Headline: The Surprising AFIP Affair: A Tale of Persecution, Not Protection
Subhead: Unveiling the Macri Government’s 2016 Operation Against 50 Enterprises
Article:
In an unexpected turn of events, a recent operation launched by Argentina’s government has sought to install the narrative that in 2016, the Kirchnerist faction within the AFIP (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos) orchestrated a web of protection for 50 enterprises linked to prominent figures and businesspeople associated with Peronism. However, a deeper dive into the matter reveals a starkly different reality.
Firstly, it’s essential to establish that in 2016, the Kirchnerist and Peronist factions held no sway over the AFIP, with Mauricio Macri’s administration firmly in power. In fact, the Macri government did not protect but rather persecuted these 50 enterprises, many of which were allegedly connected to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her children. As early as December 2020, the newspaper Página/12 reported on these tactics, with then-AFIP authorities, led by Mercedes Marcó del Pont, filing a legal complaint that exposed a systematic harassment campaign against Fernández de Kirchner and various business figures.
The Macri administration established special ‘task forces’ to compile dossiers against these targets, bypassing existing laws and AFIP regulations. Contributors were not notified of investigations, false calculations were made, and fiscal secrecy was breached. Denounced businesses included those belonging to Lázaro Báez, prominent construction firms, the Ciccone brothers, Fernández de Kirchner family enterprises, Oil Combustibles, Electroingeniería, and Alejandro Vandenbroele—who later testified against former Vice President Amado Boudou.
Two audits conducted in 2020 shone a blinding light on these manipulations. They demonstrated that not only were there no Kirchnerist or Peronist plots to protect businesses in 2016, but the Macri team actively persecuted these targets. The AFIP, under Alberto Abad and Leandro Cuccioli—loyalists of the PRO party— was used as a tool to further this objective.
Marcó del Pont’s complaint outlined several violations:
- AFIP officials did not maintain neutrality, acting in bad faith and treating contributors unequally.
- Contributors were not notified when inspections began, with notifications sent to nonexistent addresses.
- The right to defense was violated, with the AFIP neglecting its duty to facilitate contributors’ ability to respond to accusations.
- Special teams, aligned with the Macri government, were created to target specific groups and contributors.
- Thousands of irregular database entries were made, breaching fiscal secrecy.
Additional evidence uncovered a ‘judicial dining table’ operating within the Casa Rosada, using the AFIP, SIDE (now AFI), and Comodoro Py federal justice system to persecute enemies of the Macri administration.
In conclusion, the list of enterprises ‘uncovered’ by ARCA (the new name for the AFIP) was not compiled for protection, but rather to facilitate persecution. Many businesses were driven to the brink of collapse, and several owners were imprisoned in Ezeiza. The narrative pushed by the current government’s operation attempting to attribute these actions to the Kirchnerist faction is not supported by evidence. Instead, it serves to obscure the Macri administration’s now-established misuse of the AFIP to persecute political opponents.
