Buenos Aires, April 1 (NA) — The Higher Council of the University of Buenos Aires on Wednesday awarded the Honorary Doctorate degree to former national deputy and cooperative movement leader Carlos Heller, in recognition of his role as a historical leader of Argentine cooperative banking and his outstanding political and social career. The 85-year-old economist received the highest distinction granted by the UBA, as part of a ceremony held in the Main Hall of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, which was attended by the university's vice-rector, Emiliano Yacobitti; the faculty's academic secretary, Natalia Guidolin; and professor Daniel Nieto. Among other figures who accompanied the honoree were national deputies Germán Martínez, Sergio Palazzo, Cecilia Moreau, Guillermo Michel, Victoria Tolosa Paz, Kelly Olmos, Luis Basterra, Hugo Yasky, María Graciela Parola, and Jorge Chica. Also present were Ariel Guarco, president of the International Cooperative Alliance; the Board of Directors, the Administrative Council, leaders of Associate Commissions, officials, and employees of Banco Credicoop; Julián Moreno, president of the Assembly of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (APYME); Alejandro González Escudero, president of the Economy and Society Foundation; sociologist and political scientist Atilio Borón; and communicators Eduardo Aliverti, Jorge Fontevecchia, Claudio Martínez, Ulises Gorini, Pablo Caruso, Mariano Hamilton, Luis Pablo Giniger, and David Zanazzi. Heller has 62 years of experience in non-state public management in his curriculum and has been President of the Cooperative Limited Bank Credicoop since 2005, having been its General Manager since its founding in 1979. He also presides over the Solidarity Party, created in 2009 from the experience accumulated in the cooperative movement over decades. Heller was first elected national deputy in 2009 and re-elected in 2013, serving until the end of 2017. He returned to the Chamber of Deputies from 2019 to 2025, chairing the Budget and Finance Commission in the first four years (coinciding with the government of the Front for All) and the Finance Commission in the last two years. Along with a group of legislators, he promoted Law 27.605 in 2020 on the 'Solidary and Extraordinary Contribution to Large Fortunes,' aimed at mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he was vice president of the Boca Juniors football club between 1985 and 1995.
