Argentina's Macri pledges transparency as prosecutors probe family ties

[tenorly]

Speaking to a joint session of Argentina's Congress, President Mauricio Macri announced on Wednesday he would issue decrees aimed at cracking down on conflicts of interest in Argentina's politics, as prosecutors pushed to investigate more of his family's business ties.

"I want everything to be transparent and open, and for nobody to doubt the decisions this president makes," said Macri, son of one of Argentina's richest men, Francesco "Franco" Macri.

Federal prosecutors have brought cases against the president and his family over allegations of various conflicts of interest, putting political pressure on his right-wing "Let's Change" coalition before legislative elections in October.

Last month, Macri was criticized over a deal his government reached on a 15-year old debt the Argentine Postal Service incurred when it was owned by Macri's father between 1997 and 2003. Prosecutors claim the deal, which writes off up to 98% of a $270 million tax debt, improperly benefits his family.

Macri said at the time the deal had been handled legally; but apologized for a lack of transparency and revoked the agreement.

On Wednesday, a federal prosecutor asked a judge for permission to investigate Macri and other officials over allegations they favored Colombian airline Avianca in a plan to open more domestic air routes in Argentina. Avianca was given access to Argentina's domestic air traffic market two months after the Macri family conglomerate, SOCMA, sold a small charter airline, MacAir, to Avianca Holdings last April.

Members of Macri's administration and his family have also come under scrutiny over a bribery scandal involving Brazil's largest builder Odebrecht, which has admitted to paying nearly $800 million in bribes across Latin America.

Prosecutors announced in January they were investigating whether Macri's spy chief, Gustavo Arribas, received a $600,000 bribe from Odebrecht - a charge Arribas has denied despite proof Odebrecht wired the funds to his Swiss bank account.

Brazilian newspaper Estadào reported on Monday that Odebrecht e-mails from 2010 revealed that at least $20 million in bribes were arranged jointly with Argentine builder IECSA, owned by the president's cousin, in a scheme to win a contract for a rail project during the previous government.

The $3 billion Sarmiento rail tunnel project, awarded to a consortium led by Odebrecht and IECSA, was green-lighted by Macri last June.

At: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-politics-idUSKBN1685GS?il=0

[Judi Lynn]

1. The Macris are amazing criminals. How they can even look people in the eyes while talking to them

is so mysterious.

We don't mistake the fact they have pulled off astonishing thefts from the Argentinian people and gotten by with it as proof they are innocent. It's proof they have the power to control government people who protect them.



Thanks for this new look at Macri as he dances around the edge of the void, so sure he can beat the whole world as we all watch helplessly.


[center]


Macri's dear old dad, who looks like someone who's been living without a soul his entire life.

[tenorly]

2. That faccia.

There's a well-known anecdote in Argentina about the elder Macri.

During the early '90s, as Menem began privatizing state firms for peanuts, the first state concern the Macris picked up was not the Postal Service but a downtown Buenos Aires hotel (I forget which one).

The idea was to spruce the property up a little, and then sell it within a couple of years to a hotel chain for a profit - basically, a flip.

During the refurbishment, it was mentioned to Macri that since the hotel was built at a time when there was much less traffic along the avenue below, modern, triple-pane windows would have to be installed throughout for noise abatement.

"How much would it cost?" Macri asked the contractor in his Italian-accented Spanish. The contractor gave him the quote.

"Young man," he growled. "Do you know how many blondes I could buy with that kind of money!"

[Judi Lynn]

3. OMG! Where would he put them all? What a dirtbag.

He must spend his time with them with a bag over his head.

A human being would want to walk away quickly!

Some people never seem able to cleanse themselves. He must spend all his time drunk to keep from remembering what a monster he is.

I can see he has a lot in common with Trump, himself!