Former Ibero-American presidents have defended Mauricio Macri and denounced the “criminalization of democratic leadership”

Former presidents of Ibero-America who participated in the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA) supported Mauricio Macri on Tuesday in the case is investigating whether the former Argentinian head of state smuggled war material into Bolivia suppress the social protests that took place in the Andean country in November 2019, when a political crisis broke out due to the departure of Evo Morales of power and the taking of Jeanine ñez. In this direction, denounced the “criminalization of democratic leadership” in the region.

In a statement, they referred to what happened in Bolivia: “After a process of constitutional succession approved and recognized by the Organization of American States, the UN, the European Union, China and Russia, after the resignation of the then president, Evo Morales, his new authorities turn the tale, accuse the independent media, persecute those who prevented the aforementioned incident from compromising the democratic viability of Bolivia, and now the files which ensured the said transition are being continued ”.

The 18 former presidents who signed the declaration, entitled “Declaration on the criminalization of democratic leaders”, assured that “an attempt is made to manipulate” the case of Bolivia to persecute Macri. According to the letter, the “opponents of the undemocratic left” in Argentina marked the former president as their “target”, which is why legal proceedings were brought against him “without real support or because of manifestly political differences”.

“Under the leadership of the current Argentine ruler, the hybrid and legal warfare conceived by the aforementioned undemocratic far left in the Americas takes on its full significance.; it is therefore imperative to appeal to the Administration of Justice, judges and prosecutors, so that they do not forget that the fate of democratic freedoms ultimately rests in their hands ”, they specified.

In the letter, they warned of their concern over “the process of the undemocratic radical hijacking of democratic language that persists” across the region. As they indicated, the objective of this sector is “to empty the content of the experience of democracy by prostrating its essential elements, using them to access power and support it unlike alternation in its exercise. and thus, through constitutional forms, dismantle the rule of law and the same democratic guarantees of human rights”.

This action advocates a “hybrid war or legal war”, which is part of the right, according to IDEA participants, implemented by the aforementioned undemocratic left, which has only one goal: “Criminalize oppositions that authentically defend the values ​​of democracy and freedom”.

As an example, they took cases of repression in Central America: “In Cuba, 700 Cubans were violently detained and prosecuted for demonstrations calling for freedom on the 11J, while in Nicaragua 5 candidates for the presidential elections in November were arrested and prosecuted, accusing them of undermining their sovereignty for ‘inciting foreign interference in internal affairs and requesting military interventions,’ including social communicators’.

They also spoke of Venezuela: “After the simulation of a new attempt at dialogue amid repression and violence that continues within the framework of a serious humanitarian crisis caused by his regime, he chooses to attack the interim president Juan Guaido and imprison the deputy Freddy guevara, one of the leaders promoting the aforementioned dialogue as part of a national salvation accord ”.

“IDEA will continue to serve the truth and condemn the regimes of lies, since it is the substantial ethical value of democracy, the rule of law and for the effective application of human rights ”, concludes the letter which has the signature of the former presidents and heads of state of Costa Rica, Spain, Panama, Mexico, El Salvador, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Research is progressing

The case to determine whether the Macri government smuggled war material into Bolivia continues to add evidence: as economic criminal judge Javier López Biscayart analyzes the information requested last week, the prosecutor Claudio Navas Rial expanded the charges for the new complaint that the executive brought forward last week.

Macri’s first play on the record, so far, has been wrecked. Did the former president – stranded in Europe – appear in the file through the lawyer Paul Lanusse -which also advises him in other criminal cases where he is implicated-.

Recently, as revealed Infobae sources of the case, Macri asked that the internal investigation carried out by the gendarmerie be suspended by decree of the president Alberto Fernandez, in search of the collection of information from the protagonists who went to Bolivia with the weapons denounced.

Lanusse suggested that the summary be suspended so that the defense can review the evidence produced with this report. According to sources revealed to Infobae, the defense was unlucky. Judge López Biscayart dismissed the claim. The defense is likely to appeal this decision to the Economic Criminal Chamber.

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