The most unusual reasons why lawmakers travel abroad

Religious acts, festive meetings and thematic exhibitions were some of the reasons given in 2018

Religious crossings Meetings of political support. Days that have little to do with the parliamentary activity for which they were elected. Of the 991 days spent abroad, 99 deputies and Argentinean senators in 2018, some unusual trips stand out. The majority, with

pbadages or per diem paid by taxpayers

.

At the top of the list is the authorization requested by Radical Senator Oscar Castillo (Catamarca) to travel to Spain for 14 days to participate in the celebration of the invocation of the Virgen del Valle in the city of # 39; Ucles. The senator received 1200 euros for the tickets: $ 34 968 at the time change.

Uclés, in the province of Cuenca, has only 219 inhabitants. The ceremony consisted of placing an image of the patron saint of Catamarca in this city. A delegation of 40 Argentines traveled, including the deputy of Jujuy Silvana Ginocchio (no file indicated that she had received travel expenses). The bishopric of Catamarca was represented by the priest Julio Quiroga del Pino who, unlike Senator Castillo, went there and returned that day.

Now, what relationship did the trip have with parliamentary activity and why should the state pay for it? "The invocation has been declared of parliamentary interest," replied Castillo.
THE NATION. He also said that the trip had lasted "a few days less" – he did not specify how much – because he had to return to the country for a sitting of the Senate. Whenever Congress declares an activity of parliamentary interest, does it also pay a trip to legislators to attend? Castillo did not answer.

Faith motivated another unique journey. La Rioja MP Karina Molina (Pro) spent five days at the Vatican attending Mbad presided over by Pope Francis. He received $ 759 from the state (the equivalent of $ 21,897 this month).

According to the Molina office, the deputy "is chairman of the parliamentary friendship group (GPA) with the Vatican". They forgot something and admitted later: the chairman of the group is the deputy Horacio Goicoechea. When asked why on the Congress website, it was reported that the GPA with the Vatican was created in August (three months after the official mission), they no longer responded.

GPAs motivate dozens of trips abroad each year. For example, between January 8 and 11, Cornelia Schmidt Liermann, Silvia Lospennato and Marco Lavagna participated in Washington with US Congressmen at the launch of Caucus House Argentina, the GPA with the United States. They received US $ 1062 each, or 3186 USD in total. More than 60,000 pesos.

Not just faith-driven travel, little related to parliamentary activity. In January 2018, Waldo Wolff, MP for Buenos Aires (Pro), received $ 1,062 to give a lecture in Miami on the Nisman affair to the community of Beth Torah, Adath Yeshurum Inc.

"I went to inform the community of the progress of the Nisman case investigation, in order to publicize a cause of national interest invited by the United States through a community. which opened the door to the general public, "said Wolff.
THE NATION. Wolff is a well-known leader of the Jewish community. Came in contact with Nisman shortly before his death, he wrote a book about the prosecutor.

The other points of pbadage are distinguished by the fact that they are politicians' activities of legislators who have little to do with parliamentary work. For example, between April 28 and May 2, Fernando Iglesias (Pro) went to Montevideo to attend a meeting of the Colorado National Executive Committee. He received 253 dollars from the state.

On September 27, Horacio Pietragalla (Unidad Ciudadana) traveled to Santiago de Chile for four days to attend a meeting in memory of former President Salvador Allende. He charged $ 867 in travel expenses. The same amount, during three days in Chile, indicted Victoria Donda (Somos), who participated on October 19 in the meeting "In full debate, debating left, building the future."

They were not the only legislators to have traveled abroad to participate in political activities. Others had the delicacy of not charging daily allowances. For example, the kirchnerist trade unionist Hugo Yasky, who went to São Paulo on August 3 to learn about the situation in Brazil after the dismissal of Dilma Rousseff and the arrest of Lula da Silva.

A last group of trips is highlighted by the grandiloquence of the forums visited. The Santa Fe deputy, Marcos Cleri (FPV-PJ), for example, went to Madrid and Berlin for 5 days and received 1230 USD to speak at the forum "What unites us to the nation universal human ".

"It was an exchange with several European legislators: they were very interested in knowing about the Argentine initiative of universal allowance," said Cleri.
THE NATION.