Ignacio Ortelli
02/25/2020 - 20:19
- Clarín.com
- Politics
As one who is discovered infraganti, Matías Lammens hurries to explain why in his office, among representative objects from different places in Argentina , there is an old copy of Granma, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Cuba . "It's a symbolic issue, with La Flaca we met there," he says. And he tells the story that unites him with his wife, the sociologist and researcher of Conicet Mariana Gené .
That crush, in Havana, occurred 19 years ago, when the Minister of Tourism and Sports traveled to study Political Science and she was on a vacation plan with her friends. Soon after, in Buenos Aires, they got married, in 2011 they got married and today they have a daughter, Ana (4); and another on the way for July.
The anecdote has to do with Lammens' concern to avoid mixing his personal positions with his political responsibility .
With the high guard, attentive to the observations made by the Presidency to the officials who received the approval to grant notes, will strive to avoid entering into controversies, like last year, when without qualms he defined himself as “progressive,” he said not to be Kirchner and admitted that "he would not have accepted being a candidate, with Cristina as head of the list" , which earned him hard internal questions.
Perhaps with that latent experience, the minister, owner of a wholesale beverage distributor, which allowed him to be the highest equity - a total of 36.6 million pesos - within the Cabinet, asks to put “the collective interest above the personal ”and leave for“ another moment ”some debates.
-How much are you applying in Sports your experience as president of San Lorenzo?
-In Sports I get a lot, my experience in the club has been valuable. The sport, in an Argentina with 40 percent of the poor, plays a decisive role as a social container because a boy who is in a club does not pass it on the street. That is why we are moving forward in a plan to provide them with infrastructure as we did with San Lorenzo.
- In campaign already it was heard criticizing the macrismo. But what is your analysis of what you inherited in Tourism and Sports?
-There was disinterest and divestment. And the sport has suffered a fierce definancing. To take dimension: Last year's budget was $ 1,367 million and today only to make the Evita Games $ 600 million is demanded. That is, in a few days we would spend half of the Budget. And with respect to Tourism, a great opportunity has been passed to generate foreign exchange and employment, which is our objective.
- Is there a concrete goal of how much tourism can increase?
-We received almost 7 and a half million tourists last year and the goal is to reach 10 million in the short term. That would mean going from $ 6 billion to about $ 8 billion.
-As a former candidate for the head of the Buenos Aires government, aren't you worried that the fight with the City will affect you because of co-participation?
-My link with the Buenos Aires government is professional and it will continue to be so. Then, there are decisions that have to do with an irregular situation that occurred last year, when land was ceded to the City and with the political destiny played. That is why it is good to review it.
Matías Lammens during the interview with Clarin. The minister still maintains the intention of being head of the City Government. Photo: Maxi Failla
- Do you still want to be head of government or with this position away?
-My responsibility is to lead this Ministry and all my attention is on here. But Buenos Aires is the city where I grew up and live, so of course I would love to be head of government one day.
-How are things inside the Front of All?
-Being a heterogeneous front, in which we can express our differences, strengthens us. What yes, I think you have to be smart in knowing how to choose the moment and the way. We have to focus on debt negotiation and not enter into some discussions that can cause differences to be seen from somewhere as a symptom of weakness.
- It says it by the discussion on the political prisoners?
-Yes, this is not the time to give that discussion. Beyond the personal desire that one may have to express a personal opinion vehemently, it is time to put the collective interest above.
- But for you there are political prisoners?
- (Smiles) I insist: any executive officer who gives such a definition is going to lend itself to controversy and does not work. We have to be very careful.
- As Minister of Sports, would you have liked FIFA to consult Argentina before giving the charge to Macri?
-As an official, I cannot comment on those decisions. But I can tell that in his years as President we suffered a situation of suffocation and intimidation, and that we were pushed to be allowed to enter joint-stock companies in football.
- But that was Macri's idea?
-I have no doubt that it was a decision of the former president. That is why it catches my attention to see that it now manifests the social importance that clubs have.
-In campaign, they promised money for retirees but, except for those of the minimum, progress was made with an adjustment. What happened?
-I don't think there was an adjustment. If you see the general numbers, the fixed amount that has been given to retirees and free medications, and that began from those who are below to reach those above, there is a logic with what we proposed in the campaign .
-But the retiree who was not at the minimum was affected ...
-But there are a lot of measures that were taken for people's pocket. For example, the refund of VAT and the freezing of tariffs, which are things that impact.
- Do you talk to Cristina?
-No, after the campaign I didn't speak anymore.
- Do you regret saying that he was not a Kirchner and if Alberto was not a candidate, you did not join the space?
- I do not regret because I insist: what some want to mark as a symptom of weakness, I feel it as a strength. I feel part of that breadth that Alberto summoned and what Cristina sought with Alberto's emergence as a candidate for president and the incorporation of Sergio Massa.
-Who is the political head of space?
-Alberto. He is the President and is the figure that best synthesizes this consensus. There are figures of a very important specific weight, which give the space a lot of strength, but who gave it the necessary breadth to win the elections in October was Alberto.
- Would you like to see Marcelo Tinelli in the Cabinet?
-I don't know if you have the will to participate in politics; but, if I had it, I could make an interesting contribution. I love Marcelo very much, I have a personal relationship and I can say that he has a special sensitivity.
Marcelo Tinelli, the new president of San Lorenzo, and his predecessor, Matías Lammens.
-What is your vision about the Soccer for All program? Should i come back?
- I to those who say that you cannot put money for football I say that football is part of our cultural heritage. Now, I think that given this economic situation, the priorities we have are other and that it is not the time for the country to give this discussion and put the issue on the agenda.