El Fino vs. Manotas, the secret fight of the bosses of the Bonaerense

02/09/2021 18:16

• Clarín.com

• Opinion

Updated 02/09/2021 18:16

Daniel García is

El Fino

.

Jorge Figini is

Manotas

.

García and Figini are the general commissioners who lead the Buenos Aires Police.

Garcia is the head of the force.

Figini, his second.

Although it is a "secret" of management to the outside, everyone knows it inside: there is no harmony and fluidity between them, as might be expected, but

discord and mistrust

.

The problem is that they are the vertex of the largest security pyramid in Argentina, with 90,000 men who, below them, huddle behind bosses who follow one or the other, in a crack that disorients the troops,

more pending from internal creakings than from growing crime in the street

.

“It's a problem… the main chief of this district is from García and the chief of Patrols, from Figini.

One has just been promoted and the other has not, and reciprocal suspicion is not the most stimulating way to concentrate on work, ”says

a mayor from the southern suburbs worried about the intern right

in the middle of a wave of insecurity

.

It's not the only one.

In addition to the salary and

“survival”

claims such

as bulletproof vests in conditions, ammunition and more training courses, what fuels the disagreement of the Buenos Aires police officers who

are calling for another police strike for this Thursday

is the disparity between the recent promotions, they met at the end of January.

There, they assure from both sides, the people of Figini, number two, were

more benefited

than that of García, number one.

Among those on the promoted lists there are cases that the rebels agitate to ignite the strike this Thursday, such as that of a major commissioner who had been

prosecuted for protecting brothels

.

García was the second chief of the force during the mandate of María Eugenia Vidal and her Minister of Security, Cristian Ritondo.

When Kicillof took office, Vidal's boss, Fabián Perroni, resigned, and García remained as the natural successor.

Berni put it to the test for a couple of months and then

confirmed it as number one

.

But during that "transition" Figini was planted to Garcia as a

firm competitor

, with a strong endorsement of the former boss Hugo Matzkin, of whom Figini was secretary and trusted man.

Matzkin was Daniel Scioli's powerful police chief and his candidate to lead the SIDE, if the now ambassador to Brazil had beaten Macri in 2015.

The Minister of Security who sponsored Matzkin - and who even took him to work in his municipality when they both left office due to the triumph of

Cambiemos

- was the historic mayor of Ezeiza, Alejandro Granados.

Figini is trained in the

“desk” areas

of the Police, more focused on investigating and investigating officers.

Those who know him say that he has a gentlemanly treatment - he is a lawyer - and that he is good at his thing.

The police protest in Buenos Aires, five months ago.

Photo: Luciano Thieberger.

García is a commissioner made

"in the street

.

"

He was in police stations in Morón, Merlo and San Martín, and from there he built strong support in the western suburbs,

including the gigantic La Matanza

.

Several mayors who praise his professional profile point out that he does not lack weighty political contacts either.

His brother is the manager and right hand of Alberto Pierri, the businessman who owns

Channel 26,

who was the powerful president of the Chamber of Deputies in the Menem years.

La Matanza is also the homeland of Vice Governor Verónica Magario.

With these endorsements, the wrestling for number one was won by García, nicknamed

El Fino

for his ability to

walk through the mud without getting muddy

.

Literal and metaphorical.

But Figini keeps her inner firepower high.

His nickname

Manotas

- the name of a cartoon that is

an octopus

- is derogatory: it was given to him by enemies who always locate him near police boxes.

Perhaps it has to do with the sworn declaration of his patrimony, the highest of all the bosses of the Bonaerense.

In 2019, Figini declared

five properties

(four in La Plata and one in Bariloche) and two cars for 6.4 million pesos.

His wife, also a professional, knew how to integrate the psychological cabinet of the Juan Vucetich school, at the time in charge of Figini.

García declared less than half of the assets of his second: 2.9 million pesos, which adds up to a house in Tres de Febrero and two cars.

If it is not in public events or in front of the authorities of the Ministry or the Government, García and Figini

do not speak

.

Buenos Aires Security Minister Sergio Berni, among police chiefs.

Minister Berni tolerates the intern, although it is not very clear

why

.

Is it an imposition of politics?

"They both know they are within a pen's throw from me,"

says Berni about the differences between the bosses.

But Buenos Aires is

split

, the police are preparing a new

rebellion

,

violent robberies are

once again a daily tragedy and

Berni's pen does not fire

.

Governor Kicillof lets go and sources in the municipalities assure that the political balance between

"the one and the two"

, with their support from different aspects of the historical Peronism of the suburbs, has weighed more than the bad relationship between them.

But the situation goes

from brown to dark

.

If Berni stays in his post, it is difficult for him to continue without ordering an internal front that leads him to a probable second police strike in less than six months, an unprecedented event that

would drag him to the ledge himself

.

That is why he accelerated the sleeping summaries and announced the separation of 400 police officers for the previous strike just 48 hours before the date of the new strike, announced for this Thursday.

If Berni leaves - as he wants and cannot

until Cristina Kirchner allows him to

- his successor should take over with a fire extinguisher under his arm.