The trial for Shared Dreams once again exposes discretionary management of public funds during the Kirchner era, after Sergio Schoklender expanded his testimony and pointed directly at Emilio Pérsico, leader of the Evita Movement.
During the hearing before the Federal Oral Court 5, the former representative of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Foundation responded to witness statements and defended his unusual and recurrent presence in public offices. As he explained, he walked the halls of the administration because, in his words, “we didn’t pay bribes to anyone” and it was necessary to insist for the files to move from one department to another.
Sergio Schoklender, alongside figures of the Kirchnerism era: Alicia Kichner, Sergio Berni, Jorge Capitanich, Juan Luis Manzur, and others.
Schoklender also rejected the idea that the then Secretary of Public Works, José López, or the multiple times convicted former minister Julio De Vido intervened to expedite the procedures. In that context, he sought to distance himself from other sectors of Kirchnerism, which he accused of intervening in the Foundation's scheme.
Referring to the testimony of a witness who mentioned seeing “a certain Pérsico” carrying a box with money, Schoklender stated that it was Emilio Pérsico and maintained that the leader appeared at the Foundation with a large amount of cash because Cristina Kirchner decided to transfer the administration to the Evita Movement. He also clarified that this would have happened months after he and his brother Pablo left their role in the entity.
He also accused Pérsico of having replaced salaries on the books with scholarships and pointed out that, ultimately, the projects ended up paralyzed due to his intervention. The statement exposes the complexity of a political web built behind a program that was supposed to build social housing, which ended up becoming one of the most emblematic corruption cases.
Schoklender added that the only people with the authority to define the destination of the Foundation's money were him and Hebe de Bonafini. According to his statement, when Bonafini requested funds, they had to be obtained to pay salaries, finance political activities, or support campaigns of candidates linked to Kirchnerism.
The corruption scandal surrounding the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
For his part, Pablo Schoklender stated that, in addition to the housing program, he had to take care of the University of the Mothers, the space in the former ESMA, and various political and cultural actions. He also defended the system of deferred payments to suppliers and explained that the certification of purchases depended on an administrative circuit that went through municipalities, Planning, and Economy.
The Federal Oral Court 5, composed of Adrián Grünberg, Adriana Palliotti, and Ricardo Basílico, set July 8 for the start of the arguments . The trial investigates the alleged diversion of $206 million intended for social housing in various jurisdictions across the country.
