Workout
Meditation
Contact Us
By unanimityThe Neuquén Legislature approved in a special session the dismissal of the lieutenant governor Gloria Ruiz by “moral inability“. The initiative had 30 votes in favor, while five deputies from the left blocs and Unión por la Patria left the premises before voting, because they are not authorized to abstain.
The text of the law declares that Gloria Argentina Ruiz is prevented from exercising her functions due to moral inability. It also indicates that The impediment will extend until December 10, 2027, corresponding to the immediate cessation of all remuneration, diet or economic benefit and that will begin automatically from the approval of the law.
While the debate of the deputies was going on, Justice reported that Ruiz had been officially charged with alleged fraud against the State and illicit enrichment.. Until then, the “moral inability” was based on an internal investigation carried out by the deputies and which demonstrated a series of irregularities in their management, such as nepotism, irregular hiring, payment of surcharges and unjustified expenses during their management.
After an inconsistent defense that lasted nine hours in the Constitutional Affairs commission, Gloria Ruiz assured the press that she had not committed any crimes but rather “some sloppiness” in the management, but without bad intentions..
During the special session, the deputy of the Neuquén Popular Movement Claudio Dominguez She reviewed the details of the investigation and the inconsistencies when trying to justify, for example, the purchase of a 4×4 truck, the diversion of funds from the Municipality of Plottier to build a swimming pool when she was mayor or the payment of surcharges on advertising that she published. on their personal accounts on social networks.
The deputy of Pro Marcelo Bermudez It supported Ruiz’s moral inability also due to his lack of capacity to perform his role and the low level of awareness about the responsibility that public function entails.
He clarified that the Legislative Branch does not investigate the crimes committed but rather judges “an attitude, which includes little attachment to rules, love for shortcuts and things that are not very transparent”.
During the debate, the Neuquinizate Front deputy Francisco Lepore presented a summary on slides to detail what the investigation process was like and the irregularities detected in the management of public funds.
Although the law was approved unanimously, with the 30 deputies present who voted in favor, five other legislators left the room as they were not authorized to abstain.
Throughout the debate, the ruling party called for voting “yes or no, with no room for the grays,” although The Left Front (FIT) questioned the double standard for judging the morality of officials.
Andrew WhiteFIT deputy, assured that the debate in Ruiz’s defense was obscene by showing a vice governor explaining how she bought a truck for 90 million pesos when people are having a “horribly bad time.”
Blanco also targeted the governor of Neuquén, Rolando Figueroawho won in the elections in April 2023 in a formula with Ruiz. “I allow myself to doubt whether his running mate was not aware of these past irregularities.”said.
The UP deputy expressed his opinion in the same sense. Dario Peraltawho responded to legislators who accused Ruiz of having hired unsuitable relatives in the Legislature. “I wonder if the governor was competent to choose his running mate,” he shot.
In turn, his peer from the same block, the former Secretary of Energy of the Nation Darío MartínezHe asked for abstention when questioning the process and called on deputies to vote for an anti-corruption law “to put a giant magnifying glass on each public official, so that this very serious fact serves some purpose.”
In response, the provincial deputy of Pro Damián Canuto He urged the deputies to judge the central facts that support the request for moral inability. He quoted the children’s story The Emperor’s New Clothes to demand that the obvious be observed instead of supporting the vote on regulatory positions or technicalities of the process.
As of the approval of the law, Ruiz ceased to be vice-governor of the province. The former mayor of Plottier had come to power through an alliance with her running mate, Figueroa, who had formed a broad front after breaking ranks with her party, the Neuquén Popular Movement (MPN), to reach the Neuquén government.
Since the corruption complaint became known, the provincial cabinet and the mayors of different political parties lined up under the motto of “zero tolerance” to corruption and Even Ruiz’s former allies announced their disaffiliation from the party they shared.
The governor, for his part, decided to maintain the low profile in this institutional crisis that Neuquén is going through. He claimed to be “disappointed and hurt” with Ruiz’s attitudes, but affirmed that he was going to respect the division of powers in the process that culminated this Thursday with the dismissal of the president of the chamber.
After the decision, and according to the succession order, the deputy Zulma Reina will occupy the position of president of the Legislature. She will not lose her right to vote and will have to cover Figueroa’s duties every time he is absent, but she will not be vice-governor of Neuquén. For this reason, the position in the Executive Branch that Ruiz occupied will remain headless.
