Prosecutor seeks testimony from Argentina's Macri for self-victimization incident.
The District Attorney for Argentina's Neuquén Province, José Geréz, requested a deposition from President Mauricio Macri and members of the presidential security detail.
The request follows an investigation by the D.A.'s office which revealed that a December 28 incident involving a shattered window in a van carrying the President, had been willfully misrepresented by Macri - and by extension much of the Argentine media - as an "stoning attack" by protesters belonging to the Argentine Teachers' Union (ATE).
The D.A.'s investigation established that the window in the van, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Kombi belonging to the municipality, had been shattered from the inside.
Unscheduled stop
The incident, which took place in the scenic lakeside town of Traful, in Argentina's mountainous southwest, occurred after Macri attended a brief ceremony to open a new tourist information office. Macri, who was vacationing nearby with his family, reportedly ordered the driver to make an unscheduled stop at a local chocolate shop at around 11 a.m.
The detour inadvertently put the van within sight of a small group of ATE union protesters, who according to Macri attacked the vehicle after he had attempted to calm them. Cell phone video footage released that evening by the ATE instead shows local police acting preemptively to disperse them with rubber bullets before any contact could be made with Macri or the van; at least two protesters were injured by the rubber bullets.
"We were shot with rubber bullets and ran three blocks," Jorge Marillán, Deputy General Secretary of ATE Neuquén, told reporters. "Within minutes there were pictures of the van with a broken window."
Due process
Seven protesters were initially detained by local authorities, and Macri took to social media to demand "due process that ends up condemning them to suffer the consequences of what they did." He uploaded photos of the damaged van to social media within minutes of the incident, and media outlets supportive of the right-wing administration rapidly disseminated the official version of events.
All seven detainees were immediately released without charges, however, after it was established that the window was shattered from the inside. District Attorney Geréz announced on December 30 that a formal deposition was being requested of President Macri and members of his security detail.
A separate ATE demonstration was held in front of the Education Ministry in Buenos Aires on January 2 to protest the dismissal of 3,000 tutorial and music education staff.
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Frevistanorte.com.ar%2Fmacri-mintio-se-comprobo-que-el-vidrio-de-la-camioneta-se-rompio-desde-adentro%2F&edit-text=&act=url
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Lake Traful: trouble in paradise?[/center]
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to create an appearance of them as violent, murderous people, in hope of making some real trouble for them.
It's great that the officials opted to release them instead of bowing down to the plan opted by Macri's people to shake them up, malign their names, and probably much worse for daring to challenge them publicly.
Never heard of Lake Traful, and after seeing your photo I realize too much has not been shared by our odd corporate media, about South America. It is absolutely breathtaking. Paradise looks like the perfect word. It would be heavenly having a cottage up there.
The water is so incredibly clear. I just found these photos:
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If only it will be kept as pristine as it appears in these photographs, perpetually.
Thanks for introducing us to a new spectacular earth wonder, attached to the event.
I'll bet people like Macri get bored in places like this, without the crowds around to try to intimidate!
