CORRUPTION-ARGENTINA:
Menem the 'Persecuted' Ex-President

Marcela Valente


BUENOS AIRES,  (IPS) - Surrounded by legal charges and as of Tuesday facing an international arrest warrant, former Argentine president Carlos Menem (1989-1999), now living in Chile, is taking refuge in the role of the politically persecuted, saying he has no guarantees of a fair trial in his country. Nothing new, say experts.

Regardless of the debilitated prestige of the Argentine justice system, the former president is using the classic manoeuvres to elude the law, according to observers.

His attorneys are cautious in every legal step they take, in contrast to the angry tone of the public statements their client makes against the Argentine government and the judicial branch.

The legal team digs up every possible technicality to delay Menem's appearance in court, perhaps waiting for a better political environment in which to deploy their defence.

"Of course Argentine justice is a long way from being perfect, but in no way is it so unstable that it cannot provide legal guarantees," constitutional lawyer Daniel Sabsay told IPS.

"It is typical that someone sought on criminal charges would say that there are no guarantees" as an excuse for not appearing in court, he said, in reference to Menem.

Argentine judge Jorge Urso on Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant for Menem, who resides in Chile with his wife, Cecilia Bolocco, former Miss Universe and Chilean citizen, and their infant son.

Urso is demanding that the former president appear in court for a fraud case involving the construction of two prisons. Extradition proceedings could take six months, as the Chilean Supreme Court decides on the case and orders Interpol (International Police) to carry out the arrest.

The charges were filed in 2001 by then-secretary of prison affairs, Patricia Bullrich, of the Fernando de la Rúa government (1999-2001). In a conversation with IPS, Bullrich stressed that the claims "were not against Menem or any other political leader, but rather the overpricing and bribes involved in the construction of the prisons."

Judge Urso indicted 20 officials, and now Menem is in his sights because the former president signed a decree convening the bidding on the prison project and another awarding the contracts.

Bullrich had investigated and compared the construction costs with prisons in other countries, and found prices 30 percent higher than market, exorbitant interest rates and an insurance contract against eventual devaluation that would have driven up the final costs dramatically.

"We calculated that for each prison that Menem built, three could have been constructed," she said.

Nevertheless, she said she is aware of the weak points in the Argentine legal system, in which Menem's defensive discourse is trying to thrive.

"Menem is suffering the consequences of a system that depends on whoever is in office, a system he himself helped create," said Bullrich in reference to the reforms and designations in the judicial system he carried out in the 1990s.

Since the end of his second term, in 1999, Menem has been under the scrutiny of the courts for fraud, failure to report wealth, and an arms smuggling conspiracy. Swiss legal authorities continue to trace his holdings in that country's banks on suspicion of money laundering.

In 2002, when he still boasted his willingness to be investigated, Menem stood before judge Urso, who was delving into the case of illegal sales of weapons to Ecuador and Croatia, ordered by the Menem government in mid-1995.

The decrees bearing his signature and those of various ministers indicated that the shipments were going to Peru and Panama, but it was proved that they were diverted to Ecuador and Croatia.

Urso then prosecuted Menem as "chief of an illicit association" that involved government officials, businessmen and military officers -- and ordered his arrest.

After six months under house arrest -- a benefit afforded those over 70 -- Menem won an appeal to the Supreme Court and was immediately released.

In 2003, he ran again for president, competing against his fellow Peronist, Néstor Kirchner, who now leads the nation.

Since then, some of the cases against him have accelerated. Justice Minister Gustavo Béliz said that Menem "should return what he stole," and that the Kirchner administration will "take decisive action" in promoting investigations in Switzerland about alleged bank accounts belonging to the former president.

In the case of the Swiss accounts, Menem repeatedly used delay tactics to avoid appearing in court, such as citing health reasons and needing more time to read the case documents.

Also in that case, Menem told the press that he could not be guaranteed a fair trial in his own country.

This time around he followed the same method. Judge Urso had already granted Menem three extensions. Then came Tuesday, when Menem failed to appear again. Urso issued the arrest warrant.

The judges who Menem now says are biased were his own designates to the bench, notes constitutional expert Sabsay. In fact, most of the acting federal judges were named during his terms in office. And their rulings in favour of the government contributed to the flood of criticisms and claims of corruption.

Sabsay suspects that some of those old ties persist.

"If it had been anyone else, an arrest order would have been issued after the first failure to appear in court, but instead many other considerations were taken into account," said the lawyer. "I fear Urso's arrest order is an attempt to play both sides."

In any case, the walls are closing in around the former president, who says he is living in Chile thanks to the generosity of his wife, owner of the deluxe apartment they share -- and with 10,000 dollars a month sent by a law firm he has in Argentina.