In a radio interview from Ezeiza prison, his current residence, former vice-president Amado Boudou has once again reiterated his claim that he is a victim of political persecution, making a host of allegations against former president Mauricio Macri.
The former economy minister also dipped into current issues, criticising an ongoing four-day strike by the farming sector against an increase in duties.
Returning to a common theme for ex-Kirchnerite officials who have been accused of corruption, Boudou renewed talk of alleged 'lawfare' (the misuse of legal systems and principles against an enemy), saying he was a victim of a campaign of political persecution carried out by Marci's previous government.
"I would say that the procedural situation is horrible, because we – I say we because not only I but also other prisoners who live with me and especially I like to put Cristina Fernández de Kirchner first – have been subject to what is now called 'lawfare' for years," Boudou lamented in an interview with the Caími A Las 6 show broadcast on AM750 radio.
He said that the Cambiemos leader had persecuted former Kirchnerite officials to cover up illegal activities, alleging that he Macri administration had been the "most corrupt" in the history of Argentina.
"Macri's government was the most corrupt in history," he charged. "They covered it all up with the persecution of Cristina and many people who work for her and who are militant about this political project," he indicated.
In this sense, the former vice-president argued, "a political project, a way of thinking in Argentina, has been persecuted, and the head of the persecuted has been Cristina."
Boudou, who was vice-president to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, was convicted in 2018 of passive bribery charges and "negotiations incompatible with the public function," after it was proven in court that he used shell companies and secret middlemen to gain control of 70 percent of the Ciccone Calcográfica publishing house. The company held contracts to print Argentine currency as well as material for former president Fernández de Kirchner's election campaign. He was sentenced more than five years in jail.
Agro criticism
The former economy minister also criticised the show of force called by the agricultural producers, who are unhappy at a rise in duties on soybeans and their derivatives.
"It's a shame," he said. "This began in 2008, where it was seen to hit a popular government,” he added, referencing to unrest in the farming sector during the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner government.
“The president cannot be subject to these political and ideological pressures," he declared.
"It makes me very sad when they say 'the campo', because this has to do with only one sector: the soybean sector.”
“Those who produce oilseeds or other crops are not concerned with this issue, just as those who raise livestock have managed to defend something bucolic. This has more to do with another Wall Street and agricultural activity. They are the planting pools, markets of the future.”
He concluded: "In an agro-exporting country it is absurd and unsustainable to not have retenciones."
- TIMES/PERFIL
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