Human rights for all

Populisms are prone to use and abuse egalitarian terms such as "all of us", "popular", "socially inclusion" and so on and so forth.

Cristina Fernandez, as a proper populist, is well prone to follow the path, and so she provided us with "Meat for all", "Pork for all", "Milk for all", "Milanesas for all" (1), and last -but not least- "LCD TVs for all" governement's fixed price policies. The tricky idea is that we are all the same, and we are all entitled (thanks to Her grace) to have meat, pork, milk, milanesas and TVs. And what about all the other countless goods and services necessary and market provided? Well... we are not. Some may have gas, fruits and coats, for instance, and some will not. Taugh luck. I wonder what's taking her so long to launch similar populist programs covering any and all goods and services. Maybe because she is not as strong as the market at the time to create the incentives to produce, offer and provide all those countless goods and services?

Anyway, the thing is that together with those uncovered goods and services, principles and values are also not "included" in the "for all" scheme, and so it was soundly proved this week with the results of the DNA tests forcedly conducted on Marcela and Felipe Noble Herrera, which produced negative when compared  to those of people dissapeared  during the last military coup in the 70's.

But, a bit history first. Upon taking power in 2003, and for the next five years, late Nestor Kirchner and Clarin (the largest newspaper of Argentina) got along well, and their relationship developed in quite good terms, given that Clarin's editorials were not opponent at all, but quite favorable to Kirchner's governement.

But such a good relationship came to an end by 2008 (for several reasons -some known and other presumed-), giving birth to one of the most outrageously unconstitutional, non-republican and even ilegal attacks to the media in democratic times. Never before, as of restoration of democracy in 1983, the governement went so viciously after a particular news group as Nestor first and Cristina later, did against Clarin.

A few examples of such abusive exercise of the political power conducted by this administration are:

• In 2009, without any reasonable cause, judge order or previous notice, the AFIP (similar to the IRS in the US) appeared at the door of the offices of the newspaper, alledgely to conduct an inspection due to a probable taxes fraud. Given the size (Clarin is one of the largest companies in Argentina) and the scope of the "war" against them, it is materially impossible for that company to conduct any taxes fraud and get away with it. Hence, such a Bruce Willis motion picture procedure against the paper had no other intention but to create fuss and fear in its executives. As soon as Clarin's TV newtwork's cameras and journalists showed up, the AFIP inspectors flew.

• In February 2010, Clarin published that in October of 2008, late Nestor Kirchner buyed U$S 2 Million for the purchase of a luxurious hotel in Calafate (a beautiful location in Kirchner's home province of Santa Cruz). The currency purchase AND the hotel purchase called the media attention, given the sound suspicions of Kirchner's corruption and ilegitimate wealth. Cristina reacted feriously claiming that Clarin's publishing was du to another "operation against them by the media monopoly"
• In August 2010, Cristina Fernandez accused Clarin and La Nación (the second largest Argentine newspaper) to conspire, in 1976, with the military governement against the then owners of the major paper producer (Papel Prensa S.A.) to ilegaly acquire the majority of the shares of the company.  The state holds 28% of the shares. The actual purpose of Cristina Fernandez was to challenge the purchase of the shares 30 something years ago, in order to expropiate Clarin and La Nacion the ownership of their majority shares, and appoint government acquaintances as new shareholders. Were the procedure successful for her ilegitimate purposes, Clarin and La Nacion would have went off, since not in a million years Cristina Fernandez would have allowed them to continue buying the paper for their publishings. Fortunately, the last hope of our fading republican system (the Judicial Power) putted an end to her crazy, totalitarian ambitions, and Papel Prensa remains in power of Clarin and La Nacion which proved their legitimate acquisition of the shares. 

• August 2010. The government issued an inconstitutional presidential decree  ruling the closing of Fibertel, the internet service provider owned by the Clarin group. The foundation? Fibertel it's a monopoly and therefore, its closing is in favor of "all" internet users. Fibertel compites with Speedy, Arnet, Sion, Movistar, Claro and several many other smaller companies which provides with internet access all over the country. Fortunately, the company followed all available processes before Courts and never interrupted the provision of the service. Many individuals -clients of Fibertel-, me among them, also filed remedies before Courts and against this outrageous and abusive rule.
• October 2010. By the time, they realized that their "cruzade" had little chances to succeed, so they went straight forward and sent a law to the congress, promoting that paper provission was a state matter of public interest, and hence, subject to further (and more discretionary) regulation. Again, fortunately,  it didn't work either. 
• March 2011. From November 2009, through March 2011, 5 times both papers, Clarin and La Nacion, were prevented from distributing their sunday issues, do to illegitimate blocking of their trucks. The last of them took place on January 2011, and was conducted by a group of 60 people whom claimed being former employees of Clarin fired without reason. The case was that neither of them was fired without reason but for disobeying previous court orders issued against them in labor law cases. One of them was secretely taped by Clarin during his meeting with the newspaper's executives and lawyers, asking for $ 9 million as alledgely deserved compensation... in payment for not blocking the paper's building.

 Aside from the direct attacks to Clarin and La Nacion newspapers, the Kirchner's government sistematically attacked the press in general terms, accusing them to promote her overthrown from power by misterious "powerful forces" against the "national and popular" government which provides for the poor and needy, and goes against the rich and powerful... (ironically speaking, of course).

Pursuing such a magnanimous crusade (and proper to all populism and colectivism systems) may well justify attacking the constitutional freedoms of speech, of press and of work, being this attack a minor cost to pay,in view of a larger end: the "national and popular" demands.

But there is nothing like it, and quite the opposite Kirchner's government's only intention is to eliminate the republic and remain in power for good. Within a democratic scheme such purpose can only be achieve by eliminating the press, strong and resourceful enough to point out major corruption cases affecting the Kirchner's administrations. 

In the midst of the "war against the powerful" (leaving them - the Kirchner's- aside, of course), Cristina Fernandez suffered a major defeat last friday, when Court ruled that the DNA tests of Marcela and Felipe Herrera Noble turned out negative against the DNA of dissapeared people during the military government back in the 70's.

Why? Because Marcela and Felipe are the adoptive children of Ernestina Herrera de Noble, owner of... Clarin Media Group.

The Kirchners had no problem whatsoever with sweeping along its fight against the newspaper these two human beings, stepping on their human rights of being forced to defend themselves in a terribly long and painful case, in which even the kirchnerist judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado issued a court order allowing the police to seize Marcela's and Felipe's underware...in public. Later Marcela told the press that the police made them undress before 7 people, and they kept her panties ("for the prosecution").


As noticed, we may have "milanesas para todos", but human rights are available only for those in favor of the Kirchner's regime.

(1) Milanesas are a typical argentine dish, made of fried thin slices of breaded meat.

In spite of all, happy Independence Day Argentina...

Today is Argentina's Independence Day.

195 years ago, 33 decisived men, involved in the politics of the time gathered at the Province of Tucuman to formally proclaim independence from the Spanish crown, which had been recovered by previously overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte King of Spain, Fernando VII.

In 1816, the deputies attended the Congress formed at the Tucuman province, and declared the independence of the United Provinces of the River Plate, giving birth to what is Argentina nowadays.

195 years later, unfortunatelly there is little to celebrate. Although we are indeed free from Spain, we've became subdits of a new sort of "queen". The president in power -Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner- is neatly following his late husband's methods and procedures, which are obsessive concentration of power, contempt for the republican system of government and the rule of law, and an abusive use of the taxes collected due to an also outrageous tax burden on the tax-payers.

This year, the national holliday is the day before polling day for mayor of the city of Buenos Aires. Given the unitarian scheme of this country, Buenos Aires is the most important jurisdiction among all.

In order  to leave the voters in peace to consider and medidate their voting decisions, the elections law forbidds any and all political propaganda 48 hours previous to polling day.

The queen, I mean the president, hastily decided that such rule does not apply to her, and instead she went on with the campaing in favor of her candidate, Daniel Filmus. How she did it? She went on national brodacasting system, forcing us to see her on TV and listening on the radio, and decided to take part of the opening of a new building at the Ezeiza international airport. As La Nacion newspaper reports, the presidents hardly participates in openings of public and/or private works on saturdays, and even less in the main national holliday as the Independence Day..

The opening and the celebrations are great opportunities to address the nation, which shall either see her on TV or listening on the radio. One can argue that it's always possible to turn off the TV and the radio. And -fortunatelly- there'll be many peoply doing so, me among them. But there are two bigger problems: i) the message that goes out when a president acts as if she were beyond the law (the elections law, in this case), and ii) the message shall reach those not upset enough to turn off the radio and the TV.

And that's what turns this issue so sensitive when it comes to consider the institutional seriousness of this matter: if she, the main officer in charge, can break the law... why wouldn't we?

In spite of the lousy government we have today, and of the jeopardy of becoming Cuba... Happy birthday dear Argentina!

Argentine citizens for Freedom

Liberties and constitutional rights are under dangerous attack, in view of the current governement's rules and measures, such as those conducted by mobster officer Guillermo Moreno.

Many people share these concerns, and feels the same frustration for the weakness of the individual alone, standing before a gigantic, over-ruling, almighty state. Many others are not, and fuel the beliefs of the government, applauding the demagogic and populist policies. And so they are happy and content with the current situation, unaware of the terrible consequenses in the mid term.

Presumably, terrible circumstances in the world's history could have either been prevented or at least softned were they knew by the international community. And by the international community I mean the individuals of good will, with interest and concern about the world's circumstances, and not the gigantic multinational governemental body of luxurious public officers appointed at the United Nations... supported by the tax-payers of their home countries. Sad example of this are the most modern killings at the Balcan countries and the genocide of Ruanda's tutsies, by Ruanda's hutu governement in the '90s. The UN did nothing...

I believe that the state-of-the-art of technology provides us with an outstanding opportunity to let the world know about the decline of this country, which was the most obvious proof that the classical Liberal principles by which the US Founding Fathers putted in motion the greatest successful social experiment, were indeed rightgeous.

Argentina, by mid 1800, was a desert, a land of poverty, underdevelopment and ignorance among the recently formed countries, free from the Spanish crown. Juan Bautista Alberdi, the lawyer and political philosopher whom foresaw the social results of the republican system, based upon division of power and unlimited respect of civil liberties, left us the most wonderful piece: our Constitucion Nacional de 1853.

The experiment proved successful, and the desert, Argentina, became, in a very short (in historical terms) period of time,  the 8th economy of the world, until mid '40s, when populism and fascism were first known in this country, due to Juan Domingo Peron's authoritarian government.

This is an open invitation to all argentine citizens, with a good command of english language, to use this blog for disclosing of the current political and economical situation, addressed to the international community unaware of the permanent attack to our liberties and freedoms by this -or any other future- government which dares to continue stepping on our rights.

Maybe if we cry for help, we could end up saying "Don't cry for me Argentina. I'm free".