EXHIBIT 12.1

SECTION
302 CERTIFICATION

I, Alejandro G. Elsztain, certify
that:



|1. | I have reviewed this annual report on Form
    20-F of Alto Palermo Sociedad Anónima;
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|2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does
    not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state material fact necessary to make the statements made,
    in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period converted by
    this report;
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|3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements,
    and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition,
    results of operations and cash flows of the company as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
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|4. | The company’s other certifying officer
    and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
    13a-15(e) and 15(d)-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f))
    for the company and have:
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| | a) | Designed such disclosure
    controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervisions, to ensure
    that material information relating to the company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
    within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
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| | b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
    caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance
    regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
    with generally accepted accounting principles;
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| | c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the company’s disclosure
    controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
    procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation;
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| | d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the company’s internal
    control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that has materially affected,
    or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the company’s internal control over financial reporting; and
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|5. | The company’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent
    evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the company’s auditors and the audit committee of the company’s
    board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
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| | (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
    design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the company’s
    ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
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| | (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
    or other employees who have a significant role in the company’s internal control over financial reporting.
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|                                    
|------------------------------------
|/s/    ALEJANDRO
        G. ELSZTAIN
|Alejandro G. Elsztain               
|Chief Executive Officer             
|Alto Palermo Sociedad Anonima       
|Dated: December 13, 2011.