María Emilia Soria

María Emilia Soria
Mayor of General Roca
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 December 2019
Preceded by	Martín Soria
National Deputy
In office 10 December 2013 – 10 December 2019
Constituency	Río Negro
Personal details
Born	(1985-07-20) 20 July 1985 (age 39) General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina
Political party	Justicialist Party
Other political affiliations	Front for Victory (2013–2017) Frente de Todos (2019–present)
Alma mater	Argentine Catholic University

María Emilia Soria (born 20 July 1985) is an Argentine lawyer and politician, currently serving as intendenta (mayor) of General Roca, Río Negro. She belongs to the Justicialist Party.

Soria previously served as a National Deputy elected in Río Negro Province from 2013 to 2019. She is the daughter of former Río Negro governor Carlos Soria, and sister of former General Roca mayor Martín Soria.

Early life and education

Soria was born on 20 July 1985 in General Roca, Río Negro, only daughter of Carlos Ernesto Soria and Susana Freydoz. She has three brothers: Martín, Germán, and Carlos.^[1] María Emilia studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA), graduating in 2010. Before entering politics, she worked at a private law firm in General Roca and at the Alto Valle state attorney's office.^[2]

Political career

Soria ran for one of Río Negro's seats in the National Chamber of Deputies in the 2013 legislative election, as the first candidate in the Front for Victory list.^[3] With 50.76% of the vote, the FPV was the most voted list in the province, and Soria was easily elected. During her first term as deputy, she formed part of the parliamentary commissions on Justice, Agriculture and Livestock, Family and Women, Freedom of Expression, and Natural Resources.^[2]

She was re-elected for a second term in 2017, again as the first candidate in the FPV list, which received 49.36% of the vote.^[4][5] In October 2017, she voted in favour of stripping Julio De Vido of his parliamentary immunity, going against most of the FPV bloc.^[6] She also voted against the Mauricio Macri administration's 2017 pension reform.^[7] Soria was a supporter of the legalisation of abortion, voting in favour of the 2018 Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy Bill.

In 2019, she ran for the mayoralty of General Roca, and won with 56.12% of the vote. She is the city's first female mayor.^[8] She succeeded her brother, Martín, who had served as mayor since 2011. María Emilia and Martín's father, Carlos Soria, had served as mayor from 2003 to 2011.^[9][10] Her vacant seat in the Chamber of Deputies was filled by Ayelén Spósito.^[11]

Personal life

Soria is married and has two children.^[2] In 2012, she rose to prominence during the trial of her mother for her father's murder, a case which drew national attention.^[1][12][13]

References

1. Roitberg, Gastón (31 October 2012). "Martín Soria: "No sé si alguna vez podré perdonar a mi madre"". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
2. "María Emilia Soria". Directorio Legislativo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
3. "Elecciones Octubre: María Emilia Soria por el Frente para la Victoria". Antena Libre (in Spanish). 1 October 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
4. "Resultados de las elecciones 2017, provincia por provincia". Clarín (in Spanish). 23 October 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
5. "Río Negro: María Emilia Soria renovó su banca por el FpV". Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). 22 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
6. "María Emilia Soria: "Lo de De Vido fue una puesta en escena del Gobierno"". Agencia Paco Urondo (in Spanish). 26 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
7. ""Los gobernadores son prostitutas de Macri"". Página 12 (in Spanish). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
8. "María Emilia Soria es la nueva intendenta de Roca". Diario Río Negro (in Spanish). 23 June 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
9. "Quién es Martín Soria, el nuevo ministro de Justicia". Página/12 (in Spanish). 15 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
10. Cannataro, Micaela (16 March 2021). "Conocé a Martín Soria, el sustituto de Marcela Losardo y nuevo ministro de Justicia". AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 March 2021.
11. "Juraron nuevos diputados: quiénes son y a quiénes reemplazan". La Voz (in Spanish). 19 December 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
12. "A diez años del asesinato del gobernador Carlos Soria: cuál es la situación de Susana Freydoz". Infobae (in Spanish). 1 January 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
13. "María Emilia Soria: quién es la diputada K que votó a favor del desafuero de Julio De Vido". Clarín (in Spanish). 25 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2022.

External links

• María Emilia Soria on Twitter

Political offices
Preceded by Martín Soria	Mayor of General Roca 2019–present	Succeeded by Incumbent