National deputy for Unión por la Patria Eduardo Valdés today introduced a bill to provide reparations to surviving victims and direct relatives of fatal victims of the contaminated fentanyl tragedy that occurred months ago due to the circulation of adulterated batches of medication on the market. The "comprehensive and equal" reparations include an economic subsidy equivalent to three minimum vital and mobile wages, but the initiative also includes "health services, social assistance, educational reintegration, and labor insertion." The bill provides for a lifelong pension for children and spouses of those who died, as well as benefits for survivors who have suffered disabilities as a result of the poisoning. The subsidy is not incompatible and will not be taken into account when receiving future compensation to be obtained through judicial or extrajudicial means. This reparation can be received by minor children up to 18 years of age through their legal representatives, or older children up to 25 years of age with the respective certificate. The subsidy will also be directed to the spouse or partner who proves a minimum of two years of cohabitation immediately prior to the death. In the case of surviving victims, the subsidy will be available to them for as long as the work disability caused by the supply of contaminated or adulterated fentanyl persists. "The State has the obligation to assume a social commitment in the face of this tragedy, providing a comprehensive response to the victims' families and those who survived," stated Valdés, the author of the bill which is also signed by other deputies from Unión por la Patria and the Front of the Left. The opposition deputy explained that "state inaction and private negligence left an open wound in Argentine society," which is why he stressed the need to address this law that offers "reparation and social justice to those who have been left helpless." The norm, which creates the "Comprehensive Reparation Program for Fatal Victims' Families and Surviving Victims of Contaminated or Adulterated Fentanyl," entrusts the Ministry of Human Capital with the implementation of the program and coordination with the affected provinces. It also creates a Control and Monitoring Board made up of victims' families, NGOs, and public bodies, to ensure transparency and effectiveness in the law's application. "Many families lost not only their loved ones but also their livelihood. We cannot allow them to carry the weight of the State's abandonment in addition to their pain," concluded Valdés.
