[1] Cafiero held a number of important posts throughout his career, including, most notably, the governorship of Buenos Aires Province from 1987 to 1991, the Cabinet Chief's Office under interim president Eduardo Camaño from 2001 to 2002, and a seat in the Senate of the Nation from 1993 to 2005.

Cafiero became a militant Peronist from the 17 October 1945 mass demonstrations in support of populist leader Juan Perón, and entered public service in 1952 as Minister of Foreign Trade in the latter's administration, serving until 1954.

He grappled with the aftermath of the June 1975 Rodrigazo (economic shock treatment enacted by a predecessor) with no success, and he was dismissed in February 1976, serving briefly as Ambassador to the Holy See until the March 1976 coup.

The group, known as Renovación Peronista (Peronist Renewal), was defeated in the party's September 1983 nominating convention, however, by more conservative figures supported by Lorenzo Miguel of the Steelworkers' Union.

He failed to regain the support of the CGT, or to sway delegates from the smaller provinces, and lost to less well-known Carlos Menem, who subsequently won the 1989 general election.

The aging lawmaker, who had severe hearing loss by then, took leave to act as Cabinet Chief during the transitional presidency of Eduardo Camaño (2001–02), returning to the Senate and retiring in 2005.

President Isabel Perón and her cabinet had signed decrees on October 6, 1975, ordering "military and security operations that may be needed to annihilate subversive elements throughout the territory of the country" (see Dirty War for historical context).