The Minister of Government of the City of Buenos Aires, former mayor of Vicente López and pre-candidate for head of the Buenos Aires Government, leaves behind the controversy within Together for Change due to the concurrent elections in the City, clarifies that he complies “in excess” with the requirements for his candidacy, he is ecumenical and opens the doors of the privacy of the Macri family.
The issue of your address generated controversy, after the request made on his Twitter account by the legislator of the Civic Coalition, Facundo Del Gaiso, asked that you clarify if you have an address in the City of Buenos Aires, a requirement to be a candidate, is there Any risk of challenging your candidacy for that?
No, there is no impediment, I meet the requirements in excess, otherwise, in no case would a candidacy have been raised in the City of Buenos Aires. I have lived in this city for more than 41 years, I have a history of ties to this city, my children were born here, I married Belén last year. I did little rooms of three, four and five at the Washington School, I lived there around the corner at Arribeños 1212. Later I went to St. Brendan’s school, in Belgrano R, in front of Plaza Castelli, which is one of those places that reminds you many joyful and happy moments. We moved again later to the Palermo, Libertador and Ocampo side, when I was more or less 13 years old. When my dad got sick, who lived very close to there, he asked my mom, they were already divorced, to move into the same building, so dad lived in 11th “B”, we in 8th ” A” de Ramón Castilla 2871, so I continued living there until I was 34 years old. I have now lived in the City for a long time again, so not only do I meet the requirements, which is obvious, but I am linked to this city by a life story, a passion, a very great commitment that has also grown in these almost two years of management in the City, where I feel very committed to the citizens and I feel that in addition to meeting the requirements, I have management attributes that are valuable to me.
Regarding attributes, do you have to be domiciled in the City of Buenos Aires?
You must have residence in the City of Buenos Aires.
And you have it.
I have it and there is no incompatibility with the role of mayor. In fact, many mayors of the suburbs also live in the City of Buenos Aires, because to be a mayor you need to have a domicile, which is a more formal fact than housing.
There is a difference between domicile and residence.
Exactly.
I am surprised at the difference between domicile and residence.
It is that you can have many addresses.
It is different in Vicente López than in the City.
Exactly, the requirements are different, so you can meet both requirements at the same time.
In Buenos Aires it is required then.
Home.
And in Vicente Lopez.
home. Again, that is why many mayors have their domicile in the municipality they govern, but they live in the City of Buenos Aires, which is quite common.
And his residence here in the City of Buenos Aires.
Yes, and that is usual, it is legal. But beyond that, I think the spirit has to do with…
The residence is the place where you live.
exact
The domicile is an address where one formally establishes the place where they are going to receive information.
You can receive information, documentation. It happens to many people who have a different address and different from the place where they live. It can happen to yourself, maybe have an address here and live elsewhere.
How do you imagine that the PRO’s PASO for Head of Government of the City of Buenos Aires will end up?
I am going to be a candidate and with a lot of determination, because he assumed a very big commitment with the residents of this city, who also day by day in each activity, I am going to leave here and go to a meeting with the president of Centro Retirees, then I go to a meeting with neighbors in the Agronomía neighborhood. Many of those who go there tell me: “I want you to be our Head of Government”, I committed to that, I am going to be a candidate and God willing and the people accompany me, Head of Government. I think that the system that ended up being chosen, about which there was a lot of debate, is a system that allows participation in a comfortable way. The single electronic ballot will allow us to discuss our candidacy, well in the sense of the City, because there is no longer a discussion of who I am stuck with, on which ballot. In a moment people are going to enter the dark room, they are going to choose their candidate for president and the list of representatives, and then they are going to go to the computer and they are going to be able to choose which of us they feel best represents what they need for this City. And I really like that, that we can discuss and consolidate a proposal and offer for the citizens.
You changed your mind about what they said about the system being complex, it’s not convenient.
I would tell you that I still think that voting will probably be slow due to this double system, but if I analyze it from the point of view as a candidate, the single electronic ballot that we already use in the City of Buenos Aires is a good system. I’m worried that people will take a little longer to vote, which is the same thing I said when the system was first introduced.
So this initial idea that this would benefit Lousteau is not correct.
I don’t underestimate people. If someone believes that because he chooses one electoral system or another he will be able to win an election, he underestimates the citizen.
That assumption was not correct, it does not benefit Lousteau.
I don’t know, someone out there feels that way.
And what do you attribute so much noise to after Horacio Rodríguez Larreta’s decision to use this system?
The main discussion was that there was a lack of prior dialogue and that is not what usually happens in PRO, these things are often debated. He had the right to do so because he is Head of Government and can make the decision without that prior dialogue, but these things are usually discussed in the PRO.
Mauricio Macri said that he regretted that the Head of Government had not worked as a team, you mean that, what he regretted was not consulting, not the method.
Of course, it is that the method can be debatable, the absence of previous dialogue is uncomfortable.
Listen to the full interview on Radio Perfil.
