Argentina's 'El Grupo Sushi' Counts on Nepotism, Cronyism

["Johannes Schneider" <Johannes.Schneider@xxxxxxx>]

>From today's www.faz.com . It looks as de la Rua is no longer the darling of
the imperialist press;

Argentina's 'El Grupo Sushi' Counts on Nepotism, Cronyism
By Josef Oehrlein
South America Correspondent
BUENOS AIRES. Sushi has not really caught on yet in Argentina, where most
view it as a bit too exotic. But that is exactly the quality that makes it
attractive to a group of mainly young politicians and media figures who are
members of El Grupo Sushi. It is not really necessary that the cuisine be
served at exclusive restaurants where the group likes to meet, for they are
more like a secret order than a culinary club.

"Sushis," as they are called, are young, successful and powerful. They
exercise a growing unseen influence on the country's day-to-day politics
under the hesitant government of the seemingly weak president, Fernando de
la Rua.

The high priest of the Sushi order is Antonio de la Rua, who at 27 is the
eldest son of the president. "Antonito" does not have direct political
ambitions, at least for now, since he has committed himself to a career in
media and communications.

But Antonito ran his father's victorious 1999 election campaign, during
which he curiously chose to portray the candidate in commercials as a bore.
The premise was that the electorate would believe that a boring man would
not have any interest in extravagance, and that he would work honestly and
efficiently on their behalf. The strategy worked, and President de la Rua
reportedly now often seeks Antonito's advice on political decisions.

The Sushis are an illustrious set of ministers and power-brokers who include
Education Minister Andres Delich, Culture Minister Dario Loperfido, Tourism
Secretary Hernan Lombardi, Undersecretary of the Interior Lautaro Garcia
Batallan, and Dario Richarte, the number-two man at Side, the Argentian
secret police.

"We never want to be conspicuous," the members of the group say. But there
is one commonality among them that cannot fail to be conspicuous -- most of
them, and especially Mr. Loperfido, were appointed to office because
Antonito recommended them to his father.

President de la Rua came to power as a moral reformer and fiscal
conservative seeking to do away with the power-hungry and wasteful ways of
former President Carlos Menem and his clan. Now, with the country in the
grip of a serious economic crisis, the De la Rua family may yet give the
Menems a run for their money. Argentineans are dismayed especially by the
evidence of nepotism in the president's personal appointments.

The De la Rua style of government has come under criticism from unexpected
quarters. Under the headline, "De la Rua and Sons," the Brazilian newspaper
Veja published a mocking inventory of the frivolous ways in which the
president's relatives, led by his children, "revel amid the chaos and
shamelessly exploit their power." The report seems to have shaken the
Argentinean government, prompting its ambassador to Brazil to sent a letter
of protest to Veja. He said that the "shameful" article lacked all "respect"
for a president elected by his people. But Veja was merely repeating stories
circulating in the Argentinean media.

One of those stories is that the youngest De la Rua offspring, Fernando,
known as "Aito," was at the tender age of 25 appointed managing director of
a government Internet project, which paid him almost DM12,000 ($5,200) per
month. Aito went into this project with the 40-year-old Argentinean
businessman and millionaire, Martin Varsavsky, who provided about DM25
million in start-up funds for the educational project via a foundation. The
president's nephew, Fabian de la Rua, arranged the contact between them.

The Veja article also claims the president's daughter, Agustina, and her
husband Juan Petracchi live at the presidential palace in Olivos, although
no one can say what Mr. Petracchi does for a living.

Agustina reportedly likes to accompany her father on his journeys, whether
to China or the United States, and the president's wife, Ines Pertine, also
loves travel. She never misses any of her husband's trips, and was the only
non-European woman at the burial of the mother of Spanish King Juan Carlos.
When the whole De la Rua family was received recently by the Pope for a
20-minute audience, they scheduled their stay in Rome to stretch over days.
Veja implied the purpose of the extension was nothing other than a chance to
relax and enjoy themselves.

But press about Argentina's first family invariably focuses on Antonito --
especially since he declared his love for Colombian pop singer Shakira
Mebarak. According to the latest reports, they will soon wed.

Antonito is now looking for a Miami office for a communications and
marketing consultancy. Most Argentineans see him as an "ambitious young man
who does what he likes." A minister who prefers to remain anonymous says,
"The problem is that nobody can get him to stop."

A journalist for Argentina's Noticias magazine asks if it is malicious to
presume that an invitation to Antonito is the best way to win favor with his
father. Argentina's public is wondering just where Antonito gets money for a
life as a "commuter" between Buenos Aires, Miami, the Bahamas, Hollywood and
New York, with occasional excursions to Berlin, Italy, and Argentina's
Bariloche resort.

The governing UCR party has rushed to confirm that Antonito got a mere
DM30,000 for his consulting work during his father's campaign. For the years
1998 and 1999, he declared an average monthly income of just DM2,300.

"Antonio is very modest, he only spends money on CDs," protests his fellow
Sushi, Lautaro Garcia Batallan. Another friend confirms that Antonito
receives DM4,500 from his parents. His trips to Miami were sponsored by
Argentinean companies, a source says.