Córdoba: Rufeil is accused of votes from deceased individuals in La Calera elections

A criminal complaint in Federal Court exposed possible electoral fraud involving deceased individuals in the elections of La Calera. The complaint was filed by Mayor Fernando Rambaldi and his legal advisor, Agustín Anglada Allende, against two former mayors and a former official. According to the filing, documents belonging to deceased individuals may have been used in provincial and national elections between 2016 and 2023.

The accused are Rodrigo and Facundo Rufeil (cousins), former mayors of the city and Peronist leaders, along with Susana Fiorini, former director of the Civil Registry. They are accused of failing to report deaths to Renaper or provincial authorities, which kept the IDs of deceased individuals active. Through this mechanism, at least 35 deceased individuals may have voted in different elections.

The case came to light after a review initiated by the current director of the Civil Registry, Claudio Martínez, who detected serious omissions in the records. Martínez confirmed that dozens of deceased individuals appeared as voters in the electoral rolls and reported the situation to the municipal legal advisory office. Authorities suspect that the actual number of deceased individuals who voted could be much higher.

Irregularities that taint the previous administration

The complaint includes official documentation, computer forensics, and voting records obtained from the electoral roll offenders' website. Among the examples is Martha Silvia Arguello, who died in 2018 and appears as a voter in the 2023 general elections and runoff. The complaint also mentions Claudia Lucila Calovini, who died in 2018 and was registered as a voter in 2019, 2021, and 2023.

Another case is that of Ana Guevara, who died in 2018 and appears as a voter in four elections after her death. The complete list details 35 names with dates of death and elections in which they allegedly cast a vote. According to the accusation, the omissions were deliberate and may have sustained a systematic mechanism.

The crimes under investigation include breach of duty, document forgery, abuse of authority, and ideological falsehood. Authorities are even investigating whether there was a criminal association to carry out the scheme for nearly a decade. Mayor Rambaldi demanded that the former officials be charged and summoned for questioning as soon as possible.