In Together for Change they say that "the quarantine is destructive" and qualify infectologists as "militants" of the Government

Guido Carelli Lynch

08/08/2020 - 20:42

• Clarín.com
• Politics

A sector of Together for Change questioned the Government's health strategy in harsh terms . “( The president) fell in love with the quarantine, advised by militant scientists and doctors ,” Adolfo Rubinstein, former minister and later Health Secretary of Mauricio Macri, broke the ice during a zoom with militants in which the head of the interblock also participated from the main opposition force Mario Negri and former Finance Minister Alfonso Prat Gay.

This position is not institutional, but it is shared by the president of PRO, Patricia Bullrich, by the Civic Coalition; and by a growing sector of the UCR. “It is a destructive and totally inexplicable quarantine. It should be two months, with openings with protocols of the economy and care of the elderly. This quarantine ruins the economy and the health of families and is a fake quarantine . The cases never went down. We are the only country in the world that did not have a peak. They just ran the bow. It is time for the President to accept that he must abruptly change the strategy, ”former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich told Clarín.

This Monday morning, moderates and hawks from the opposition coalition will meet in a zoom of the national table of Cambiemos. The presence of Macri, who is in France, on the Côte d'Azur, is expected. Miguel Pichetto, the former governor María Eugenia Vidal, the head of Government Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and the head of the block of Deputies, Cristian Ritondo, are also summoned by the PRO; Negri, Senator Marín Lousteau, the head of the Alfredo Cornejo party, for the UCR; and Maximiliano Ferraro, for the Civic Coalition.

Rubinstein, one of the opposition leaders on health issues, questioned the role of the infectious disease committee, which advises the President and is made up of Pedro Cahn and Omar Sued, among others. “ The Advisory Council justified the political decisions already taken. Until the resource ceased to be effective when it became the only resource, "said the former official in the framework of the virtual meeting called" Health, economy and politics in Argentina to come "and that had more than 45 thousand views on Facebook .

In private, the hard wing of Together for Change does not question the head of the City Government, who prefers not to argue with the Executive or respond to the criticism of the President and several ministers about the health capacity of the Capital, but asks him to not reverse gears. "Larreta and Quirós must continue to advance in the intelligent quarantine", they argue. They add that the Buenos Aires and national governments are putting the Buenos Aires strategy in danger.

Consulted by this newspaper, Ritondo detached himself from Rubinstein's appreciations. "My guide in terms of health policy are Fernán Quirós and Horacio (Rodríguez Larreta) and our suburban mayors," said the former minister of Vidal. Lousteau also asks to "elevate" the debate on the economic and social situation, which he considers dramatic. Other moderates point out that the criticisms are from opponents who do not govern.

However, in recent days the governor of Mendoza, the radical Rodolfo Suarez criticized the data presented by the President and his co-religionist, Gustavo Valdés from Corrientes, hesitated to abide by the DNU that prohibits social gatherings.

Outside the microphone, some of the "pigeons" from Cambiemos question Prat Gay (" they threw him out like a dog" , they say) and point at Negri. They remember that the Cordovan legislator was the first to describe the President as the "commander" of the battle against the coronavirus before the quarantine was made official, in the Casa Rosada. The head of the opposition interblock of the Lower House prefers to put the magnifying glass on the judicial reform. "If the personal agenda of the vice president in her relationship with justice has become a public agency of the government with justice, it is something tremendous," said the Cordovan deputy.

The judicial reform closed ranks between the two sides of the opposition, with a shared statement. Finally, Larreta let his discomfort over the inclusion of his name at the end of the text transcend. The only signature, they insist, should be the institutional party. "It was a trap," complained leaders of his kidney.

Elisa Carrió also reappeared this week with support for Larreta, which some interpreted as a pressure game. "The pandemic is being used with the aim of establishing a state of siege. Larreta and Santilli are in charge of everything, while Kicillof and the rest are only dedicated to attacking and lying. They lie with the debt and lie with the pandemic", sentenced the former deputy.

In the City they prefer not to confront the Government while criticism grows from the ruling party. In the Government some voices point to Larreta because they interpret that he allows a " double game " between moderate opponents and the toughest. Larreta is not concerned about his relationship with the government. "Alberto Fernández knows that this sector does not respond to him", they affirm in the surroundings of the head of Government.