Mario Bergara (politician)

Mario Esteban Bergara Duque (born 4 May 1965) is a Uruguayan economist, public accountant, professor, and politician of the Broad Front. He served as President of the Central Bank of Uruguay from 2008 to 2013 and from 2015 to 2018.

Bergara also served as Minister of Economy and Finance (2013-2015) and as Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance (2005-2008). Since 15 February 2020, he has served as Senator of the Republic for the 49th Legislature of the Chamber of Senators.

Early life
Bergara, along with his twin brother, was born on 4 May 1965 in Montevideo to a family of Spanish descent. His parents were members of the Colorado Party. He attended primary school at Escuela N° 137 María Noya and secondary school at Liceo Nº 26 Líber Falco. Bergara attended the University of the Republic for his undergraduate studies, graduating as an economist and public accountant in 1987 and 1990. In 1998, he obtained his doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley after completing his master's degree in economics a year earlier, also at Berkeley. In 2008, Bergara was awarded the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award from Berkeley.

Bergara started to revolt against the civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay as early as sixteen years old, starting off by collecting signatures and distributing flyers. In 1983, Bergara joined the Communist Youth Union.

Political career
Bergara has worked at the Banco de la República and at the Banco Central. He was head of the Department of Economic Studies of the Central Bank from 2001 to 2005. He was also the director of the Communications Services Regulatory Unit.

Although originally a member of the Communist Party, Bergara eventually aligned himself with the Broad Front after his departure from the Communist Party in 1989 and upon returning from his graduate studies in the U.S. Upon his return, he frequently collaborated with Líber Seregni, one of the founding members of the Broad Front, especially during Seregni's later years. After the electoral victory of Tabaré Vázquez in the 2004 general election, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, accompanying Minister Danilo Astori.

He resigned from his position in the ministry at the same time that Astori did. On 11 November 2008, he assumed the role of President of the Central Bank of Uruguay, a position he held until 26 December 2013. At that moment, he was appointed Minister of Economy and Finance, replacing Fernando Lorenzo. He returned to the post of president of the Central Bank in April 2015.

Electoral participation
In 2019, Bergara was a candidate in the Broad Front primary election. However, he was defeated by Daniel Martínez, who represented the party in the general election the same year. After the primary result of the elections, Bergara obtained a total vote count of 23,688, corresponding to 9.28% of the total votes received by the Broad Front.

In the 2019 general election, he was elected Senator of the Republic for the 49th Legislature. He was appointed on 15 February 2020.

Personal life
Bergara was married to journalist and anchorperson Blanca Rodríguez. He had a son, Diego, who passed away in 2013 from an undisclosed illness.