Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced almost $12 million in subsidies for small and medium-sized producers in Tucumán during a videoconference with Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing Norberto Yauhar and Tucumán Governor José Alperovich. The act took place at the headquarters of the Cooperative of Herrera Campo, located in the Famaillá.

Yauhar emphasised the role of small and medium-sizes producers, stating that they are “fundamental for creating a country which everyone longs for.” At the same time he added: “We are demanding a more inclusive nation, a different Argentina with more room for producers and an equal opportunity for all.” The subsidies will make it easier for farmers who grow sugar canes, as well as support wineries in Amaicha area and improve the access and quality of drinking water.

“This is part of the agricultural policy that the national government has promoted to improve the development of small-scale producers through concrete tools that cause their productivity to grow. And for this, it is essential to work together,” said the agricultural minister.

Tucumán Governor Alperovich was full of praise saying that “thanks to minister Yauhar the people of the countryside will be able to stay at home, because there is no more need to move to bigger cities.”

Under the plan, the government will provide $300,000 to buy a cane harvester and a system to prevent pollution from burning sugar canes plants. Another $1.7million goes to the Indigenous Community of Amaicha del Valle to help 150 small wine producers. The commune of Santa Rosa will receive another $300,000 and León Rouges $1.5 million to build water wells and irrigation systems.

Another $3.5million will be used to launch a ‘Social Agricultural Plan’, while local small horticultural producers affected by hail will receive $2million in subsidies.

The Criminal Court of Tucumán ruled last night that all 13 people held on human trafficking charges in relation to the disappearance of Maria de los Ángeles “Marita” Verón were found not guilty.

The lawyers building the case against them were confident that the presumed leaders of the group would get the 25-year prison sentence they had asked the court for.

Those accused were seven men and six women. María Jesús Rivero, and her brother Víctor Rivero were accused respectively of masterminding the kidnapping and carrying it out. Daniela Milhein was accused of holding Verón captive in Tucumán. Irma “Liliana” Medina, is known as the owner of the largest brothels in the La Rioja province and was accused of participating in the kidnapping and trafficking of Verón. Medina’s sons, Alejandro González, José Fernando Gómez, and Gonzalo Gómez were held on similar charges while González is also accused of having sexual relations with Verón and even having a child with her.

Other people accused include a policeman, Domingo Andrada, with links to human trafficking and another five accomplices, Humberto Derobertis, Paola Gaitán, Mariana Bustos, Carlos Luna, and Azucena Márquez.

The court’s decision was not explained further than the announcement that there was “not enough evidence to prove their culpability”. The details of the verdict will only be publicly revealed next Tuesday at 10am.

Verón disappeared on 3rd April 2002 and has been reported being spotted by sex workers in prostitution rings in several locations in the country, including La Rioja, Tucumán and Córdoba.

The secretary of the criminal court, Norma Díaz Volachec was nearly in tears at the moment of reading the verdict, reflecting the emotion that took over the courtroom.

“Sincerely when I saw that all of them started crying, I was moved,” explained Díaz Volachec.

The emotion and outrage caused by the non-guilty verdict delivered in the courtroom spread throughout the country. The public awareness of the case is partly explained by the role Susana Trimarco, the mother of Verón, has played in the investigation and fight for justice in general. Going as far as posing as a sex worker to try to find her daughter, Trimarco has emerged as an example of courage and perseverance in her ten-year search.

Reactions

“I support Alperovich but the security in this province is shameful, as is the Justice system,” said Trimarco in a television interview.

Among those accused of not doing enough to solve the problem of human trafficking in the province is Governor José Alperovich.

Trimarco said that President Fernández had called her personally and was extremely angry and “screaming” over the phone, telling the mother to “count on me, I can’t believe what they have done to you”. Trimarco was also approached by the United States ambassador to Argentina to tell her the first lady, Michelle Obama, was concerned with the decision and “wanted to meet and support her”. The hacker and activist group Anonymous also echoed their disbelief and published the names of the judges and their personal data, including phone numbers, addresses and bank accounts.

“The Zero Brothel law is a disgrace, all the brothels are still open, I won’t give up. I will give my life for this not to remain as it is,” added Trimarco. It has been reported that she is considering a legal process to impeach the judges that ruled in the case.

“We were waiting for a different result but we have to be very careful because for me things get mixed up. I have alongside Susana [Trimarco] for a long time now. The fact of outlawing brothels doesn’t mean they disappear,” said Beatriz Rojkés de Alperovich, senator for the province of Tucumán and wife of governor Alperovich.

Certain sectors of the press have accused Rojkés de Alperovich of not doing enough in the fight against prostitution and have even accused her of protecting some of the traffickers, accusations she has vehemently denied.

In Tucumán we are concerned with what happened. I can’t attend the press, I try not to talk because I feel persecuted. We are very sad, it has hit us hard. If someone has to be held responsible within the Judicial system it will happen,” she said.

“I know about the accusations about the lack of judicial independence in Tucumán. Some people dedicate themselves only to leveling accusations and others to try to change the province. We are in the second group,” she added.

Solidarity marches and protests have been called for across the country, in Buenos Aires the Classist and Combative Current (CCC) will meet at 9 de Julio and march to the Casa de la Provincia de Tucumán (Suipacha 140) where several organisations are scheduled to meet in the afternoon. In a statement the CCC said the event will “denounce the closeness of the political and judicial powers in that province and the entire country with the human trafficking rings.

 

Timeline of the “Marita” Verón case:

3 April 2002: Verón leaves her home in Tucumán for a medical check-up, an eye-witness says she is kidnapped by people getting out of a red car.

6 April 2002: Police in La Ramada, thirty kilometers from Verón’s home, find her apparently escaping from a “sexual party”, using high-heel shoes that she was not wearing at the time of her kidnapping. They put her on a bus to Tucumán and this is the last time she is seen.

26 October 2003: Alejandro “Chenga” Gómez is detained and accused of kidnapping Verón.

2004: Judge Adriana Reynoso closes the investigation.

21 July 2008: The Supreme Court reopens the case and announces it will take 13 people to court.

September 2009: The legal process is initiated to bring the 13 accused to court.

8 February 2012: The trial starts.

11 December 2012: The court clears all 13 suspects of all charges.

18 December 2012: The details of the ruling will be made public at 10am.

 

 

The Court in Tucumán are meeting today to discuss the banning of brothels across the province, in a bid to end the persistent issue of trafficking and prostitution in Argentina.

The proposed law has 11 articles and prohibits all places where any form of sex work takes place, including cabaret clubs, saunas and nightclubs.

According to the official text, the law will prohibit “the installation, operation, management, maintenance, promotion, publicity, administration and or exploitation in a any form, mode or denomination of places which facilitate, tolerate, promote, manage, organise, develop or gain from the exploitation of prostitution…”

The Commission of Human Rights, Justice and Security have approved the text and given it their full support in anticipation of the debate today.

A key aspect of the law focuses on the protection of trafficked people and will ensure they are able to escape prostitution and receive protection. Any persons found without fixed addresses or identities are to be assumed victims of tracking and will receive protection while their situations are resolved.

The law will also punish those involved in the setting up or management of locations exploiting prostitution with arrests. It will not be possible to avoid prison sentences by paying fines.

“We aren’t just advancing women’s rights, but also breaking links between woman and exploiter by overcoming and reducing servitude and, in many cases, this benefits from the work of women,” explained head of the Commission of Security and Justice, Gerónimo Vargas Aignasse.

Susana Trimarco, mother of kidnapped Martia Verón has been very involved in the development and promotion of the new law. Verón disappeared in 2002 and her mother has since become a figurehead for the struggle against trafficking in Argentina.

In  2007, Susana Trimarco set up the María de los Angeles Foundation, an organisation aimed at combatting human trafficking and providing legal, psychological, and social assistance to its victims. Since her daughter disappeared in 2002 she has led a ten year hunt as  as far as northern Spain, in an attempt to uncover the insidious sex traffic network which spans Argentina. Ten years later, the trial is finally underway in Tucumán, with 13 of the accused due to appear in court over the next few months. But Marita’s whereabouts are still unknown.

She met with governor José Alperovich to offer her help.

“We want to be a part of this because we’ve worked hard to counter these crimes,” she said.

“We know about the problems and the needs to be faced in the closure of brothels, and we know how to go about it,” she added, saying “the governor is a good listener and a hard worker and for that reason, things are going to go well.”

Although the ruling will depend on each individual case, legislator for the Tucumán Crece bloc, Reynaldo Jiménez has said that the main power of implementation will lie with the Ministry of Public Safety.

Speaking to state news agency Telám, lawyer for María de los Angeles, Carlos Garmienda said that there are currently 17 brothels.

“Some have already been closed but reinvented with new names, while others operate on a temporary basis to avoid being identified,” said Garmienda.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner spoke today at the Independence Day Act in the capital city of the province of Tucumán, as part of the festivities celebrated there today. After arriving by plane, President Fernández visited the Historic House of Independence Museum in San Miguel de Tucumán, before leading the Independence Day Act in the company of Vice-President Amado Boudou and Governor of Tucumán José Alperovich.

Fernández began her speech by remembering her late husband and Former President Nestor Kirchner and the model he created for rescuing Argentina from its financial crisis in 2001. She spoke of his first visit as president to Tucumán to celebrate Argentina’s Independence Day: “it was a completely different world and country …it was the moment that Argentina started to lift itself up from its ruins.”

The President discussed the challenges of today’s global economy, the recent financial crises in Europe and the United States, and affirmed that in today’s globalised world, these problems “inevitably lead to repercussions in Argentina.”  She talked about her administration’s efforts to counteract these repercussions and ensure a strong national economy, emphasising the government’s commitment to protecting national industry, as well as specific policies like the new Procrear Credit Plan. She reminded Argentines that next month her administration will issue the “Boden 2012” bonds in dollars, which were created in order to remunerate citizens for money lost in  the 2001 crisis.

Fernández ended her speech by reminding citizens that the “struggle is not just for economic growth, but rather a growth that comes with equality and equity.” She called for “national unity,” and for Argentines to continue working together on projects of “organisation and solidarity.”

In Tucumán this morning, the mother of Marita Verón started the process of giving evidence for the last time on her daughter’s case.

The sex-trafficking trial was suspended last Tuesday when a defendant had to have an operation and wasn’t able to attend. The case started again this morning when Verón’s mother Susana Trimarco was cross-examined.

Verón was in her early 20s when she disappeared in 2002. Trimarco says  a powerful sex-trafficking network operating in Tucumán kidnapped her daughter. There are currently 13 defendants standing on trial, accused of involvement in her disappearance.

As the main witness in the case, Trimarco started answering defense lawyers’ questions today. They want to prove that the young Véron left of her own volition and was not in fact kidnapped.

They are also trying to undermine Trimarco’s testimonies, highlighting contradictions in the accounts she has already given.

“A lot of years have gone by and there are details that I don’t remember, but everything I say, I say in good faith.” Trimarco said in court today.

The first of the lawyers to question her was Cergio Morfil, representing the brothers María Jesús and Victor Rivero. Morfil started the day by announcing that he had over 100 questions to ask Trimarco.

The courts are keen to finish with her testimony as soon as possible so they can start with more than 100 witnesses who are reportedly still to testify on the case.

The two-year anniversary of Haydée Mercedes Sosa’s death on the 4th October was, for many, an extremely sad day. This icon of Latin American folk music will be remembered for much more than just her exceptional voice by thousands of people all over the world. Dubbed “the voice of the voiceless ones”, Sosa spent most of her life not just as an ambassador for Latin American music, but also as a symbol of the struggle between the common man and his oppressor, and nowhere more so than in her own country.

Born on 9th July, 1935 in San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán province, to a family of mixed French and Amerindian (Quechuan) descent, as a child she began singing and folk dancing. At the age of fifteen, she was encouraged by her close group of friends to enter a singing competition organised by a local radio station. Her innate singing ability shone through and, on winning the competition, she was awarded a contract to perform for two months.

This leg up early on in Sosa’s career was not wasted, and in 1959, she recorded her first album La Voz de la Zafra. This prolific artist would go on to make a further 39 albums during a career that spanned over half a century.

Initially Sosa sung a wide variety of popular songs from Argentina and her local success earned her a reputation as a rising talent. During the early 1960s however, Argentine folk music was becoming a consumerist affair, with songs geared more towards record sales rather than telling the story of the common man and his daily experiences, as had been its roots. At this time Sosa, along with many others across Latin America, began to look around to other forms of Latin American folk music. What they found was the Nueva Canción (New Song).

Started in Chile in the early 1960s, the Nueva Canción movement sought to return to those roots of folk music that had seemingly been forgotten. In the 1963 Manifesto of the New Song Movement, which Mercedes Sosa played a big part in devising, the artists conclude by explaining that the purpose of the Movement is to “integrate the songs into people’s lives, to express their dreams, their joys, their struggles and their hopes.” Sosa, and her then husband Manuel Oscar Matus, began to interpret songs written by other Nueva Canción artists, such as Violeta Parra from Chile or Silvio Rodriguez from Cuba. This guaranteed her a Pan-American following, instantly popularising the movement and its music.

Mercedes, and her fellow Nueva Cancióneros, became figures, as a result of their highly politically charged lyrics, of the great struggles between the left and right that were abundant across the continent at the time. These leftist political leanings earned Mercedes unwanted attention within Argentina, and a number of her songs were censored during the Military Government. When, in 1979, she was searched and arrested on stage at a concert in the city of La Plata, she decided to emigrate, spending the next three years in Paris and then Madrid.

On her return in 1982 she was treated as a hero, and the recordings of a series of shows she did at the Teatro Colón later that year were instant successes. From then until her death in 2009 she remained a constant voice for the oppressed both in her own country and all around the world. With her music she continued to tour the great venues of the world, with shows in Carnegie Hall in New York, the Coliseum in Rome, and even the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The enormous gratitude that people had felt for her was shown after her death in 2009 when thousands queued to see her body in the National Congress Building in Buenos Aires, and President Kirchner announced three days of national mourning.

Genre: Folk, folklore, Nueva Canción

Dates Active: 1950-2009

Most Famous Song: Gracias a La Vida

Best Lyric: I only ask God/ that injustice doesn’t make me indifferent (Solo le pido a Dios/ Que lo injusto no me sea indiferente)

Famous For: Being vocal against injustice all over the world

In their own words:“I am of the people, and I will continue to be of the people”

Best to listen to: When feeling particularly righteous, or equally relaxed

Current governor of Tucuman, José Alperovich, has won a third term in office after a landslide victory in elections in the province. The latest information has shown that the Frente para la Victoria candidate had received 71.74% of the vote. In second place was the Radical candidate José Cano with 12.46%.

Due to a high number of candidates the time to count votes has been significantly slower than normal. However exit polls indicate that when numbers are finalised Alperovich will have won the biggest win of his political career.

Alperovich has achieved his second consecutive re-election, an ability he achieved in his first term in office, with a constitutional reform.

The government has been quick to celebrate the victory in Tucuman. Head of cabinet Aníbal Fernández explained the victory by “good governments are recognised.” She continued that “yesterday in Tucumán there was great citizen participation and this is very important.”

Minister of the Interior, Florencio Randazzo and vice-president candidate, Amado Boudou, also travelled to the province to support Alperovich. On her part, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called the victor to congratulate him. Alperovich acknowledged that “the President helped me a lot.”

Only seven games left now in the Argentine Clausura championship, and everyone is starting to get a bit edgy. Another manager bites the dust (Señor El Cholo Simeone of San Lorenzo jumping before he was pushed), several others dangling on the precipice and a very few actually happy and content pretty much sums up a manager’s life in this country.

This weekend was actually a rather landmark one for yours truly, as I had the pleasure of going on my first long distance road trip as part of the travelling Racing massive. On Thursday afternoon we travelled up to Tucumán bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and returned Sunday morning, how do I put this… destroyed, is probably the politest word to describe my physical and mental well-being at that point. I’m sure many of you can picture what a weekend away trip entails, but for your benefit anyway I found the itinerary of the trip in the bottom of my bag on returning home, and copy it here for your education:

Trip to Tucumán c/o the Racing Pibes Tour Company ltd:

Under-appreciated Tucumán Beauty at El Cadillal

Thursday:

6:30pm- Leave Retiro station on bus for 17 hour coach journey.

Friday:

12:00pm- Arrive in Tucumán and meet up with other (30) fans in nearby hostel. Start drinking Norte cerveza. Every time supplies run low, retire immediately to next door kiosk to restock.

2:00pm- Continue drinking, now with wine and the occasional “cigarette” being passed around the group.

3:00pm- Asado time- Massive chunks of beef rib, two whole chickens and bread. Must be accompanied with more beer, wine and Racing chants. After dinner, more beer, wine and “cigarettes”.

5:30pm- Trip to local area of natural beauty- in this case El cadillal dam. Continue drinking on the bus and while there, before breaking into the dam itself and walking precariously half-drunk on top.

7:30pm- Return to hostel for pre-game drinking

9:00pm- Stagger to ground as best you can and squeeze into any space going. Jump and shout like you’ve been drinking and smoking all day.

9:30pm- Soaked to your skin, you realise the game has been suspended because of the awful rain. Exit the stadium to a flooded street up to your ankles, and spend the next hour jumping on team buses, running from home fans and police and eventually getting a lift home with seven people in the back of a random pick up truck (procured by the police)

Saturday:

01:00am- After thoroughly drying off and refuelling on beer, wine and fernet, head out to sample the Tucumán nightlife. First, pizza and beer at only restaurant open.

2:30am- Head to local pool hall for a few friendly games and more beer. NOTE: A visit to a local ‘house of ill-repute’ is an alternative option.

5:00am- Return back to hostel absolutely exhausted, only to find your room filled with twenty people snoring like you’ve never heard before. NOTE: A visit to a local ‘house of ill-repute’ is an alternative option.

10:00am- Wake up. Breakfast- coffee, scones, beer, freshly-rolled “cigarettes”.

4:00pm Take bus back to Retiro. Sleep the entire way. Swear you will never touch alcohol again in your life.

Great trip, loved every minute!

Still, quite apart from my adventures there were some other games this weekend that lasted the whole 90 minutes. It would be rude not to talk of them a little:

Gabbarini Keeps Independiente Firing:

It’s often said that behind every championship winning side is a top-quality goalkeeper. Independiente certainly have one of those driving them on from the back, as Adrían Gabbarini performed heroics on the way to a 1-0 win over Arsenal de Sarandi. The rojo keeper pulled off save after save to keep out the away side, who had fallen behind to a thunderbolt free kick from reserve striker Lionel Nuñez. Watch it here, the ball was absolutely flying. Independiente squeak another one 1-0 then, and it looks like the championship’s theirs to lose from now.

Estudiantes and Banfield do Rojo a Favour:

Honestly, El Tolo Gallego must have hung a few horseshoes up and mutilated some rabbit’s feet in pre season. The lucky so and so, fresh from another close win saw close challengers Estudiantes and Banfield cancel each other out in a draw that suited only the Avellaneda outfit. Prolific Mauro Boselli notched another for la pincha to give them the lead, connecting his head with a speculative long shot to beat Banfield’s stranded keeper. El taladro equalled five minutes from half time through Quinteros, the midfielder finding himself in the right place as the ball pinballed around the home penalty area. Sebastian Fernandez then could have won it for Banfield with a penalty, but it was saved by Estudiantes’ Orión.

But Godoy are still sniffing around:

The Mendocinos refuse to go away this season, and with other rivals faltering they consolidated second place by beating Vélez 2-0 at home. They remain three points behind the leaders after two goals in two minutes on the counter attack broke down ‘the fort’ (Vélez’s nickname, el fortín). Pick of the goals came from César Carranza, who smartly beat the away goalie after great work down the right hand side from Feddy Higuaín.

Best of the Rest: A Tale of Three Grandes:

Independiente may be laughing, but the other four traditional big teams certainly aren’t getting the joke. With Racing only playing twenty minutes in Tucumán on a pitch better suited to kayaking, it was the other three biggies that suffered back in Buenos Aires. Diego Simeone fell on his sword after San Lorenzo suffered a dire defeat at home to strugglers Gimnasia. Sebastian Romero was the lobo hero, striking a fine left-footer into the home side’s net. El Cholo’s exit was not particularly mourned by the cuervo faithful, who had grown ever more frustrated with the team’s less than inspiring clausura performance.

Boca tecnico Alves will follow Simeone to the Job Centre this week, after resigning himself following a 2-1 reverse against relegation candidates Rosario Central. Boca chiefs however persuaded the under-fire coach to stay on until the next game against Colón in Santa Fe, to give them more time to find a replacement- strangely enough, there are few people willing at the moment to sip from this particular poisoned chalice.

Despite being the big team most in trouble, River boss Astrada currently seems to have his job relatively secure; at least, they are not whistling and cursing him from the stands yet. Many more performances like the loss against Lanús however, and he should watch his back. Las gallinas went down 1-0 in the south courtesy of Sebastian Blanco, who followed up his own header to take advantage of Daniel Vega’s horrible spill. River’s big problem seems to be the youth and inexperience of their frontline, who have been fairly ineffectual in front of goal. To paraphrase a certain Scottish football pundit’s famous words- “you don’t win anything with pibes.”

Full Results of Fecha 12:

Huracán	0	0	Colón
Argentinos Jrs.	2	1	Chacarita Jrs.
San Lorenzo de A.	0	1	G. y Esgrima L.P.
N.O. Boys	0	2	Tigre
Independiente	1	0	Arsenal F.C.
Estudiantes L.P.	1	1	Banfield
Boca Jrs.	1	2	Rosario Ctral.
Godoy Cruz (Mza.)	2	0	Vélez Sarsfield
Lanús	1	0	River Plate
At. Tucumán	0	0	Racing Club (Suspended after 22 mins)

Awkward Moment of the Week:

“El que no salta, es un ingleeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!” (Whoever doesn’t jump, is english!) Heard all around me in the Tucumán away end, week of the Falkland’s War anniversary, surrounded by 2,000 screaming fans. Did I jump? Too f****ing right I did!

Argentine Tourist Board Rep of the Week:

‘-Vamos a poder conseguir pasajes tan tarde?

-Obvio, quíen carajo quiere ir a Tucumán??’

(-Can we get bus tickets this late on?

-Course we can, who the f*** wants to go to Tucumán??)

Wise words from the one and only Luciano Ciccarelli, Racing fan extraordinaire, as we approached Retiro coach station without any tickets.

Hero of the Week:

It takes something a little special to get a 10 rating from Clarín, but Adrian Gabbarini fully deserved it as he formed a metaphorical brick wall around his goal, stopping everything that was thrown at him.

Boludo of the Week:

What You Lookin' at, Alves???

All roads are leading away from the Bombonera for temperamental/ sulky midfielder/ asshole Juan Román Riquelme. The number 10 capped a horrible day for Boca fans by getting himself sent off arguing with the referee, and now looks set to leave his boyhood idols for pastures new.