"Directing the will of the voters": Argentina's Macri ordered to halt vote buying scheme

[sandensea]

Argentine Federal Prosecutor Jorge di Lello ordered the suspension of a special unemployment bonus granted by the nation's Ministry of Production and Labor on grounds that it was meant to "direct the will of the voters" ahead of national elections on October 27.

Amid the deepest economic crisis in two decades, President Mauricio Macri is running for re-election but trailing his center-left challenger, Alberto Fernández, by around 20 points in most polls.

The 650 million-peso ($10.7 million) earmark, which would grant 114,000 unemployed adults a one-time bonus of 5,000 pesos ($83), was not authorized by Congress - but was instead created by Resolution 1177 issued by Labor Secretary Fernando Prémoli on October 2.

The bonus is equivalent to the minimum monthly cost of food for an Argentine adult.

Ámbito Financiero, a leading business daily which had first published reports on the scheme on September 23, reported that some 80,000 bonuses have already been distributed - half of them in Buenos Aires Province, where Governor María Vidal (a close Macri ally) is likewise trailing her opponent by around 20 points.

Evidence of the scheme first emerged on October 2 with the publication of audio in which the mayor of the Buenos Aires suburb of Pilar, Nicolás Ducoté, and his staff are heard discussing its potential impact in the polls.

"A same family can access the different program lines?" - asks one of those present.

"Yes," Ducoté's chief of staff, Juan Pablo Martignone, answers.

"Is it worth it?" a precinct captain asks.

"If you have 25 people in the family who vote, yes."

Ducoté, 49, belongs to Macri's right-wing PRO, and had been considered a rising star in party politics. The scheme was halted at the county level by Federal Judge María Servini de Cubría on October 8.

Today's order by di Lello was followed by a complaint filed today by the chief counsel for the opposition Justicialist Party (PJ), Jorge Landau, denouncing Macri for allegedly offering precinct captains belonging to Macri's "Let's Change" coalition bonuses of 5,000 pesos ($83) - plus another 5,000 pesos should his coalition win that precinct.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ambito.com%2Fclientelismo-m-la-mitad-los-subsidios-irregulares-fue-buenos-aires-n5059885

Macri, Buenos Aires Province Governor María Vidal, and Pilar Mayor Nicolás Ducoté.

Evidence of the vote-buying scheme first emerged on October 2 through audio recordings of Ducoté and his staff discussing the bonuses and its potential electoral impact.

Local political observers believe Macri, through these one-time bonuses, sought to salvage as many local elected officials from his right-wing "Let's Change" coalition as possible for the 2021 mid-terms.

Amid a severe economic crisis, ruling party mayors and governors - including Vidal and Ducoté - have been distancing themselves from the deeply unpopular Macri.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Wouldn't it seem appropriate to do more than suspend the bonuses?

What about those responsible for the attempt to bribe, in the first place?

Absolutely love the expressions on the faces of Macri and María Vidal, particularly Macri's.

His ugly mask is slipping to reveal an even uglier mask.

What delightful news regarding María Vidal, too! How nice her alliance with Macri has been dragging her down.

Looking forward with hope, to more good news from Argentina continually until well past October 27th.

(I could swear I read somewhere Macri and his family have another home in Sardinia. Am I dreaming, or have you heard anything about an Italian house or compound for Macris, sandensea?)

Someone should commission a painter to make a huge portrait duplicating the above Macri photograph to hang at the Casa Rosada in a prominent place.

[sandensea]

2. Just one more, in the dozens of charges Macri is likely to face when he steps down

Which brings us to his reputed plans to flee to Sardinia.

This first made news, I believe, in March, when during an especially tense meeting Macri reportedly stormed out of the room yelling: "I don't need this! I could be in Sardinia!"

His family, on his father's side, is Calabrian - not Sardinian.

But Sardinia, Italy's largest island in the Mediterranean, is a popular vacation spot for the Italian elite; Berlusconi famously kept his pleasure palace, Villa Certosa, there.

Then again, Macri's own mother, Alicia Blanco Villegas (whom many believe is the one most responsible for turning her son into a right-wing elitist), moved to Spain in early 2018 - and got an expedited citizenship by Rajoy, just weeks before he lost power.

And First Lady Juliana Awada was spotted taking an unannounced tour of Madrid last month.

So my guess is that his mother and wife prevailed on him to settle in metro Madrid instead.

They didn't want him to get into trouble in Villa Certosa, you know.

[Judi Lynn]

3. That's where I heard of Sardinia! It stuck in my mind right away.

Went looking for photos of Macri's mother. Saw one article which I didn't have time which almost suggested Macri's mom and that hideous father weren't married. I'm sure I didn't see it correctly.

What I did see was this article, and I think in the picture, standing by Franco Macri is probably his wife, or not wife, Mauricio's mother, and to her right, Mauricio.

So horrible! I've got to run, but on return, intend to read this article:

Franco Macri companies grew with state concessions



. . .

https://www.eldiariodecarlospaz.com.ar/politica/2019/3/2/las-empresas-de-franco-macri-crecieron-con-las-concesiones-del-estado-64605.html

It's good to have learned from your comments that it's his mother who's the Spanish one. Very interesting.

P.S. Yikes, Mauricio must have been mad to think his mustache did anything for his face!