He also held responsibilities in the institutional plan for the development of the Armenian Museum , at the request of the Armenian Genocide Memorial Foundation. His career led him to participate in the design of the Mama Antula exhibition and the Holy House of Retreats of the Daughters of the Divine Savior.

As far as we can determine, Fischbarg was also the National Director of Museums under former Culture Secretary Pablo Avelluto between 2017 and 2019; he also advised the municipality of Lomas de Zamora until 2014 , during the reign of Martín Insaurralde, now accused of illicit enrichment and money laundering.

Having worked on the development of several exhibition projects in both the public and private sectors, in recent years he has specialized in the registration and documentation of cultural assets and the development of comprehensive plans for cultural heritage management.

His professional record indicates that he also worked for the City Government at some point during its vast history. His work also led him to sign collaborations with various national museums, such as the National Historical Museum, and with museums abroad.

On his social media, meanwhile, the new official has made public in recent years his support for the legal abortion law, the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, and the LGBTQ+ community , which marks a surprising advance by the national government in terms of acceptance of minorities, at least in the area of ​​culture, which, objectively, should contain diversity.

Last Thursday, in a marathon session, the Senate overturned decree 345/25 issued by President Javier Milei , whose mentor was the Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger.

Milei's decree, published in May of this year (remarkable speed on the part of the Senate in deactivating it!), essentially defined the conversion of several agencies into "organizational units," which had operated independently of the National Secretariat of Culture.

Firstly, the law that was deactivated established the merger of the Yrigoyenian National Institute , created by Law 26,040, and the Juan Manuel de Rosa National Institute of Historical Research , which came into force by Law 25,529, into a single "organizational unit dedicated to the research, promotion and dissemination of outstanding historical figures and national heroes."

The National Theatre Institute, another organizational unit, was also pruned . An "ad honorem Advisory Council" was created, composed of a representative of the theatre industry from each of Argentina's cultural regions, which will provide non-binding advice.

In the same rule rejected by the Senate last week, the National Commission for the Protection of Popular Libraries lost its autonomy , becoming another unit of the Ministry of Culture, creating "the Representative Board of Popular Libraries, whose members will act on an honorary basis advising the National Protective Commission" to channel requests from the country's libraries."

Another body that lost its independence due to the presidential decree was the National Commission of Monuments, Sites, and Historic Properties , which became a sort of annex of the Ministry of Culture. Last week, as we reported in Clarín , it completed its Advisory Council. In all cases, this change was due exclusively to economic reasons , as it allowed the management of resources to be concentrated in the Ministry of Culture of the Nation.

With the rejection of Decree 345/25 by both Houses of Congress consolidated, it remains to be seen whether the Executive Branch will insist on its legitimization through the courts , given that the measures provided for in the law have already been implemented or are in the process of being implemented.

As often happens in Argentina, when politics fails to find consensus and offer solutions to the issues that pertain to its sphere, the 345/25 ruling could end up in the funnel that leads to the Supreme Court of Justice . Unless the government dismisses it and goes back to square one.