In the midst of the scandal for José Luis Espert’s drug trafficking and social impact due to the triple femicide of Florencio Varela, the networks refloated an uncomfortable archive: Mario Ishii’s video in 2020 admitting that he should “cover” municipal employees when they “sold Falopa” in the ambulances of José C. Paz. Five years later, the recording was viral again and pursues it as one of the most remembered phrases of his political career.
The original episode occurred in the Pandemic of COVID-19, during a conflict with ambulance drivers who claimed for a 12-hour work regime, seven days a week, with minimal salaries. According to the municipality, the units had stopped going to service, which generated the fury of the mayor. Visibly exalted, Ishii accused some workers of using the ambulances to “sell Falopa” and threatened them: “I have everyone noted to crack.”
After the dissemination of the video, Ishii acknowledged that the recording was real, but said that his sayings were taken from context. According to his version, he did not talk about drug trafficking but of psychotropic drugs – such as rivotril – that were transported in the ambulances, and that “covering” meant taking charge institutionally, not covering up crimes. He also noted that the video edition omitted the background of the conflict: drivers who, in the midst of the health emergency, would have refused to go out with the units.
The municipality released a statement clarifying that the episode occurred on Saturday, July 4, 2020, near midnight, and that there was no evidence to advance a criminal complaint. However, the phrase was installed as a symbol and even today pursues it.
The context of the Buenos Aires Conurbano aggravates the controversy: it has been the scene of multiple operations against drug trafficking bands, with seizures of cocaine, marijuana and supplies for fractionation. Within that framework, Ishii’s words sounded like a dangerous confession, no matter how much he denies it.
Today, while the country debates to drug trafficking and extreme violence from the drug trafficking and the femicides of Florencio Varela, the Ishii archive reappears as a reminder of the thin line that separates the local power from illegal businesses. And even if he tried to relativize him, the video again installed it in the center of the controversy.
