After Sergio Massa announced changes in the Ministry of Energy, until now in the hands of Kirchnerism, and while the trial against Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for irregularities in the public works of Santa Cruz advances, the Minister of Community Development of the province of Buenos Aires, Andrés “Cuervo” Larroque, I send a suggestive message: “Without Cristina, there is no Peronism. Without Peronism, there is no country,” the leader of La Cámpora wrote on Twitter.
Without Cristina there is no Peronism. Without Peronism there is no country. — Andres Larroque (@larroqueandres)
August 8, 2022
Two fronts
Larroque was a staunch critic of the policy of former Economy Minister Martin Guzman. Since the resignation of the former official, both he and other leaders of the group moderated their criticism of the Casa Rosada, first with the appointment of Silvina Batakis and, now, with the appointment of the leader of the Renovator Front.
From Energy, Kirchnerism resisted the increase in tariffs, something with which Guzmán sought to advance in repeated opportunities to reduce the deficit, in line with the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). At the end of its management, tariff segmentation was implemented. This measure was ratified by his successor, Silvina Batakis, and deepened by Massa.
The changes in the area were confirmed on Sunday. After several days full of rumors, Massa made Flavia Royón, Secretary of Mining and Energy of Salta, official at the head of the Secretariat. She will be accompanied by Santiago Yanotti, vice president of CAMESA, replacing Federico Basualdo. In addition, Federico Bernal, as Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons, and Cecilia Garibotti, in the Undersecretariat of Planning, will join the team .
“They generate a lot of expectations,” Cabinet Chief Juan Manzur said this morning.
Thus, the minister advanced on a sector that, at first, remained unchanged. The definition of his deputy minister, scheduled for tomorrow, now remains. Everything pointed to Gabriel Rubinstein – it was confirmed by the Telam news agency – but his appointment was put on hold.
In parallel to these changes, the trial against the vice president for irregularities in public works in Santa Cruz during her administration is advancing.
On Monday, the former president recused the prosecutor Diego Luciani and the president of the Court, Rodrigo Giménez Uriburu. The request is based on a series of images published this Sunday by the newspaper Página/12, which shows the prosecutor and the judge playing a football match in the fifth Los Abrojos, which belongs to former President Mauricio Macri.
“Illicit association is theirs, the Argentine Judiciary sucks,” said the vice president.
The Justice tries to determine if an illicit association was set up aimed at directing public works contracts in favor of Lázaro Báez.
The prosecutors of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Diego Luciani and Sergio Mola, have accredited that between 2003 and 2015 “an illicit association of singular characteristics worked within the State ” and that it had “at the top as heads of state those who served as heads of state and integrated by different public officials.” This is observed in the closing argument that began last week, during which the prosecutor accused Cristina Kirchner and her ex-husband, Néstor Kirchner, of having set up an “extraordinary corruption matrix.”
In the case there are 12 other defendants, one of them, Lázaro Báez, investigated for obtaining 51 public works in Santa Cruz between 2003 and 2015.
