I really don’t know if this happens elsewhere, but what I’ve noticed, again and again, is that in Argentina we tend to look up to anybody who passes away, we automatically forgive and forget all his/her wrongdoings. They die and they are at once redeemed, no matter what they did while still alive. Carlos Menem (90) died last Monday. He served 2 terms as president, although -truth to tell- no one admitted openly having voted for him. He was accused- among many other things- of covering up the terrorist bombings of the Israeli Embassy and the AMIA Jewish center. He was found guilty of selling weapons to Ecuador and Croatia (let’s not forget the explosion in RíoTercero in 1995). His railway privatization led to the death of hundreds of towns and cities in Argentina. In spite of all this, we’ve had 3 days of national mourning in his honour. As I’ve said, once you kick the bucket hereabouts, you turn over a new leaf. Sigh …
Irene Bianchi for Buenos Aires Times