Jorge Asís

Among his first major books is Los reventados ("The down-and-out"), a novella about sundry characters seeking to make easy money in the context of Juan Perón's return to Argentina in 1973.

The book was dedicated to Haroldo Conti, who was already a "desaparecido" at the time, and included bolder than accepted political statements in the era of the military junta's dictatorship.

After Menem's ten years as president, Asís remained in politics, and became a sought-after commentator in print, radio and TV, where his rich language and his flamboyancy set him apart from the more formal tone of most politicians.

In the 2007 presidential election, Asís ran for vice president sharing a ticket with Jorge Sobisch, a former governor of Neuquén province.

The social realism of his earlier works was seen by some critics as "collaborationism" with the dictatorship, owing to the success of Flores robadas en los jardines de Quilmes during the regime.