The former governor K is accused of fraud against public administration, abuse of authority, failure to perform duties, and incompatible negotiations for the awarding of 3,635 hectares
While the Senate moved forward on Thursday with the consideration of the Law of Inviolability of Private Property, the intolerable double standard of Kirchnerism was exposed: those who vehemently oppose the legal security of good Argentines are the same ones who enjoy the luxuries and discretionary distribution that they denounce so much in their speeches. The reality that the old politics tried to silence is that the former governor of Chaco, Jorge Capitanich, was formally charged by the substitute federal judge of Roque Sáenz Peña, Fernando Carbajal.
The Justice system accuses him of extremely serious crimes for a public official: fraud against public administration, abuse of authority, failure to perform duties, and incompatible negotiations.
Jorge Capitanich
The criminal investigation —initiated in May 2024 following a complaint filed by the current governor of Chaco, Leandro Zdero, through the head of the Institute of Fiscal Lands, Ana María Canata— revolves around the granting of 3,635 hectares of valuable public lands located in the Almirante Brown Department.
The modus operandi exposed by prosecutor Carlos Amad reveals a scandalous network of feudal favoritism.
Jorge Capitanich personally signed the sale allocation decrees. The legislation of his province required him to stamp his signature when dealing with lots larger than 300 hectares.
Two parcels of 1,250 hectares each ended up in the hands of businessmen Federico Storti and Leandro Nicolás Bessone in 2023.
Another two parcels of 623 hectares and 512 hectares were awarded to businessman Nelson Ariel Pochón.
The three benefited businessmen turned out to be business partners of Mauricio Ariel Cian, who is the partner of Marta Soneira, none other than the former minister of Territorial Development and former head of the Colonization Institute of Chaco during Jorge Capitanich's administration, who is also under indictment in the case.
To achieve this multimillion-dollar diversion of public resources in favor of the friends of power, the investigation detected the preparation of identical inspection reports prepared on the same day and the alarming transfer and loss of key institutional documentation in order to conceal the maneuvers.
Although Jorge Capitanich shields himself by claiming that “the sale allocation of rural properties does not imply transfer of ownership” and that he is a victim of a “persecution”, the evidence of the benefits granted to the firms in his minister's circle is overwhelming.
Kirchnerist march
This corruption scandal exposes the colossal contradiction of Kirchnerism: while they mobilize political operatives to stop a reform of the Land Law that aimed to prohibit foreign states from purchasing national territory, they themselves squandered the assets of Argentines.
The current law —regulated by Kirchnerism in March 2012— depressed the value of national fields by 50%, forcing small farmers to sell at discounted prices to the power's frontmen, facilitating the hoarding of 415,000 hectares by figures like Lázaro Báez in Patagonia.
Worse still, that same law defended by the opposition allowed for the cession of 200 hectares of territorial sovereignty in Neuquén for 50 years and with total tax exemption to a Chinese agency controlled by that country's army.
The legislative session culminated in a highly tense confrontation when Patricia Bullrich took the floor. While denouncing the historical maneuvers of Kirchnerism to undermine private property, the libertarian senator shot without filters: “They stole the fiscal lands, they distributed them among the friends of power”.
National Senate
Directing her gaze towards the bench of the Frente de Todos, she added: “Another senator from the province of Chaco, who is also around here, is under indictment for the irregular delivery of fiscal lands to the friends of power”.
The accusation unleashed the furious reaction of Jorge Capitanich, who began to interrupt shouting from his seat. Far from backing down, the head of the ruling party's bench doubled down and struck him with two devastating phrases that paralyzed the chamber: “Go on, go on, shut up” and “Shut up, if you are under indictment for fiscal lands!”.
In response to Patricia Bullrich's insistence, who emphasized to those present the veracity of the Chaco native's legal situation, Jorge Capitanich attempted a weak defense, labeling the accusation as mere "political" and journalistic "operations". However, the file against him in federal courts speaks for itself.
