Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich denied that a bill to choose the members of Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur) through popular vote had a hidden agenda for granting inmunity for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner after 2015, as Clarín newspaper denounced.
“A newspaper’s headline that seeks to link a legislative initiative like the vote for Parlasur representatives with an alleged inmunity for the president is a maneuvre that deserves widespread condemnation,” Capitanich said at his daily press briefing in the government house.
The newspaper accused the government of pushing the bill, which aims to set the date for Mercosur elections in the same day of 2015 presidential elections, in order to guarantee immunity privileges to Ms. Kirchner once she leaves office, since it claims she would run for Parlasur.
Capitanich urged Clarín and La Nación newspaper to “stop encouraging false debates.” He said that the claims are “systematic and repeated lies.” The official said that the goal of the newspapers’ “baseless, cunning” headlines is “to attack the federal government.”
The chief of ministers said if the president wanted immunity after 2015, this law “would not be necessary” since “she could be candidate for the Lower House just fine” keeping her immunity.
buenosairesherald.com