Argentine Official Defends Mortgage Loan After Ouster

Leandro Massaccesi fired back: “I did not get into politics to serve it.” This came after he was removed from the post of Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Human Capital for having accessed a mortgage loan from the National Bank. The former official broke his silence with an extensive statement in which he defended his integrity and detailed that the loan requested with his partner meets all the legal requirements in force for the purchase of a first home. Massaccesi emphasized that the loan management was “completely transparent, via web attaching all the required documentation,” and stressed his financial commitment by assuring: “It is a loan we are taking on responsibly, for 30 years, and that we are going to honor.” Minister Sandra Pettovello's decision to demand his resignation came as a surprise on Thursday night, after the case became public on social networks. I leave with the peace of mind of having worked with commitment during these almost two years at the Ministry of Human Capital. Although from the minister's entourage it was clarified that the legitimacy of the procedure is not being questioned, they considered it an “high-profile” action that should have been reported in advance to not compromise the Ministry's policy of austerity and transparency. In this regard, the Río Negro lawyer stated that “for those of us with public responsibilities to access the same tools as any citizen, complying with the rules, is not an illicit act,” linking his situation to that of thousands of middle-class Argentines seeking to own their own home. Massaccesi's departure comes in a climate of strong political pressure, as the opposition in Congress has already formally requested an investigation into the granting of multi-million dollar loans to various officials and ruling-party lawmakers. Names linked to the Ministry of Economy, the Central Bank, and even the Chamber of Deputies itself appear in the debtor records, with amounts in some cases exceeding $500 million. Faced with this scenario, the now former Chief of Staff lamented the end of his tenure: “I lament the untimely outcome of this situation. I did not commit any act contrary to the law.”