Energy contributions: scandal and repudiation for the publication of lists of politicians, athletes and celebrities in the official media

publishing a list of politicians, businessmen, celebrities and athletes who allegedly received subsidies to pay for electricity, from the official media C5N and Página / 12, on the same day the government announced tariff increases due to the new angle of segmentation, generated a scandal and from opposition denounce the violation of the law on the protection of personal data with a single purpose: to scratch.

It all started with a report by Jorge Rial on his Argenzuela program, on C5N, the channel run by businessmen Cristóbal López and Fabián De Souza, in which he gave the names of “The list of subsidized celebrities”as announced in one of the graphs.

Taking a kind of comedy step, the former Intruders host said he’d gone for a run and a stranger had brought him a wooden envelope with the list which included celebrities from the world of entertainment, renowned athletes, politicians and some of the most powerful businessmen in the country who, according to Rial, received subsidies for electricity.

“Without shame: they are millionaires and receive subsidies”it could be read on the screen. “Outraged: rich, famous and subsidized”was another of the messages.

In the air, Rial has read the alleged consumption with exact figures in kilowatts of those indicated in that list, which exceeded the subsidized 400 kW announced yesterday by the secretary of energy, Flavia Royón, as well as the presumed amount he would receive in his electricity tariffs. “Very scandalous” said Diego Brancatelli, one of the speakers.

This list was subsequently published in detail by the newspaper Página / 12 under the title “The list of politicians, businessmen and athletes who have received millionaire subsidies to pay for electricity”. The morning paper, owned by the October group of trade unionist Victor Santa María, explains that the list contains names who “did not renounce the subsidies proposed by the Cristina Kirchner administration in 2011”. That is to say: a totally impromptu list, out of context.

That year the then President (now Vice President) had activated a system of voluntary exemption from subsidies by the national state in water, electricity and gas services. Public order was a resounding failure. He was released on November 2nd and didn’t even last two months because Almost no one signed up.

Out of a universe of 12 million residential customers nationwide, the voluntary register only reached the membership of 31,500 users, i.e. only 0.25% . The minimum goal was to hit the 100,000 mark, but not even half of that figure was reached.

Now, a decade later, in the midst of a policy of removing subsidies and tariff segmentation, part of the names of those who, like most Argentines, have not signed up for media voluntary resignations emerge from the hands of officials. representing a violation of the law on the protection of personal dataas explained a Clarione the national deputy of the UCR karina banfi.

“Any database delivered for a specific issue, such as grants in this case, must have the express consent of the persons from that list so that it can be published in the media ”, explained Banfi, specialist in access to public information and open government.

In other words, in order not to violate the law, both C5N and Página / 12 should have consulted the nominees one by one, asking for their authorization, which in some cases is impossible. for many of those named are businessmen who are already dead.

Banfi described the release of the list as a “scoundrel”Which“ misrepresents information ”. As you said, “it uses personal data and it is outdated information from an old policy that they rework to pit us against each other.”

“The Agency for Access to Public Information must act ex officio, which is not responsible. Since in the segmentation they made you sign an affidavit in which you have given up banking and tax secrecy It is something that violates the law on personal data and the agency, I understand, has done nothing about it, “asked the radical deputy.

Banfi asked for the immediate intervention of the Agency, which is responsible for it Beatrice Anchorenaformer official of the office of the Cabinet and member of the Instituto Patria, think tank by vice president Cristina Kirchner.

“The Agency is the body that controls the use of personal data. To publish that you are in a database assigned to any type of grant they must ask your permission, otherwise it is persecution. They do it to pit one against the other. The line of Kirchnerism is to pit us against each otherBanfi insisted.

The opposition denounces the escraches and speaks of fascism

In addition to Banfi, several opposition leaders have come to repudiate the publication of the list in C5N and Página / 12. “Now they want to correct this disaster with the stroke of a pen, with a tariff adjustment that they deny, masking it as a reorganization of subsidies. And the worst, they make fascism by publishing lists of people that they themselves have automatically subsidized”, Wrote Cristian Ritondo, head of the deputies of the PRO, in the networks.

“At what time does Página12 publish the list of all beneficiaries of social plans and any other state subsidies? #ElRelatoSeCaeAPedazos”Asked Silvia Lospennato ironically. “The company no longer buys the Kirchnerist double standard. Scanning citizens and disseminating personal information is always morally reprehensible. They disguise political operations as a journalistic investigation, but it works less and less for them because no one believes it, “she added.

And he continued: «The repudiation must be unanimous and massive. They make a whimsical and arbitrary list of some of the millions of people who receive a subsidy that the government itself has granted. What’s next? What other personal information do we want the para-official media to disseminate?

Meanwhile, MP Sabrina Ajmechet tweeted: “The government and its tour reporters have decided to violate the privacy of Argentine citizens by reporting them and providing information on their expenses. The government should protect citizens, not embarrass them. State interference in private life is intolerable in a democracy “.

“Just do the fare, that method of harassment and escrache to other Argentines, as if they had some chief mired in poverty in the K ranks, it is perverse “, he met them Caroline PiperAdvance Freedom MP.

From the Civic Coalition, Maricel Etchecoin joined the repudiation. “You can’t become more fascist. Faced with the impossibility of justifying the measure, the citizens escrachan. It is the methodology they have always used, let’s not forget the grandfather. We cannot normalize these practices ”.