He became an academic in the field of topography and was named a member of the Provincial Agronomists Council, later heading the Bureau of Surveyors of Catamarca Province and of its capital.

Brizuela was elected Mayor of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca in 1991.

[3] He subsequently received the endorsement of Jorge Sobisch's conservative Movement of the United Provinces, in his own, successful re-election bid for governor.

Following his re-election, Brizuela (and most K Radicals) broke with Kirchnerism as a result of the 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector.

Brizuela ran for a third term as governor in the 2011 elections, being defeated by Senator Lucía Corpacci of the Kirchnerist Front for Victory by 83,711 votes over 76,627.