Corruption, our daily bread

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ike a song without an end, a succession of corruption scandals plays out daily across Argentina’s media with the casualness of just another item on the agenda. That relentlessness, combined with suspicion of a certain political-media bias in which “the corrupt one is always the other guy,” lands society with barely a trace of surprise or indignation – a society more focused on getting through its daily grind, which is hard enough as it is.

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 – the ex-wife of Martín Insaurralde – showing bags of dollars stashed in wardrobes and drawers at the home they once shared.

These two cases have more differences than similarities. Let us dwell on the similarities: both enjoy enviable political protection – and, of course, judicial protection too.

Using the excuse that forensic asset assessments are not yet complete, Federal Judge Luis Armella has not even summoned Insaurralde to testify – it is almost three years since the case was opened following the former Buenos Aires Province government official’s yacht trip along the Mediterranean with another model, Sofía Clerici. Three years.

The Adorni case has been with Ariel Lijo’s federal courtroom for a little over three months. With the investigation delegated to prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita, it appeared to be moving with unusual speed – 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.

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. 

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’s people) is leading that push and Lijo is looking to benefit.

Meanwhile, in Congress, with the help of its allies in PRO and the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR), the ruling coalition managed to kick the opposition’s offensive – the attempt to question and remove Adorni – 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.

Not only in the Adorni case, but also in the proceedings opened over the ‘$LIBRA’ 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.

Then there’s former La Libertad Avanaza lawmaker José Luis Espert, who has only now been summoned to give a statement over contributions made to him by self-confessed money-launderer Alfredo ‘Fred’ Machado. Former president Alberto Fernández too and the reframing of his role in the Seguros case – which will have to be resolved by... Lijo. And what about the irregularities at the Argentine Football Association (AFA)?

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, Dirección General Impositiva (DGI) tax inspectors and businessmen. On that note: could a member of the Criminal Cassation Chamber be splashed by the Rosario mud?

To complete the picture, there is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner – currently serving a graft sentence under house arrest at her home – who is standing trial over the ‘Cuadernos’ 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.

An unrelenting cascade of horror scenes in a film that no longer frightens anyone, that sharpen society’s disillusionment with democratic representation. Take heed.