President Javier Milei was visibly excited this Thursday during the inauguration of the bust of the former president Carlos Sal Menem at Casa Rosada.
On the verge of tears, the current head of state reviewed some moments of the relationship between the Riojan, whom he described as “the best president of the last 40 years”, with his mother Mohibe.
“He was deprived of his freedom from 1976 to 1981. He was imprisoned on a boat, in Magdalena, Mar del Plata, Tandil and Las Lomitas, several times on the verge of being disappeared, but he had the custody of his guardian angel, his brother. Eduardo (Menem)”, the president said with a broken voice.
“I get excited because I know what is coming in this part of the speech. (…) Everyone talked about how affectionate Carlos was with his family, especially with his parents,” he added. Next, he told an anecdote that, he assured, “paints Carlos Menem in its entirety.”
“In the year 76, when they arrested him, they took him prisoner to Buenos Aires. His mother Mohibe (Akil) was in La Rioja, very sad for her son. One day they took him back to his province to testify and his mother went to visit, excited that they will leave him detained there. But finally they put him on a military plane and took him to Buenos Aires again. His mother saw the plane leave from the balcony of her house and said there, they are taking Carlos. That same night, in the midst of sadness, he suffered a decompensation and died the next day.”Milei recalled.
“His brother Eduardo made a request to allow Carlos to travel to attend his mother’s wake. The military denied him. The person who denied it was General Harguindeguy. Upon his release and after being elected president, he used constitutional tools and made the decision to pacify Argentina through different pardons granted to the military as well as to guerrillas. History says that the first pardon was signed by Harguindeguy himself.”he added.
“This cost Menem several family fights, with his brother Eduardo, for example. When they asked him why he had pardoned the person who had prohibited him from attending his mother’s wake, Menem said that the most important thing was to pacify Argentina and that That was above personal issues. That was Menem“, the president closed his story.
The gratitude of the Menem family
“I want to thank from the depths of my heart that it finally came to fruition this year, on a date with such important meaning,” said Zulemita Menem, daughter of the late former head of state, referring to the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Peronist leader in the 1989 elections.
In her speech, Zulemita stated that she was “very honored” by her father, whom she defined as “a gentleman of politics”.
“I wish you, as a citizen, all the success that your dedication and task deserve”said Carlos Menem’s daughter, addressing Milei.
