In Praise of Aníbal Fernández

Aníbal Fernández reappeared after a lengthy and conspicuous radio silence to give an interview on Magadalena’s programme this morning. Nobody gives radio interview like Fernández; he ducks, weaves, deliberately misunderstands the question he’s asked or parses it for meanings beyond the ken of the poor sap who’s trying to pin him down. And he does it all with a wink and nod in his voice that says both to the journalist and to the listener, “I know that you know what’s really going on here, that I don’t believe half the things I say but you understand, these are the rules of the game.”

And this morning’s interview was particularly notable for the fact that he made clear that he is no friend of Luis D’Elía and that he repeatedly referred to Luicano Miguens, the head of the Sociedad Rural and one of the government’s current hate figures by his first name.

Up to now…

Interesting quote from the boss of the Airport Police, Marcelo Sain, not normally thought of as a paladin of the right, on p.20, here.

Up to now Macri’s perspective on the management of security has been much more progressive than that of Ibarra, up to now. He has at least accepted responsibility for it, something which the progressive porteño politicians haven’t done. But I see that he is making no progress with the something that’s very important and that’s a management structure to absorb the police’s leadership of itself. The risk is that the historic tendency of the right will replicate itself; that when they are in power the police run themselves.

Cristinistas

Para los progres Cristinistas de La Barbarie el hecho de que la Presidenta gasta sumas heroicas de dinero de las arcas estatales en sus viajes al extranjero constituye una excusa para criticar el diario que lo hace público. Parece que no saben o no les importa que, dado el ultraregresivo régimen impositivo que rige en Argentina, la guita que gasta CFK viene desproporcionalmente de los más pobres, que no tienen mejor remedio que pagar 21% de IVA en todo lo que compran.

Identity

The United States Supreme Court decision to uphold an Indiana state law that requires voters to present photo ID in order to cast their ballots has caused a bit of controversy. The objection seems to be that the photo ID requirement tends to exclude poor people from exercising the franchise and hence favour the Republicans, the party of the better off.

I wonder what those who find the photo ID requirement objectionable would say about the situation here in Argentina where the simplest interaction with the state, and many private bodies too, requires the presentation of one’s national identity document.

Dolor

Pero mientras maduran las complejas condiciones para su construcción es posible la realización inmediata de algún “bien”, de algunas reformas que pongan fin a la escandalosa situación en que nos hallamos. ¿O me va a decir que hará falta una revolución socialista para aproximar la estructura tributaria de la Argentina a la que tienen países como Grecia y Portugal en la Unión Europea, para no hablar de la que existe en Escandinavia? ¿Será preciso asaltar el Palacio de Invierno para que las retenciones al agro –totalmente justificadas en la medida en que se discrimine entre los distintos estratos del patronato agrario– se coparticipen con las provincias y sean asignadas exclusivamente a combatir la pobreza y a reconstruir la infraestructura física del país y no al pago de la deuda? ¿Tendremos que subirnos a la Sierra Maestra para que el Estado regule cuidadosamente el desempeño de las privatizadas y avance en un programa de “desprivatización” para aquellas que se compruebe que han estafado al fisco y a los usuarios? ¿Habrá que esperar el cañonazo del Aurora para derogar la Ley de Entidades Financieras de Martínez de Hoz?

Estar de acuerdo con Atilio Boron me duele un poco pero en este caso tengo que bancarlo