Former Argentine president sued for extending Covid-19 lockdowns beyond sanitary needs

Tuesday, September 3rd 2024 - 10:55 UTC

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Martín Guzmán said he believed the pandemic gave Alberto Fernández additional political strength

Federal Prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan and Buenos Aires City Congressman Yamil Santoro filed separate criminal complaints Monday against former President Alberto Fernández after Martín Guzmán, who served as Economy Minister under him, said in an interview that the Covid-19 quarantines were extended for political gain rather than out of a sanitary concern.

Marijuan spoke of “abuse of authority” while Santoro, a graduate lawyer, believes the former head of state should be held accountable for “unlawful deprivation of liberty” against the population.

Fernández is already facing criminal charges for alleged acts of corruption regarding the retaining by the Executive Branch of some insurance through a friend broker, in addition to the domestic violence he arguably committed against then-First Lady Fabiola Yáñez.

“I think it became a more political issue,” Guzmán said regarding measures adopted between 2020 and 2021. It was “the administration of the pandemic that made the government strong,” he also argued. ”For me (the quarantine) was longer than it should have been. Given the technical information I had, it was longer than it should have been,“ he insisted.

”For a long time, [the lockdowns were] a 'no se puede' you can't) and then I think it was a more political issue, a political flag,“ Guzmán said.

In response, Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni noted: ”They locked you up in a pandemic only because it was politically profitable for them. However, they say that the dictatorship is Javier Milei. The end.“

”Don't take me out of context,“ Guzmán replied. ”These are the words of someone who was Minister of Economy. In the context of a pandemic, all decisions are public health decisions,“ he went on.

”I was the one who showed in mid-2021 that, with the economy growing strongly and the actual registered salary recovering, the actual unregistered salary was falling... not as a result of the alleged adjustment attributed to me, but of the health restrictions,“ the economist also explained.

He also questioned the Libertarian administration for ”causing a more damaging effect than the pandemic on the most unprotected sectors.“

”Entire families unable to say goodbye to their loved ones, bankrupt companies, children without classes, abuses of power, persecutions, theft of health supplies, VIP vaccinators and parties in [the] Olivos [presidential residency]. They ruined the lives of Argentines for convenience and political speculation. They are not coming back!,” Defense Minister Luis Petri underlined.