Alfredo Leuco: "Alberto is going to be the figurehead of Cristina or her gravedigger"

"The fragility of collective memory continues to generate mystery," writes the journalist
Alfredo Leuco in the prologue of his book
Judgment and punishment, reissued last month, four years after its original publication. It is a developed and updated version, with a prologue of Jorge Fernández Díaz, which includes a compilation of more than 70 chronicles written by the author between 2005 and 2019, in which he realizes an implacable radiography of kirchnerism, whether inside or outside.

From the bright living room of his apartment where he receives LA NACION, Leuco explains that
his book is "a kind of summary of the very serious events that occurred in the Argentine Kirchnerism" in order to refresh this collective memory. And that's why he published it as part of this election year: "There are some very well-meaning people who have forgotten, and this forgetting helps the possibility of a return to power from Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. "

-In
Judgment and punishment you say that Alberto Fernández may be a frontman or a gravedigger. Because?

-It will be the political figure of Cristina, if she is president, or her gravedigger, if she succeeds badly. Because the four consecutive defeats of Cristina in Peronism are unforgivable and Alberto will be the marshal of defeat. The figure of the puppet is installed, but for me, it looks like a politician.

-If he becomes president, can not he seek autonomy?

-C is a man with a personality, but the power is who has the votes. If he tries, there are two possibilities: that Cristina resigns herself and lets her rule, an almost non-existent possibility or a disputed power. If this is reissued, I, who am agnostic enough, I would devote myself to prayer: the 70s began with a fight between the left and right of Peronism, ended the shooting and led to the worst military dictatorship we had.

-One of your columns is entitled "Cristina is Mature". Do you think that if he comes to power, what happens in Venezuela?

-I think so. It would be the fourth Kirchner government and would exceed Peron in quantity. Even after the evidence that Venezuela governs a narco-military dictatorship, after Michelle Bachelet's report, which denounces executions, torture and political prisoners, Cristina says nothing. With their silence, Alberto Fernández and Máximo Kirchner award. State terrorism comes from neither the right nor the left, they are criminals that must be denounced. But they condemn only dictatorships on the right.

-Cristina has an important membership. What is your badysis?

-There are three elements. The first is the historic vote of Peronism, for what it means in the collective memory, its incorporation of the popular clbades. The second is that cristinism has done a very intelligent job in the poorest sectors of the suburbs of Buenos Aires and in the petty-bourgeois university. The third element is Macri's mismanagement in the economy, which gave Cristina the power.

-The polls show Macri a few points below.

-It is necessary to take them with tweezers because Macri and Cristina have a very negative image and many do not dare to say that they will vote them. But these PASSs are the most important elections since 83, because, according to them, the market will be positioned: if Cristina makes a big difference, it is likely that the economy will be dismantled and Macri will not win in the first round. The other axis concerns the province of Buenos Aires, where María Eugenia Vidal, the person who has the most political image, can lose by a vote in La Campora. The government must bet on PASO and the province because if it loses, it loses everything.

Macri management

-In the book, you expose your criticism of Kirchnerism. How do you rate Macri?

-He had shadows and lights. I remember that he was an honest man who made an effort because he had no reason to devote himself to politics. I appreciate his international politics, which took us away from Venezuela, Cuba and Iran and brought us closer to the United States, Germany, France and Brazil. Also the non-persecution of the press. And I am very critical of some aspects.

–
What aspects?

-It was wrong not to want a super economy minister. The government lost economic cadres of all shades after clashing with Marcos Peña: Carlos Melconian, Federico Sturzenegger and Alfonso Prat-Gay. They dismantled the time bombs left by Kirchnerism, but they managed without a clear economic policy. The second aspect is that they do not believe in politics as true art, but as an additional element. It is the government that has communicated worse since democracy and committed gaffes worthy of kindergarten.

-How do you like them?

– If they had advanced the elections in the province, the fight was liquidated. Because Vidal alone has 8 or 10 points difference, but on the ticket with Macri, he runs the risk of losing. And instead of broadening the bases of support for his government, they have diminished. They just understood when they imported Pichetto.

-But Pichetto was close to Kirchnerism for years.

-Pichetto was officialism of all Peronism, because it has the conception of the loyalty of Peronism. But he was not at the small table of Kirchnerism, has no hint of corruption, nor any open cause. This is a positive addition. The signal is: "We will leave the yellow tupper, if we win, there will be a government with a broad democratic coalition." With other parties and other leaders, not just with pro people.

Journalism today

-In the book, a column was published in LA NACION in October 2006, "
Low intensity of press freedom
", with a critique of Kirchner's relationship with the media, how do you evaluate the problem now?"

– I've listed ten attacks on the press freedom of Kirchner. Later, others came, they were perfected. In fact, seven journalists made a presentation to the UN on these attacks. Today, there is freedom: the Macri government not only does not pursue, but does not care about it.

– Does the government take care of certain media?

-It's not my case. It is likely that the mainstream media have a more contemplative outlook than with Kirchnerism, but no one hides the level of inflation nor the destruction of work. Ángelo Calcaterra's involvement in corruption has been ubiquitous even though he is Macri's cousin.

-What are the challenges of journalism today?

-Technological progress has brought wonders, but has distorted the way of doing journalism. It works with the click and the time: for the guy to stay, put the important information in the fourth paragraph, but the reader is tired and goes on the networks. The second mistake is that the scandal still arouses interest and that in many serious media, the most read news is something of the show that has no political relevance. or institutional.

-According to international studies, Argentina is one of the countries where citizens have the least confidence in the media. Why do you think that happens?

-C & # 39; is one of the damn legacies left by Kirchnerism. Previously, the church and the media were among the most credible groups in society. Kirchnerism has embodied it here, but it happens everywhere in the world, as in the United States with Trump: the media division is brutal and also concerns social networks.

-Because?

-The concept of journalism of the two bells is getting old because the networks are turning into tribes and these tribes force you to take a stand. I have to keep a cool head not to follow up and express what listeners think. But there is a very important novelty in this sense: 50% will say that he believes in one and the other 50% in another, so the fall of journalism is very important.

– Can it still change?

-Yes, it will recover over time, because social networks work so much with
false newsanonymity and false information that ends up checking, people use traditional media. Media that have faces, names, documents are much more credible than an anonymous thing is circulating.

IN ADDITION