In the midst of the electoral race and with a national government that is successfully advancing structural reforms, Kirchnerism has once again resorted to its most well-known playbook: the dirty campaign. This time, the chosen target was economist and congressman José Luis Espert, a leading figure of La Libertad Avanza in the Province of Buenos Aires, who was forced to respond to the accusations made by Juan Grabois, an ally of Axel Kicillof and part of the Kirchnerist media operations apparatus.
"I have never received funds whose origin could be suspected as illicit," Espert stated in a video released on social media, where he reviewed the events chronologically and dismantled, point by point, the version promoted by Grabois.
The economist explained that he met Federico Machado in 2019, a year in which he was not yet holding public office, and that the relationship was strictly professional and limited. Machado proposed that he present his book La Sociedad Cómplice in Viedma, Rio Negro and later contacted him through a Guatemalan mining company, Minas del Pueblo, which was seeking economic advice.
"In February 2020, I received a payment of 200,000 dollars into an account in my name, located in the United States and declared in Argentina. It was the result of a consulting contract, not campaign contributions," Espert detailed, emphasizing that the transfer complied with all international anti-money laundering and financial transparency regulations.
The liberal also revealed that the professional relationship was interrupted by the arrival of the pandemic and that it was only in 2021 that he learned, through the media, about the charges against Machado. "I was shocked and panicked. I never imagined that something like this could happen to me in my life. I had no idea about these alleged illicit activities," he remarked.
