ARGENTINA’S SOAP OPERA

Santiago O’Donnell’s article (“Argentina: The Soap Opera of the Americas,” Aug. 18) caricatures President Carlos Menem cruelly without making any effort to understand why he took over the presidency from Raul Alfonsin several months ahead of time. Chaos and ruin had hit bottom during the tenure of the Radicals, and Alfonsin was at a loss for any solution. Menem has imposed harsh measures to help Argentina return to normal. In the last year, the parallel market has disappeared (it still exists in other countries, such as Brazil), and inflation has diminished considerably. Even those who are against Menem admitted to me three weeks ago that the country was enjoying a certain amount of financial stability.

I saw Mirtha Legrand’s interview with President Menem last December, and I am amazed at O’Donnell’s account of the encounter. Mirtha Legrand, far from being a voluptuous blonde, is a well-preserved grandmother in her late 60s who has been married for the last 40 years or so to Daniel Tinayre, a distinguished film director. If anything, her movies would receive a G rating according to present standards. The insinuations by O’Donnell of what happened on national TV are an excellent example of journalistic smut. When such pieces appear in a reputable newspaper of wide circulation in an area with a large Spanish-speaking population, it’s impossible to measure the damage it will cause.

CORINA S. MATHIEU

University of Nevada, Las Vegas