Matilde Svatetz de Menéndez (born 1944) is an Argentine psychiatrist who acted as intervener of the

Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina Tierra del Fuego (Spanish language, Spanish for "''Land of Fire''"; ), officially the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Provincia de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlán ...

from 17 January 1991 to 10 January 1992, and as Chairwoman of the Board of the Comprehensive Medical Attention Program (PAMI) from 3 February 1992 to 15 April 1994. She was linked to cases of corruption related to her term at PAMI, with all charges being dismissed in court.

Biography

Matilde Menéndez received her medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

(UBA) with a Diploma of Honor. After an active university militancy in

Peronism Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, P ...

, once qualified at the UBA's School of Public Health, in 1974 she was appointed Coordinator of the National Commission of Food Policy and Supply and Coordinator of the Nutrition Commission of the

National Congress National Congress is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures. Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress, original name of the Oromo People's Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress Reform *India: **In ...

. With the return of democracy, she would become Secretary of the Federal Health Council, Advisor to the Commission of Social Assistance and Public Health of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, and of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

's Health Commission. In 1987 she created the "Por Venir" Foundation, dedicated to the prevention of drug addiction. In 1988, she was appointed Assistant Secretary of Social Medicine of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. In 1989 she became the first woman Secretary of Public Health of the Nation, and in 1991, the first female intervener of the (now Tierra del Fuego Province). In 1992, she was called by President

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

to preside over the Board of Directors of the Comprehensive Medical Attention Program (PAMI). This directorate consisted of representatives of the General Confederation of Labor and retirees' organizations. During her tenure at PAMI, a change was made in the benefit payment system, now based on a fixed number of monthly per capita payments to the providers. Also, the "PAMI Listens" system was generalized, with a 24-hour telephone line to receive queries, complaints, and suggestions from users. At present, according to her own webpage, Menéndez is a teacher, researcher, adviser, and consultant to national and international private and state organizations, creator of programs, and founder of institutes dedicated to public health.

Controversies

PAMI

After an incident in which providers were found (and filmed) in possession of envelopes with 25% of the value of the per capita payments received and presumably intended for PAMI officials for the payment of bribes, a series of denunciations were made that, together with a wide media treatment of the accusations, gave rise to a scandal journalistically known as the PAMI "returns". PAMI officials and leaders of were accused of charging monthly bribes (effusively called returns) to the providers who, by this means, made sure to continue to be part of the organization's payroll. The President and her board amassed 32 criminal complaints for various crimes that were brought in cases before the Federal Courts of the Capital, with charges ranging from the alleged hiring of a personal hairdresser to the payment of surcharges on the purchase of

pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to co ...

s. Matilde Menéndez decided to resign, together with the entire board. PAMI was subsequently the subject of government intervention. After five to nine years of investigation, with statements of hundreds of witnesses and reports, the 32 charges related to her term as President of PAMI were dismissed for lack of crime.

Prosecution withdrawn in AMIA case

Another legal case that involved Menéndez was her prosecution in 2003 for false testimony in the

AMIA bombing The AMIA bombing occurred on 18 July 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and targeted the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; ), a Jewish Community Center, Jewish Community Centre. Executed as a Suicide attack, suicidal attack, a Car bom ...

case, accusing her of falsifying her statement about a telephone conversation with her lawyer Mariano Cúneo Libarona, in which they referred to a video that was presumably intended to extort Judge . Subsequently her prosecution would be withdrawn as no accusation could be brought in court.

References

External links