Vilma Ibarra

Who is Vilma Ibarra?

Vilma Lidia Ibarra is an Argentine politician, formerly Senator for Buenos Aires and now a National Deputy. She is the sister of Aníbal Ibarra, the former Chief of the Buenos Aires government.

Ibarra was born in Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires Province and moved to the city of Buenos Aires in 1966. She studied at the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires where she led the communist youth wing. She graduated in law at the University of Buenos Aires and worked as a lawyer.

In 1996, Ibarra became a national deputy and Secretary of the FrePaSo block in the Chamber. In 1999 she was elected to the Senate. In 2000 she became a city councillor in Buenos Aires, taking a leading role in her brother's administration. In 2001 she was re-elected to the Senate. Since 2003 she has been a supporter of Peronist President Néstor Kirchner. In August 2004, Ibarra proposed legislation to legalise abortion in certain circumstances. In 2007 she suggested legislative changes to permit same sex marriage.

In 2007, Ibarra stepped down from the Senate and was re-elected as a national deputy for Buenos Aires, second on the list of Kirchner's Front for Victory. She sits in the Popular and Social Encounter block.