Liliana Franco When Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello first came into office, she asked the National Social Security Administration (ANSES, for its Spanish initials) to analyze the situation of the so-called “privileged pensions,” in light of different demands from society.
These pensions are given to former presidents and vice presidents. While the former receive the equivalent to a full salary of a Supreme Court Justice, the latter receives 75% of that amount. Widows of presidents and VPs, as well as their children who are underaged or have disabilities, are also entitled to a vice presidential pension.
The minister spoke on Wednesday with President Javier Milei and asked him what options ANSES had regarding Cristina Kirchner’s pensions. The options were to either suspend or cancel them. Milei opted for the latter.
Therefore, after the Federal Cassation Chamber upheld Kirchner’s 6-year prison sentence for the “Vialidad” case, the government announced it would be canceling her presidential pension.
The Milei administration knows that Kirchner may appeal in court and understands that it will be up to the judiciary to confirm the ANSES decision. When asked about this by Herald sister publication Ámbito, Pettovello said she was “confident that the judiciary would be up to the task.”
The president has told his ministers that whoever commits a crime must pay the consequences. Pettovello recently fired an official for purchasing a coffee machine worth AR$2 million (around US$1,830 at the MEP exchange rate). The human capital ministry is among those that have fired the most people for suspicions of misconduct.
Former Vice President Amado Boudou will also have the pension stripped from him. “The same criteria used for Cristina Kirchner will be applied to Boudou; he will have his privileged pension canceled,” Pettovello told Ámbito. According to the government, the former VP received a pension worth AR$8.153.816,49 (approximately US$7450), which was approved in August 2020.
The ministry wanted to have the legal certainty to act when appropriate. Official sources said that in light of a legal technicality known as double compliance, they were now able to withdraw Kirchner’s presidential pensions on the grounds that these benefits are granted on the basis of personal characteristics of suitability and merit.
According to legal experts, double compliance in penal law is a guarantee extended to defendants who appeal a ruling to a higher court. In this case, double compliance has been fulfilled as Kirchner’s conviction has been upheld in two separate instances.
Government cancels Cristina Kirchner’s presidential pensions
The Argentine government announced on Thursday that it would cancel Cristina Kirchner’s two official pensions. The former president and VP received one of them for her stint as president and the other for being the widow of former President Nestor Kirchner.
The decision, published in the Official Gazette on Friday, comes after a court upheld Kirchner’s “Vialidad” conviction earlier this week.
Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni stated on Thursday that the decision means the state will save AR$21.8 million pesos per month (roughly 20,000 dollars at the MEP rate). He described the presidential pension as an exceptional allocation that is given “as a compensation for honor, merit, and good performance in office.”
“The pension for former presidents is a privilege that should not exist in Argentina, especially if the person who gets it has been convicted of carrying out a fraud from the highest spheres of power against millions of Argentines who have seen their hopes fade away at the hands of politicians,” he added.
The Milei administration explained that these pension benefits are not tied to a person’s social security contributions. This is to say that they are not based on equivalent contributions made by the beneficiary themselves but are rather benefits granted in “recognition of merit and honor.”
Adorni stated that the cancellation of the pension is even more warranted “if whoever receives it is condemned for swindling millions of Argentines from the highest spheres of power.”
“This grants a little sense and sanity to public management,” he added in the conference.
The government ended by saying that during President Milei’s tenure, Argentina will not allocate funds to “any person convicted of corruption and who has sullied the honor and dignity of the Argentine people.”
