In the Ministry of Security of the Nation, in charge of Sabina Frederic, they were furious, angry.
In the Buenosairean government, however, they chose to be called to silence.
Those were the first reactions by the actions of
Sergio Berni, who this morning -when debuting the quarantine of “shock” by the
He gave the note once more.
For now,
there is no white flag.
On the La Noria Bridge,
the Buenosairean security minister discussed with uniformed of the Federal Police (that are not his subordinates) and criticized the national forces in front of the microphones of the press. “Did they want me to bring croissants to the ministry to discuss how we fixed a checkpoint?” Berni replied.
For the goverment,
this time, the Buenos Aires minister “crossed a line”.
“What he did was disturb public order,
because if a citizen does that, he can go to jail. But
He also played against us at a very delicate moment.
It saved Patricia Bullrich from having to speak, “he told
THE NATION
a collaborator of the Ministry of Security who worked in the coordination of the operations of the new quarantine.
The Minister of Security,
Sabina Frederic, who usually maintains temperance, this morning called all the political authorities she could. First,
phoned Axel Kicillof
to ask him to put his minister into orbit.
Today, from the government, before the consultation of LA NACION, they chose not to comment.
Frederic also contacted the chief of staff, Santiago Cafiero.
Berni did not go to the tripartite meeting last Friday at the Casa Rosada,
that brought together ministers from all areas of the Nation, province and City to coordinate operations after the presidential announcement.
The Minister of Security of Buenos Aires has not attended the emergency operating committees for a long time
that Cafiero leads, and commands second lines.
He also did not participate in three of the four interior security councils, the institutional meetings of the Ministry of National Security with the provincial security authorities.
The relationship between Frederic and Berni is broken.
And in the Government they also point to the management problems of the Buenos Aires minister. “The controls of the Buenosairean Police in the municipalities do not work, that takes care of that”, sent an important adviser of the Pink House.
“Berni makes a show. It hurts Axel a lot and the mayors complain”,
said to
THE NATION
a high official of the Casa Rosada.
An unconditional soldier
Cristina Kirchner’s unconditional soldier,
Berni arrived at the Buenos Aires security ministry by political decision of the vice president. Those who have known him for many years, assure that Berni did not want that position, because he knows that it is a place where there is more to lose than to win.
He agreed to be Minister of Security because Cristina asked him to.
She is your command voice.
“If Cristina tells him to go live in Antarctica, he is already putting on the suit,” said a collaborator who followed the minister’s career.
Berni made it clear when he said: “In our political space, Cristina Kirchner is the leader and when he says let’s go, no one would think of going the other way.”
To the rest, Berni looks like a stray bullet.
Kicillof himself disavowed it in the latest quarantine announcement
when he stressed that what was done so far “was worth it”. His minister had said days before that “this is an effort that we are making with a very poor result.”
Surgeon by profession and military lexicon,
Berni knew how to turn the desktop security officer into
a character worthy of a comic.
He was seen chasing criminals with a tactical submachine gun in hand, landing in inhospitable places by helicopter, riding a motorcycle to stop demonstrations, dressed as an astronaut in neighborhoods with coronavirus cases. Always, in one way or another, his adventures are captured by television cameras.
“He believes that there is no one more disciplined, operational and willing to work than he is,”
says an old associate of the minister who admits that his former boss does not act with political skill. Depending on who you speak to, there are those who say that you would have wanted to be the Minister of National Security (although with
Alberto Fernández
has no relationship) while
others think that his deepest desire is to be governor of the province.
This morning’s episode in Puente La Noria finished detonating relations with the Ministry of Security. But the conflict between Frederic and Berni comes from the start of the administration. First it was a difference in style, then we saw operational problems. Both ministers reached a non-aggression agreement in February, thanks to Kicillof’s political mediation.
But everything got muddy again when Berni said: “In terms of security, we are alone in the province.” The Buenosairean civil employee was furious by an agreement between the national portfolio and the municipality of Moreno that did not have his intervention.
Today, with his new criticisms of the Federal Police, Berni managed to get them to respond to him publicly from the Ministry of Security. The Secretary of Security,
Eduardo Villalba
, went to the intersection and considered that Berni “exceeded his responsibilities in a very irresponsible way”.
Far from calming the waters, the matter spiraled. To demonstrate that he did not break the chain of command,
Berni revealed a modulation he had this morning with the head of the Puente La Noria operation
where he said: “If there is a situation room it is to take definitions, not to be consulting and consulting.”
Later, in radio declarations, Berni replied: “I know what police conduction is, and I have taught Eduardo Villalba for four years;
It strikes me that I haven’t learned it yet. ”
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