Alberto Fernandez demands $800,000 from opposition leader for ‘damage to honor’

Argentine president at a conference in Berlin on May 11. FILIP SINGER (EFE)

Alberto Fernandez is asking 100 million pesos ($800,000) to repair the “damage to honor” he felt a year ago. The money must come out of Patricia Bulrich’s pocket during the presidency of former Security Minister Mauricio Macri and today one of the most radical voices of the conservative opposition. In late May 2021, Bulrich accused Fernandez and his former health secretary, Jane Gonzalez Garcia, of not buying the vaccine from Pfizer because the company refused to pay bribes. Both the president and the then secretary filed complaints and lawsuits, but Bulrich stood by his allegations without any evidence. Both appeared before a mediated judge on Tuesday. The former minister remained in his statements, while the president remained much in demand. The trial will take years and will certainly end up in court.

In May 2021 there was a shortage of vaccines against Covid-19 in Argentina. Less than 10% of the population received doses and supplies were limited to British AstraZeneca bottles, as well as Russian Sputnik and Chinese products. The opposition then blamed the lack of the US-sourced Pfizer vaccine.

The history of Pfizer’s vaccines in Argentina is presented in the chapters. In July 2020, when Argentina was confined to the virus for nearly four months, the government announced that Pfizer planned to conduct one of its clinical trials in the country. Thousands of Argentines received the experimental vaccine, and in return Argentina would receive preferential treatment (in terms of price and priority delivery) when the product was ready. The relationship between the government and Pfizer was great. But things did not go as expected. The government of Buenos Aires refused to pay DHL (the company that granted Pfizer Cold Chain exclusivity) and Pfizer did not accept the possibility of filing a claim for “negligence” under the Emergency Act. By Parliament by all political forces. Amid a major global vaccine shortage, Argentina has run out of Pfizer products.

The opposition immediately took advantage of the weak wing of Casa Rosada. Overnight, the press claimed that if there was a death from Covidium in Argentina, it was because the Pfizer vaccine had not been used. The blame for the health disaster was an official commitment to Russian, Chinese and British vials, the mood was agitated. In February 2021, the VIP Vaccination Clinic scandal broke out. Hundreds of people, including politicians, businessmen and journalists associated with Peronism and Kirchnerism, received the injection in turn, and in some cases at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health. Bulrich jumped on a wave of resentment and denounced on television that if Pfizer was not in Argentina, it was because he refused to pay the bribes Fernández was asking for. He then said that if “VIP vaccination” was a crime, taking bribes from Pfizer was “a hundred times worse.” The drug company denied the complaint, Bulrich never presented the evidence, and Fernandez filed a “breach of respect” complaint. A year later, little has changed.

Former Security Minister Patricia Bulrich attends a demonstration in Buenos Aires on Jan. 18, 2020, MARIANA GREIF (Reuters)

Bulrich appeared before a judge and became the voice of the victims of the pandemic, more than 129,000 people as of March 2020, on leaving the court. country . Please note that no fundamental contract has been signed for the Argentines. This contract was not signed and he should have known. This brought pain to the Argentines. “Today I was the channel of speech for all Argentinians who suffered for not being vaccinated on time,” he said, though he made no mention of bribery. The former minister, as expected, did not meet face-to-face with President Fernandez, who remained in an adjoining room. “He was left in a small room,” Bulrich snapped. Fernandez was replaced by his attorney, Gregorio Dalbon. He said the complaint would be upheld because the opposition leader did not want to be fired. And he hoped that if he won, the president would hand over the money to the Malbran Institute, which is responsible for infectious disease research in Argentina.

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