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ARGENTINA | 10-08-2023 19:02

Presidential hopefuls disclose assets to authorities ahead of PASO primaries

Presidential hopefuls file sworn statements breaking down their assets before the Anti-Corruption Office. We have we learnt?

Tomorrow’s PASO primaries will not only settle the race between Buenos Aires City Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and PRO leader Patricia Bullrich for Juntos por el Cambio and Economy Minister Sergio Massa and social leader Juan Grabois for Unión por la Patria, but also the other candidates who, as suc,, must file a sworn statement to the Anti-Corruption Office by late September.

Nevertheless, most of them are already in public office, and thus every year they update their assets. The following is a review of the fortunes of the main presidential contenders.

At the close of 2022, Sergio Massa declared less assets than his wife Malena Galmarini, head of AySA waterworks company, and virtually no savings in dollars, as claimed in his sworn statement: 19,380,990.32 pesos (US$109,127.19 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022), nine million pesos more than his assets last year, whereas Galmarini, Tigre mayoral hopeful, declared the amount of 21,873,605.44 pesos (US$123,162.18 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022).

The presidential candidate's assets result from two dwellings in Tigre, purchased on July 1, 1999. One of them is 480 square metres and the other 525 square metres. At the start of the period they were worth 4,607,780.44 pesos (US$42,704.17 at the official exchange rate on 1/03/2022) and 2,826,526.55 pesos (US$ 26,195.79 at the official exchange rate on 1/03/2022) respectively, whereas at the close, i.e. the end of last year, those values had risen to 6,738,221.54 pesos (US$37,940.43 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/22) and 4,133,391.85 pesos (21,273.60 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/22).

It is worth mentioning that the official appraisal of a property bears no resemblance to the actual value of a property, and thus they are not the market value.

Another striking fact is that Massa owns 100 percent of those dwellings, as he does the entirety of a Volkswagen Tiguan SUV, purchased in 2011. The declared value both at the start and close of the period was 1,278,100.00 pesos (US$ 7,196.5 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022). This means he shares no assets with the mother of his children.

In addition to his tangible assets, all his money is in pesos and within this country: he has two savings accounts in local currency, one in dollars and one current account. The first savings account at the close of the period had 1,017,331.10 pesos, as well as 495.46 pesos in his current account, and US$43.56 and 51 pesos in his remaining savings account. The total amounts to 1,017,877.60 pesos (US$5,731.29 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022), in addition to 1.2 million pesos of his own cash (US$6,756.75 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022).

Galmarini, in turn, declared a 33.13-square metre flat in San Isidro, which she purchased in 1990, for 597,244.39 pesos. She also owns a Renegade jeep she bought at the end of 2022, for 5.6 million pesos (US$31,531.53 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022).

As for her savings, the minister’s wife disclosed a savings account with 7,074,443.87 pesos, a current account with 2,234.60 pesos and 20,000 pesos in cash (US$39,958.71 in all, at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022). At the close of the period, in the segments “shares, stakeholdings not quoted in this country”, she claimed she held 25 percent of BV Sports S.R.L, for a mere 25,000 pesos, and 39,615.30 pesos worth of arrears with the AFIP Tax Bureau.

The last sworn statement of Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, in his capacity as City mayor, dates back to June 30, 2022. The biggest surprise is a 200-square-metre flat in the City of Buenos Aires he purchased in 2010 with his own funds, for 2,426,580 pesos. He claims it was worth 2,547,047 pesos last year (US$20,343.82 at the official exchange rate on 30/06/2022), a five percent increase in pesos over 12 years.

Rodríguez Larreta earns nearly 850,000 pesos as a mayor, and in a recent television interview he claimed it accounts for 40 percent of his monthly cash flow. The remaining 60 percent comes from a family-run company, Los Arcángeles, where he made around 1,275,000 pesos. He lives in a flat he rents in Palermo for a monthly rent of US$3,500 (889,000 pesos at the official exchange rate on 26/06/23, the day of the interview).

The Juntos por el Cambio presidential hopeful declared total assets, between properties, inherited land, money kept in bank accounts and shares in family-run companies of around 130 million pesos.

He has 1,566,540 in cash, with deposits to the amount of 2,667,923 pesos (US$33,821.58 at the official exchange rate on 30/06/2022), and a large portion of his assets and investments were with his former ex-wife Barbara Diez.

As for properties, Rodríguez Larreta said he had three flats: one in Béccar, San Isidro, purchased in 2018, of 297 m².; another one in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, of 200 square metres and purchased in 2010; and the third one purchased in 2018 in Pilar, co-owned with Diez. In San Isidro he also owns a 24-square-metre garage “for rent”, purchased in 2018.

He further claimed three plots of land: one of eight hectares in Pilar, inherited in 1982; another one in Benavídez of 887 square metres purchased with a loan in 2014, co-owned with Diez and a third one in Villa La Angostura, Neuquén, inherited in 1961. The latter has 2,563 square metres. In Benavídez he also has a house he bought in 2012, of 885 square metres.

He also declared two vehicles: a Honda CVR EXL purchased in 2011 with Barbara Diez, with whom he also co-owns a Volkswagen Bora TDI 2011.

His finances are diverse: he has 1,310,240 pesos and US$2,500 in cash (bought at a 102-peso exchange rate). He also declared six savings accounts and other accounts (two in dollars): the total amounts of bank deposits were 1,161,799 pesos and US$14,690 (bought at a 102-peso exchange rate). He also claimed he had an Investment Fund with his ex-wife, purchased at 568,837 pesos, with a current value (as of June, 2022) of 644,023 pesos.

Rodríguez Larreta also declared shares in six companies, two of them in the “services” category with Bárbara Diez, and the four remaining ones in the farming sector, from his family, where the largest percentage of his declared fortune lies.

In the section “other income”, he disclosed 10,573,434 pesos, in the form of independent family income with Diez, Dividends, “book royalties”, rent and “family dependent”, together with the sale of assets. He has credits owed to him to the amount of 186,017 pesos.

Libertarian hopeful Javier Milei ought to file his sworn statement as a Congress deputy Legislature, but he has yet to do so for 2022. At any rate, since there is no primary in his bloc, he will run out of excuses by September and will have to file.

However, as of the close of 2021 he declared assets to the amount of 12,850,000 pesos (US$ 125,121.70 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2021), that is, his assets and deposits between 2020 and 2021 had increased by 7,350,000 pesos.

“The establishment does not allow any adjustment for inflation and assets are at their initial value. This is an embarrassing distortion”, the economist then complained.

Milei had also claimed to be the owner of a 100-square-metre flat in the City of Buenos Aires, appraised at 3,980,220 pesos (US$ 38,755.79 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022).

He also notified a 2013 Hilux to which he attached a value of “0 pesos”; a 2015 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 411, 2,705,700 pesos (US$ 26,345.60 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022); and a 2015 Peugeot RC coupé, 2,411,900 pesos (US$23.484,90 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022). However, in 2020 he attached “0 pesos” to the Sprinter.

On the other hand, he claimed to hold a savings account with 275,239 pesos (US$ 2,680 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2021), US$2,050,400 and 970,000 pesos in other deposits (US$9,444.98 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2021). In the section “Household Goods” he wrote 251,805 pesos.

One of the few things in common among PRO leader Patricia Bullrich, former Trade secretary Guillermo Moreno and social leader Juan Grabois is that they are not in public office, and thus they are not obliged to file their sworn statements. Bullrich’s circle told PERFIL that if she wins the PASO primaries, she will disclose her assets.

Myriam Bregman, presidential hopeful for Frente de Izquierda-Unidad, filed her statement for 2022 days ago. The lawyer who has been involved in many human rights cases only declared she owned 25 percent of a 40-square-metre flat in the City of Buenos Aires doubling as an office.

She has investments in two fixed-term deposits in pesos, one for 136,000 and the other one 22,000. In the meantime, she declared seven savings accounts in pesos and dollars: 685,641.47 pesos and US$13,500 in all. As for her asset development, the current national deputy had assets, deposits and cash to the amount of 232,558.56 at the start of the period (US$ 2,155.31 at the official exchange rate on 1/03/2022), whereas at the end of the year that figure was 887,739.28 (US$ 4,998.53 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022).

In the category "income from work and rent net of expenses”, she declared 4,198,383 pesos (US$23,639.54 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022). “The difference between the declared value and what she actually collected was donated to different workers, strike funds, etc”, sources claimed.

Solano, who will take on Bregman in the FIT primary, stated he owned 50 percent of a house he bought in 2017 for 520,000 pesos, today valued at 1,853,075 pesos (US$ 10,433 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2022). In addition, a savings account with 75,000 pesos and another payroll account with 10,876.66. He also claimed he had some 100,000 pesos in cash.

He also signed and submitted the documentation to this publication attesting to his donation to the Partido Obrero of any amount in excess of 115,000 pesos, that is, he then kept a third of his salary. That number is adjusted for inflation and he currently keeps 330,000 pesos, but the rest is donated.

Lastly, outgoing Córdoba governor Juan Schiaretti, disclosed his last sworn statement posted on the province’s website dates all the way back to December, 2019. There have been no public updates ever since.

He declared he owned 50 percent of a house estimated to be worth US$250,000 (14,950,000 pesos at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2019) and half of a flat in the City of Buenos Aires, appraised at US$75,000 (4,485,000 at the official exchange rate on 31/12/2019). He also claimed he owned 50 percent of two vehicles: a 2019 Renegade jeep estimated at 700,000 pesos and a 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan, estimated at 350,000 pesos.

At the time he had 110,000 pesos and US$23,000 dólares in cash, and deposits for 259,725 pesos and US$400. He declared two “financial investments in foreign currency, private pension or retirement insurance”: one for US$ 108.635 and another for US$ 24,151. His breakdown of marital assets included 205,000 pesos in cash and deposits for 10,000 euros and US$11,000.

His monthly salary was 146,000 pesos as of late 2019.

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Julian D'Imperio

Julian D'Imperio

Redactor Especial de Política de PERFIL. Mail: [email protected]

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