Argentina: Rise in allegations of corruption against public officials

By Marcela Valente - IPS

Republished permission Inter Press Service (IPS ) copyright Inter Press Service (IPS)
http://www.ipsnewsasia.net/ and http://www.ipsnews.net/

BUENOS AIRES - While the popularity of the Argentine government of President Cristina Fernández is waning, allegations of corruption against public officials have mushroomed.

A public opinion poll conducted this month by the private consultancy firm Management & Fit found that 71.4 percent of respondents were "dissatisfied with the performance" of the Fernández administration, which is nearing the end of its second year. And according to a survey by Poliarquía Consultores, 53 percent of respondents view Fernández in a negative light, 12 points up from February, while only 23 percent hold a positive image of the president.

Against this backdrop of diminishing popularity, corruption allegations against government officials have escalated and prosecutions brought during the administration of Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), Fernández’s husband and predecessor, have picked up speed.

One of the most sensitive issues under investigation is the significant growth in the wealth of Fernández and Kirchner, even as the president claims that few personal financial disclosure statements are more transparent than hers.

The couple declared this year that they are worth some 12.8 million dollars - a 158 percent increase from last year and a 572 percent rise from 2003, when Kirchner took office.

Two judges had initiated proceedings to investigate the couple’s asset growth, but quickly dropped them. Now it appears that a third judge, Norberto Oyarbide, will be resuming the investigation.

"It’s not unusual for this to happen," said Garrido, a former administrative investigations prosecutor who resigned in 2008 because he considered the State enjoyed "almost complete impunity" in corruption-related crimes.

"Legal proceedings against government officials pick up when there’s a change in government. This is because some sectors of the federal justice system are politicised and complainants detect a weakness in the government," Garrido, currently head of the transparency and justice programme of the non-governmental Centre for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC), told IPS.

Fernández's presidency is seen by everyone, including herself, as a continuation of her husband’s, and many Kirchner administration officials have in fact been kept on by his successor.

More than 50 officials and former officials from the two administrations are currently under suspicion for illicit enrichment, irregularities in the awarding of public work contracts, bribes and arbitrary allocation of official advertising, among other charges.

One of the cases opened during the Kirchner administration is an investigation into alleged payment of bribes by the Swedish company Skanska to Planning Ministry officials. Judicial authorities announced this year that they will launch a legal inquiry against Julio De Vido, who continues to head the ministry.

Enrique Albistur, media secretary under both Kirchner and Fernández, is under investigation for allegedly granting official publicity funds to companies owned by his family. Alistur has already been called in for questioning.

Meanwhile, former economy minister Felisa Micelli is expected to go to trial soon. In 2007, the then minister stepped down from her post when the police found a substantial amount of cash in her office, which she failed to account for adequately.

"People are reluctant to report such things because they fear reprisal and feel much safer when the suspect is in a weak position," Garrido said. According to the former prosecutor, this phenomenon is not unique to Argentina. "Judicial systems tend to be weak in the face of strong executive branches, and in Argentina the office of the president is particularly strong, so the courts generally proceed with caution."

For Cecilia Vázquez, a lawyer who heads the litigation division of the non-governmental Centre for the Investigation and Prevention of Economic Crimes (CIPCE), the legal actions brought against former president Carlos Menem (1989-1999) and his associates are a clear example of this.

A number of cases were filed against the Menem administration, but the proceedings only gained momentum after he completed his second term.

One of the most serious charges - his alleged involvement in illegal sales of weapons to Croatia and Ecuador in the 1990s when the two countries were engaged in wars - landed him briefly under house arrest.

He also faced legal action in connection with many other irregularities, including malicious omission of assets, falsification of public documents, fraud against the State, and illicit enrichment.

One of these cases implicated a former high-profile cabinet member of the Menem administration, María Julia Alsogaray, who served first as government-appointed administrator in public companies privatised through controversial tenders, and later as environment secretary.

Alsogaray spent almost two years behind bars on charges of embezzlement and mismanagement of government funds. At present, she is still facing trial and one of her most valuable assets - her home - will be auctioned off to pay the damages. "This will be the first case in which assets are seized" to recover money obtained through corruption, Vázquez told IPS.

CIPCE pushed for the court to rule for the recovery of ill-gotten assets in Alsogaray’s case. The NGO requested that the proceeds from the sale of her house go to a specialised children’s hospital, but, as there is no precedent, the courts have not yet determined what the funds will be used for.

"When government officials step down, proceedings move forward," Vázquez said. He underlined the importance of the creation of an Anti Corruption Office and the implementation of the provisions of a number of international anti-corruption conventions, such as the Organisation of American States (OAS) 1996 Inter-American Convention against Corruption (IACAC).

Changes are achieved with these incorporations, even if they are minimal, she said. "While the government is in power, charges that were formerly thrown out of court are admitted, but the process is slow, and no one is summoned for questioning, although investigations are conducted," she said. This is evident in the case of former transport secretary Ricardo Jaime.

Jaime, a Kirchner administration official, remained in his post even though he faced numerous charges for overpricing in tenders and illicit enrichment. This year the investigation against him was stepped up and he was forced to resign when it was found that, among other assets, he owned a private airplane.

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