Amid criticism from Cristina Kirchner, the head of the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP), Mercedes Marco del Ponthe came back to give in to harsh Kirchnerism and decided delegate management of personnel to the deputy director general of Human Resources, Cecilia Rodriguezz, former Minister of Security and aligned with La Cámpora.
The decision was made effective through provision 112/2022, hours after the massista’s landing took place William Michael as the new head of the General Directorate of Customs in replacement of Silvia Traverseanother intervention that Marcó del Pont suffered in his team.
With the provision, Marcó del Pont delegated broad powers to Rodríguez: “The power to arrange the transfer within the permanent plant of the organism” and “to order the change of function by obtaining a title or the assignment of functions in accordance with the professional capacity acquired.”
Cecilia Rodríguez, in 2014, when she was Minister of Security.
Also, Rodríguez will now be able to “inform personnel who meet the requirements (to retire), required to obtain one of the benefits of Law No. 24,241 and its modifications.”
This was one of the points that generated the most tension within the body. It is that among the historical personnel, who are opposed to starting the retirement process, they see the strategy of filling the vacancies with militants and Kirchner officials from other departments.
as posted Clarion weeks ago, together with the state-owned Nuclear Power Plant Argentina (NASA) and the Special Unit for Electric Power Transmission System (UESTEE), the AFIP is one of the three state agencies that pays the best salaries within the State, with an average salary of 559,806 pesos.
For the time being, he hasn’t taken over militants. Indeed, during Marcó del Pont’s administration the workforce was not increased, but reduced: it currently has 20,878 employees.
But the number of appointments in chiefs did increase by appealing to the exception provided by law to enable those who do not have a professional title.
Sources from the agency that report to Marcó del Pont and Cecilia Rodríguez deny the information. They circumscribe these situations to “specific cases” of employees with a lot of experience and “with training and suitability” to fulfill their duties. Also, they say, “no militants entered.”
Under the command of Ricardo Echegaray, the administrator during the administration of Cristina Kirchner, La Cámpora was never able to gain a foothold in the AFIP, something he used to brag about to his intimates. Now, some believe, it could be different.
“The macrismo appointed many people but did not break the codes: it made them enter the lowest echelon, because it takes a long time to train staff. Now they come in and right away they put them in high positions, ”he told Clarion an experienced source who walks through the AFIP headquarters every day.
“Marcó got tired of putting the ‘hook’ (the signature) and does not want to be stuck,” he redoubled.
Gesture to Cristina
Beyond the response given by the body, well-informed sources frame the measure in another gesture of Marcó del Pont to approach Cristina in the midst of the attacks he receives.
It is worth reviewing: estranged from the vice president since she was kicked out of the Central Bank in 2013 and questioned by the Renovating Front of Serge Massahis appointment was a strict decision of Alberto Fernandezin a context in which the President, as Cristina acknowledged, was allowed to assemble his Cabinet.
“He is doing everything to look good with her and he is doing nothing more than breaking the logic of merit that has always characterized the AFIP,” questions a voice that says it feels “appreciation” for Marcó del Pont but regrets “his do-anything-to-save attitude.”
In her last public appearance, the vice president put Marcó del Pont at the center of the scene. She recalled that “in the ranking of evading countries, Argentina ranks third.” “The first are Guyana and Chad. Second is Malta. And the third is Argentina together with Comoros, Zambia, Pakistan”, she added.
The criticism did not stop there. He remarked that he did not advance with the search for capital flight. “Together with this podium of evading countries we have another podium: in countries with formation of assets abroad we are also third. Look what a coincidence, ”she ironized.
AFIP headquarters.
Cristina’s surgical precision is curious, as she has two highly trusted officials in the organization in relevant positions: General Director of Social Security Resources, Charles CastagnetoY Virginia Garcia (in the DGI).
Clarion he consulted the AFIP press area, but the decision was not to comment on it. In any case, officials close to Marcó del Pont and Rodríguez remarked that “they have an excellent relationship, they worked very well together when Cecilia was in Security as Chief of Staff (for Sabina Frederic) and they coordinated operations in the North.”
Regarding the measure, they minimized the impact and clarified that it was to “facilitate administrative management” and “reduce the administrative burden” of the owner.
They explained that in a body with 21,000 employees, the handling of administrative personnel issues hindered their task and that, in any case, Marcó del Pont will maintain power over all new appointments. Likewise, they explain that Rodríguez “as a political official who consults everything with Mercedes and does not do anything that she does not want.”
The provision, on the other hand, obliges the deputy director to inform him “every three months” of all the movements that he has.
