On Thursday 23 March 2000, two journalists with the “El Día de La Plata” daily informed police that an official of the Buenos Aires province Public Employees Union (Sindicato de Empleados Públicos de la provincia de Buenos Aires, SEPUBA) reprimanded them severely and, together with three other individuals, forced them to hand over the film […]
On Thursday 23 March 2000, two journalists with the “El Día de La Plata” daily informed police that an official of the Buenos Aires province Public Employees Union (Sindicato de Empleados Públicos de la provincia de Buenos Aires, SEPUBA) reprimanded them severely and, together with three other individuals, forced them to hand over the film from their camera.
Journalist Hugo Alconada and photographer Mario Ruiz were covering an inspection held in the labour union office of the National Institute for Banking Co-operatives and Mutual Funds (Instituto Nacional de Accion Cooperativa y Mutuales, INACyM). This organisation investigates abuses related to the public employees’ credit system set up through mutual funds companies.
The journalists reported that an individual named Jorge Pagano, who introduced himself as the “owner of the house,” reacted strongly to the agents’ presence and, together with three other individuals, forced the journalists to give him their film. The journalists were then held against their will in the labour union office and were told by Pagano: “You (who work for ‘El Día’) are part of a mafia and you have been very unfair with us, by waging this campaign against us.” After being detained for a short period of time, the journalists left without being able to get their film back.
“Leandoro Pelusso, a SEPUBA secretary, told us ‘First we will look at what you have and then we might return [the film] to you’,” Alconada stated. Pelusso had argued that the inspection had not taken place in a public space and therefore the journalists required authorisation to be there. Subsequent to the event, the journalists filed a report with the La Plata ninth division.
