Tierra del Fuego senator Matías Rodríguez, a member of the ruling Frente de Todos, was found dead at his home in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the country. The exact circumstances of his death remain under investigation, with authorities considering suicide among the preliminary hypotheses.
Argentina’s vice president, Cristina Fernández, expressed sorrow on social media about the loss of the 41-year-old Peronist politician, offering condolences to his children and loved ones and invoking prayers for his repose. The message reflected a public figure grieving alongside many who knew Rodríguez personally and professionally.
Rodríguez had been a prominent figure within La Cámpora, a Kirchnerist youth organization aligned with former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In 2015 he was elected to the national Congress as a member of what was then Frente para la Victoria, a precursor to the current Frente de Todos, and in 2019 he secured a seat as a senator within the governing coalition. His career thus traced a path through both regional leadership and national legislative responsibilities, tied to the broader Kirchnerist movement within Peronism.
Opposition figures offered their reactions as the news spread. Pablo Blanco, a southern state senator from the Radical Civil Union, wrote on social media that party differences should be set aside in the face of a person’s death, describing Rodríguez as a kind and impulsive man who brought warmth beyond politics and expressing that he would be missed.
The day before his death, Rodríguez had used his X profile to voice support for the official candidate in the presidential race and to share a statement from the Minister of Economy regarding the Malvinas Islands. He affirmed that the Malvinas would remain Argentine and conveyed a firm stance on the region and Antarctica within the framework of the broader national project, highlighting regional ties to Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and the South Atlantic Islands.