Argentina's top opposition party seized, figure close to President Macri named as head

[sandensea]

Last edited Thu Aug 2, 2018, 01:22 PM - Edit history (3)

A federal judge in Argentina has ousted the leadership of the country's most powerful opposition party, the Justicialist Party (PJ).

Judge María Servini de Cubría’s intervention order removes Congressman José Luis Gioja as president of the PJ, and imposes culinary workers union boss Luis Barrionuevo as comptroller.

The Justicialist Party - so named for its social justice platform - was founded in 1945 as the Labor Party by the late populist leader Juan Perón, and has long been beset by deep divisions between its left and right wings.

Though no longer affiliated with the PJ, Barrionuevo is arguably the most prominent Peronist figure still supportive of President Mauricio Macri, whose right-wing government is largely led by staunch anti-Peronists.

Barrionuevo, 76, has in the past been charged, though never convicted, in large-scale PAMI (Argentine Medicare) fraud and tax evasion cases. One of the shell companies he co-owned operated out of a house his wife purchased from Abraham Awada, President Macri's father-in-law.

Gioja, who was elected party president in 2016, has indicated he will appeal the ruling.

“The government's hand is behind this,” he said. “It has to do with the judicialization of politics, which is in fashion at the moment. The court’s decision has no basis.”

He stated that the ruling was aimed at weakening the PJ at the behest of the increasingly unpopular Macri, who is seeking reelection next year but whose approval has recently fallen to below 40%.

“(Macri) is betting on a divide-and-conquer strategy,” he said.

In the shadows

The Justicialist Party has a history of being intervened by right-wing governments: it was banned from 1955 to 1972, and again during the last dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.

Many of the 30,000 dissidents killed during the latter period were Peronists; Gioja, 68, was among those tortured.

The judge cited no specific causes or statutes for the intervention, instead referring to the current PJ leadership's being "in the shadow of former President Cristina Kirchner" - the country's most prominent left-wing Peronist.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ambito.com%2F917762-la-justicia-intervino-el-pj-nacional-y-puso-a-barrionuevo-al-frente-del-partido&edit-text=

Union boss Luis Barrionuevo, longtime leader of Peronism's right wing and outspoken Macri supporter - now appointed head of the leading opposition party.

[Judi Lynn]

1. What a contemptible reason given for blocking the legal and proper leadership of Jos Luis Gioja.

Surely hope he can get an honest, non-fascist judge to apply the law to this dishonest, treacherous intervention.

The pro-dictatorship Macri people apparently never sleep. They are in motion, as it seems, all day, ever day, stealing the government away from the legal officials chosen by the people and members of organizations. It's exactly like watching a vast car wreck around the clock.

This is just the part they do until they have power over the military, after which they start torturing and murdering ALL the dissidents they can find, as well as going after their family members, and their friends.

Very interesting news. We are allowed to watch through these windows as their scheme continues. Here's hoping they don't get it back this time, and we do know they won't get to keep it, anyway, as the people of the world HATE dictatorships. Right-wingers are outnumbered, and they are hated because it's the only sane reaction.

Thank you, sandensea.

[sandensea]

2. The judge herself admitted last year that under Macri "pressure on judges has been unprecedented"

And she's been a federal judge since 1975 - which of course includes the dictatorship era.

Then again, she's no stranger to judicial arm-twisting herself.

Once, in 1992, she famously got up in the middle of the night to slap an injunction against a comedian who, she learned, had planned on airing a skit satirizing her on live tv the next day.

I guess she's still at it - but at Macri's behest instead.

Cheeto would love some of these Argentine judges (if only they weren't from south of the border!).

Thanks again!