Three of the main social organizations in Argentina that channel part of the social assistance destined for most vulnerable sectors are under investigation by federal justice for alleged extortion of beneficiaries to force them to participate in street protests, in a case whose details were released on Monday.
The investigation was promoted by the government of President Javier Milei, based on complaints received on a free telephone line enabled on December 19, just one day before the first mobilization of social organizations against the adjustment policy launched by the president.
The investigation was announced on Monday through a statement released by the Argentine Presidency, after the federal prosecutor in the case, Gerardo Pollicita, ordered 27 raids within the framework of the case. While a resolution of the Federal Criminal and Correctional Chamber, which endorsed the procedures, also gave details of the investigation.
About thirty leaders of the leftist organizations Polo Obrero, Movimientos Barrios de Pie and Frente de Organizaciones en Lucha were charged for allegedly having “coercively demanded that the beneficiaries of social plans participate in marches and public demonstrations and/or the delivery of a portion of the money, under the express warning in some cases of ‘cancelling the plan (subsidy),’ making up a total of 924 cases,” according to a ruling from that court.
The social organizations involved declined to comment on the judicial investigation and called a press conference to comment on “this criminalizing advance,” according to a statement.
“Extortion has consequences,” highlighted the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, on the social network All of this is information that we receive on Line 134… No more taking advantage of people to finance their spurious businesses.”
The aforementioned organizations emerged in the heat of the economic crisis of 2001, which caused 20% unemployment and pushed 50% of Argentines into poverty.
With a strong presence in vulnerable neighborhoods, these groups quickly became intermediaries for the national authorities on duty for the distribution of social aid. Its power of influence grew noticeably under the center-left governments of Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007); Cristina Kirchner (2007-2015) and Alberto Fernández (2019-2023) when different types of assistance programs were implemented.
With structural poverty ranging from 30% to 40% due to repeated economic crises, social organizations developed great mobilization power to block accesses and main avenues of the Argentine capital. Furthermore, they have under their control hundreds of soup kitchens throughout the country, where they feed thousands of people.
The last official report corresponding to the second half of 2023 reported that the number of poor reaches 42% of the Argentine population, although private studies estimate that this figure grew to almost 60% as a consequence of the adjustment and deregulation policies of the economy implemented by Milei.
Shortly after taking office, Milei suspended the payment of subsidies to thousands of people due to incompatibilities in accessing the benefit and sought to limit the influence of social organizations by redirecting the delivery of food to soup kitchens and signing agreements with other intermediaries, such as religious organizations. .
The judicial investigation also determined that resources were “diverted” for the soup kitchens and that the food delivered by the State “was sold and managed by levels of commitment to the people that forced them to participate politically,” according to the official statement. “The evidence also concludes that people who could not go (to the protests) had to prove it with medical certificates.”
This operation was exposed “from the record of conversations held through the ‘Whatsapp’ application provided as evidence within the framework of the testimonial hearings received at the beginning of the investigation,” indicated the Federal Criminal and Correctional Chamber in a ruling in which it validated the measures ordered by prosecutor Pollicita.
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