L<\/p>\n
ike a song without an end, a succession of corruption scandals plays out daily across Argentina\u2019s media with the casualness of just another item on the agenda. That relentlessness, combined with suspicion of a certain political-media bias in which \u201cthe corrupt one is always the other guy,\u201d lands society with barely a trace of surprise or indignation \u2013 a society more focused on getting through its daily grind, which is hard enough as it is.<\/p>\n
So, while Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni continues to be unable to explain his lies about how his wealth and lifestyle improved during his time in public office, videos are circulating of actor, model and TV presenter Jesica Cirio \u2013 the ex-wife of Mart\u00edn Insaurralde \u2013 showing bags of dollars stashed in wardrobes and drawers at the home they once shared.<\/p>\n
These two cases have more differences than similarities. Let us dwell on the similarities: both enjoy enviable political protection \u2013 and, of course, judicial protection too.<\/p>\n
Using the excuse that forensic asset assessments are not yet complete, Federal Judge Luis Armella has not even summoned Insaurralde to testify \u2013 it is almost three years since the case was opened following the former Buenos Aires Province government official\u2019s yacht trip along the Mediterranean with another model, Sof\u00eda Clerici. Three years.<\/p>\n
The Adorni case has been with Ariel Lijo\u2019s federal courtroom for a little over three months. With the investigation delegated to prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita, it appeared to be moving with unusual speed \u2013 to the point that it was apparently the judge himself who let it be known that the Cabinet chief could be called to give a statement before the July court recess.<\/p>\n
People who walk the corridors of the Comodoro Py federal courthouse are saying that Lijo will deploy his well-known political dexterity to delay that appointment by several months.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So much for trust. The stakes are not small. The government is pressing ahead with judicial appointments that would see it occupy close to 40 percent of posts and is negotiating those nominations with political and judicial insiders. Justice Minister Juan Bautista Mahiques, backed by the Menem cousins (who are Karina Milei\u2019s people) is leading that push and Lijo is looking to benefit.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Congress, with the help of its allies in PRO and the Uni\u00f3n C\u00edvica Radical (UCR), the ruling coalition managed to kick the opposition\u2019s offensive \u2013 the attempt to question and remove Adorni \u2013 into the long grass. Looking towards Comodoro Py, it has activated various mechanisms of persuasion to encourage people to take things a little more slowly.<\/p>\n
Not only in the Adorni case, but also in the proceedings opened over the \u2018$LIBRA\u2019 crypto scam and the ANDIS national disability agency corruption scandal. There are many more recent snapshots of the rot we have managed to accumulate. Raids on the home of Facundo Leal, the former head of the ARSAT state satellite firm and ORSNA airport regulator, discovered US$2.5 million, drugs and surveillance equipment.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s former La Libertad Avanaza lawmaker Jos\u00e9 Luis Espert, who has only now been summoned to give a statement over contributions made to him by self-confessed money-launderer Alfredo \u2018Fred\u2019 Machado. Former president Alberto Fern\u00e1ndez too and the reframing of his role in the Seguros case \u2013 which will have to be resolved by… Lijo. And what about the irregularities at the Argentine Football Association (AFA)?<\/p>\n
A certain Buenos Aires-centrism seems to be keeping us at a distance from the trial in Paraguay involving former senator Edgardo Kueider. Or from the cases in Rosario involving drug-traffickers, judges, prosecutors, Direcci\u00f3n General Impositiva (DGI) tax inspectors and businessmen. On that note: could a member of the Criminal Cassation Chamber be splashed by the Rosario mud?<\/p>\n
To complete the picture, there is Cristina Fern\u00e1ndez de Kirchner \u2013 currently serving a graft sentence under house arrest at her home \u2013 who is standing trial over the \u2018Cuadernos\u2019 corruption notebooks probe, alongside other former officials and businessmen, and awaiting two further proceedings. Or the fourth conviction handed down to former Federal Planning minister Julio de Vido.<\/p>\n
An unrelenting cascade of horror scenes in a film that no longer frightens anyone, that sharpen society\u2019s disillusionment with democratic representation. Take heed.<\/p>\n
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