The national deputy of Freedom Advances (LLA) through Tierra del Fuego, Santiago Pauli, He was involved in a strong controversy after the dissemination of alleged audios in which he could be heard demanding that advisors from the libertarian bloc return the “uprooting” item from their salaries to cover party expenses in Río Grande. The additional amount, which is around five hundred thousand pesos, is intended to compensate for the travel and residence costs of those who must travel from that city to Ushuaia, headquarters of the provincial Legislature, located about 200 kilometers away.
The recordings, released by local media and amplified on the Bardo News portal, were contributed by Rolando Correaa libertarian leader in Tierra del Fuego who presents himself as a whistleblower and claims to have initially worked with Pauli as an advisor in the Deputies before joining the libertarian bloc of the provincial Legislature, made up of Natalia Gracianía and Agustín Coto. In the audios, a voice attributed to Pauli talks with Correa about the destination of the uprooting item and the need to allocate it to support the party premises in Río Grande.
According to the audio, the leader refuses to make the “return” of the amount, claiming that he needs the money, to which the deputy supposedly warns him that, if he does not make the refund, the contracts would be cancelled. “It’s simple to understand, it is a per diem for a job that someone does not do, instead of demanding a percentage of a contract which is what any party does, we said, keep 100% of the contract, but give us the per diem that you are not using,” he is heard saying in one of the fragments released.
So far, Pauli has not responded to the queries made by the media and no formal complaint was filed before the Fuegian Justice, although the case generated wide political and media echo in the province and nationally through the news program hosted by Eduardo Feinmann on A24. Correa, for his part, took aim directly at the legislator in radio and television statements, stating that pressures were common within the libertarian space.
The audios that compromise leaders of the libertarian movement are reminiscent of the case of Diego Spagnuolo. The former head of the National Disability Agency was recorded in different circumstances recounting a bribery operation in which different drugstores were linked, mainly Suizo Argentina, with the main shipowners of La Libertad Avanza, headed by Karina Milei and Eduardo “Lule” Menem. The recordings were broadcast through the Carnaval streaming platform by the journalistic team led by Jorge Rial and Mauro Federico.
Meanwhile, from sectors close to Republicans United – a party that makes up the LLA alliance in Tierra del Fuego and to which Correa belongs – they relativized the fact and assured that it was a “voluntary contribution” from an affiliate who later left the space due to political differences. Meanwhile, the episode adds tensions within the Fuegian libertarian front and exposes, once again, the internal disputes and disputes over the management of funds in the emerging spaces of the new Argentine right.
