BUENOS AIRES : Fighting Argentine Corruption
President Carlos Saul Menem is implementing an anti-corruption campaign this week in response to what he calls “the moral emergency of the Republic of Argentina.” Measures include doubling the budget of the national office that monitors the personal wealth of high officials and proposed legislation to control private donations to political parties.
The latest in a series of corruption scandals here involved an alleged attempt to shake down the U.S. meatpacking firm, Swift/Armour, in return for official permission to invest $115 million in the country.
Reportedly as a result of the so-called “Swiftgate” controversy, Menem reshuffled his Cabinet, dissolving the Ministry of Public Works and Services and also dismissing the ministers of health and defense. Presidential adviser Emir Yoma, brother of Menem’s estranged wife, resigned.
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