Roque Frangolini
is a piquetero leader of the Libres del Sur organization, which in the Buenos Aires town of San Nicolás administers around a hundred social plans.
In the last few hours, he was
reported to court for the alleged charge of 10% to the beneficiaries of the Empower Work
, following a series of transfers made to his name and different chats that circulated and compromised him.
A report by journalist Tomás Díaz Cueto on his Instagram account was the one that uncovered the pot and triggered a scandal in San Nicolás.
There, he spread
WhatsApp conversations, payment receipts, lists of beneficiaries
and even audios in which Frangolini asks for a percentage in exchange for managing the social plans.
Most of the transfers to his account are between $7,000 and $14,000, the approximate equivalent of 10% of the current Empower Work amount, stipulated in January at $78,000 per month.
At least four transfers were made
to Frangolini's account , for $7,300, $7,800, $8,100 and $14,600
, although in the list of beneficiaries that he himself sent via chat the number is much higher, around 100. manages Libres del Sur in the town in the interior of the province of Buenos Aires.
One of the chats that compromises Frangolini
In addition, there are texts sent in which the picketer lists the beneficiaries so that they can mobilize to different demonstrations that he calls for and in which he warns that
he will be "controlling everything
. "
He also communicates who are those who missed those protests and those who have not yet complied with the monthly "contribution", that tithe that he took.
The newest audio involving him is prior to the strike on January 24.
A march had been called to Plaza Miter, about which Frangolini clarified: "If I don't see them on Tuesday and Wednesday the 24th, I won't re-register them in the organization. Here, the lukewarm ones should stay at home. But don't try to keep getting paid."
One of the transfers turned to Frangolini.
In another, previous audio, Frangolini called on the beneficiaries to receive Axel Kicillof during the governor's visit to San Nicolás in November 2023, prior to the runoff that Sergio Massa ended up losing to Javier Milei.
"We are going to go find the people to go vote," the picketer transmitted to his interlocutors in another audio before that election
.
Frangolini was a candidate for mayor in San Nicolás last year, but he did not exceed 1.5% of the votes.
In addition to the report he made on his social networks, Díaz Cueto reported Frangolini to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating the information he provided them.
From Libres del Sur, consulted by
Clarín
, its main representative, Silvia Saravia, recognized that Frangolini belongs to her organization and assured that "we are on the subject", in reference to the internal investigation that was opened to investigate how the leader proceeded.
Libres del Sur is, at the national level, one of the social organizations that receives the most funds as intermediaries from its beneficiaries, estimated at approximately 70,000 throughout the country.
And it is also one of those that usually mobilizes protests against the Government for the payment of plans, both in the government of Alberto Fernández and in the current one of Javier Milei.
There are others, such as the Partido Obrero, equally or more numerous, who have sincerely stated that they charge a 2% fee to the beneficiaries of Empower Work.
This was recognized by the leader Gabriel Solano, pre-candidate for president in the last PASO.