This article provides a list of

political scandal In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, unethic ...

s that involve officials from the government or politicians of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Cadet scandal (1942)

In September 1942, a

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

and

broke out in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, regarding the involvement of young cadets from the

Colegio Militar de la Nación The National Military College ( es, Colegio Militar de la Nación) is the institution in charge of the undergraduate education of officers of the Argentine Army. It is located at El Palomar, Buenos Aires. Established on October 11, 1869, by Pres ...

in alleged

sex parties Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their ...

held by

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...

of the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

es.

Swiftgate (1991)

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

, an American food processing company, wanted to apply for a grant to keep open its facilities in the province of Santa Fe. The presidential adviser Emir Yoma was accused of asking for a commission or kickback in exchange for facilitating the process. In December 1990, the ambassador of the United States,

Terence Todman Terence Alphonso Todman (March 13, 1926 – August 13, 2014) was an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Chad, Guinea, Costa Rica, Spain, Denmark, and Argentina. In 1990, he was awarded the rank of Career Ambassador. Life Todma ...

, sent a note to the Argentine government, which backed a complaint from Swift of a bribery request to "speed up" the release of tax paperwork for machinery for its plant in Rosario. As a result of the events, Yoma had to resign for asking the bribe and Antonio Erman Gonzalez left the Ministry of Economy.

Yomagate (1991)

The cause of

Yomagate The Yomagate was a political scandal that took place in Argentina in 1991, during the government of Carlos Menem. The name combines the last name of the involved (Amira Yoma), and the suffix "Gate" of habitual use in journalism after the Watergate ...

was an investigation of a

cocaine trafficking Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

operation. According to the investigation, large sums of drug money from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

would have been destined to Argentina, to be laundered by various financial transactions, with the purchase of real estate, jewellery or entrepreneurship. Another portion of the money was to be diverted at the same time to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. The cause of Yomagate involved

Amira Yoma Amalia Beatriz "Amira" Yoma (born 18 August 1952) is an Argentine political advisor and restaurateur. She is best known for being the Director of Hearings in the presidential administration of her then brother-in-law Carlos Menem, and for being c ...

, the secretary and sister-in-law of then Argentine president

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...

, her ex-husband Ibrahim al-Ibrahim (co-director of customs at the

Ezeiza airport Ministro Pistarini International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini) , also known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in the Ezeiza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport s ...

) and various notorious drug traffickers and launderers like

Monzer al-Kassar Monzer al-Kassar () (born in Hama, Syria in 1945), Amira Yoma went under preventive detention, which was then overruled by the head of the Chamber the Federal Criminal Court Luisa Riva Aramayo; after which the investigation was cancelled and the investigation cleared all suspects of all charges.

Bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires (1992)

On 17 March 1992, 29 civilians were killed and 242 additional civilians were injured when the Israeli embassy of Argentina was bombed by the

Islamic Jihad Organization The Islamic Jihad Organization – IJO ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي, Ḥarakat al-Jihād al-'Islāmiyy) or ''Organisation du Jihad Islamique'' (OJI) in French, but best known as "Islamic Jihad" (Arabic: ''Jihad al-Islami'') for ...

. President Néstor Kirchner pronounced that the incidenrt, along with 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 Centre. Executed as a suicidal attack, a bomb-laden van was driven into the AMIA buildi ...

in 1994, with no real inquiries, equalled a "national disgrace".

Arms exports (1995)

In 1995 it emerged that illegal arms shipments of 6500 tons of weapons and ammunition had been exported from

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

between 1991 and 1995. At the time of the shipments Croatia was under a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

arms embargo, and Argentina was prohibited from selling weapons to Ecuador under the terms of a peace agreement signed in 1942. The

Río Tercero explosion The Río Tercero explosion was a series of explosions in Río Tercero, Córdoba, Argentina, that happened on 3 November 1995 at Río Tercero Military Factory, an ammunition factory, during Carlos Menem's presidency. The explosion killed seven peop ...

was found to have been orchestrated to destroy the evidence of the arms sales.

Disappearance of Jorge Julio López (2006)

Jorge Julio López, a retired bricklayer who was

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

during the

National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United Sta ...

, a disappeared again during the democratic government of

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, Secretary General of UNASUR and ...

after testifying in trial against the convicted murderer

Miguel Etchecolatz Miguel Osvaldo Etchecolatz (1 May 1929 – 2 July 2022) was an Argentine police officer, who worked in the Buenos Aires Provincial Police during the first years of the military dictatorship of the 1970s. Etchecolatz was deeply involved in the " ...

. , Jorge Julio López remains missing.

Suitcase scandal (2007)

A scandal involving

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and

, souring the relations between the countries.

Agrarian strikes (2008)

In March 2008, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's government introduced a new sliding-scale taxation system for agricultural exports, effectively raising levies on soybean exports to 44% from 35% at the time of the announcement. The aim was to raise government funds for social investment by increasing the government's share of returns from rising world grain prices, and also to reduce domestic

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...

by encouraging farmers to switch to growing

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...

s like wheat and corn, rather than export crops such as soybeans. Farmers, on the other hand, felt that the export duties were already too high. Strikes ensued until July when the tariffs on agricultural exports were returned by the government.

Triple crime (2008)

After three pharmaceutical businessmen, Sebastián Forza, Damián Ferrón, and Leopoldo Bina, were tortured and murdered in 2008, an investigation ensued. The investigations in the following days revealed that the three men had ties with narcotics trafficking cartels. The drugstore of José Luis Salerno, a former associate of Ferrón's, was closed. Forza and Ferrón had a lab in Ingeniero Maschwitz that manufactured illegal drugs. The import of

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...

into Argentina was restricted a month later, limiting it only to the labs that prepare legal drugs that contain it. It was also discovered that Forza financed the political campaign of

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President ...

during the 2007 general elections. The suspects were arrested and found guilty. In December 2015, three of the incarcerated broke out of prison. Governor

María Eugenia Vidal María Eugenia Vidal (born 8 September 1973) is an Argentine politician who served as Governor of the Buenos Aires Province, being the first woman in the office, and the first non- Peronist since 1987. A member of Republican Proposal (PRO), she ...

fired the leaders of the jailing system of the

Buenos Aires province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

, who were suspected of having abetted the escape. They were later found and returned to prison

Kirchners and the media (2009)

The Governments of

and

had several conflicts with major media groups. Kirchner accused the

Clarín Group Grupo Clarín S.A. is the largest media conglomerate in Argentina. Overview Established as such in 1999, it includes the '' Clarín'' newspaper (the most-widely circulated in Latin America), Papel Prensa (the nation's principal newsprint manufa ...

, ''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal '' Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argentina. Its motto is: "''La Nac ...

'', ''

Perfil ''Perfil'' is an Argentine weekly newspaper based in Buenos Aires and refounded in 2005. History The newspaper was first launched by Jorge Fontevecchia on 9 May 1998 as a daily newspaper, but poor sales forced its closure on 31 July of the sa ...

'', and related media of having promoted their overthrow.

Buenos Aires wiretapping case (2009)

In October 2009, Sergio Burstein, a leader of the Jewish community who had led the opposition against the appointment of Fino Palacios as Police Chief due to his connections with the 1994 AMIA terrorist attack, criminally denounced that he was being spied on by the Police of the City of Buenos Aires. In October 2018, the National Chamber of Criminal Cassation annulled the entire case.

Schoklender scandal (2011)

, known for his murder of his parents in 1981, was accused of

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

of public funds for a project arranged by the Mothers of the Plaza de May.

Boudougate (2012)

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Amado Boudou was accused of being involved in the Revocation of the bankruptcy of the Ciccone Calcográfica printing house. In August 2018, following a lengthy investigation, he was convicted of corruption. He was then sentenced to five years and ten months in prison, and banned for life from holding public office.

The Route of the K-Money (2013)

An investigation, led by journalist

Jorge Lanata Jorge Lanata (born 12 September 1960) is an Argentine journalist and author. He founded the newspaper ''Página 12''. He hosts ''Lanata sin filtro'' on Radio Mitre and ''Periodismo para todos'' on El Trece. He writes a column in ''Clarín (Argent ...

found evidence of

and an associated

money trail "Follow the money" is a catchphrase popularized by the 1976 docudrama film '' All the President's Men'', which suggests political corruption can be brought to light by examining money transfers between parties. Origin For the film, screenwriter ...

involving businessman

Lázaro Báez Lázaro Báez (born 11 February 1951) is an Argentine businessman. Báez is a central figure in the so-called corruption scandal known as The Route of the K-Money, surrounding former Argentine presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández d ...

. In mid-2020 he was transferred to house arrest as the proceedings were put on hold due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. After two days of popular protests Báez was moved again to a secret location where he awaits trial under police custody.

Hotesur scandal (2014)

Hotesur was a firm that administered the hotels in

El Calafate El Calafate, also known as ''Calafate'', is a city in Patagonia, Argentina. It is situated on the southern border of Lake Argentino, in the southwest part of the Santa Cruz Province, about northwest of Río Gallegos. The name of the city is deri ...

that belong to

and her family. Initially, it was suspected of not paying taxes, but the investigation headed by judge Claudio Bonadio led to suspicions about a possible case of

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

, involving the businessman

as well. As a result, the government attempted to force an impeachment of Bonadio.

Alberto Nisman (2015)

Alberto Nisman Natalio Alberto Nisman (5 December 1963 – 18 January 2015) was an Argentine lawyer who worked as a federal prosecutor, noted for being the chief investigator of the 1994 car bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people, t ...

, a lawyer who specialized in international

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

was found shot in the head in his apartment in

on 19 January 2015.

Noble siblings case (2016)

A case concerning the biological identity of Marcela and Felipe Noble Herrera, adoptive daughter and son of

Ernestina Herrera de Noble Ernestina Laura Herrera de Noble (7 June 1925 – 14 June 2017) was a prominent Argentine publisher and executive. She was the largest shareholder of the Grupo Clarín media conglomerate and director of the flagship '' Clarín'' newspaper. She ...

, owner of Grupo Clarín. The

Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo ( es, italic=no, Asociación Civil Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo) is a human rights organization with the goal of finding the children stolen and illegally adopted during the 1976–1983 Argentine military dicta ...

believe them to be children of women who

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...

during the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

, and have requested samples for

DNA profiling DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...

to compare with their database of victim families. Marcela and Felipe rejected the study. The administrations of both presidents Néstor and

Cristina Kirchner Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

supported a compulsory

blood collection In medicine, sampling is gathering of matter from the body to aid in the process of a medical diagnosis and/or evaluation of an indication for treatment, further medical tests or other procedures. In this sense, the sample is the gathered matter ...

in order to carry out the DNA profiling. The opposing parties and legal precedence, on the other hand, support the Nobles

right to privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 1948 ...

José López scandal (2016)

In 2016, José Francisco López, a low-profile politician who worked at the

Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services The Ministry of Public Works ( es, Ministerio de Obras Públicas; MOP) of Argentina is a ministry of the national executive power that oversees and advises on the elaboration and maintenance of roadways, urban and hydraulic infrastructure and oth ...

under minister

Julio de Vido Julio Miguel de Vido (born December 26, 1949) is an Argentine politician who was Minister of Planning and Public Investment between 2003 and 2015. Biography De Vido was born in the City of Buenos Aires in 1949. Enrolling at the University of Bue ...

during the presidencies of Néstor and

, was detained in compromising circumstances, while allegedly trying to hide bags containing millions of dollars in a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

Spying on families of ARA San ''Juan'' (2017)

In 2017 it was revealed that the

Federal Intelligence Agency The Federal Intelligence Agency ( es, Agencia Federal de Inteligencia) mostly known for its abbreviation AFI, is the principal intelligence agency of Argentina. This organization is the successor to the Secretariat of Intelligence (mostly known ...

(AFI) had engaged in illegal spying and monitoring of the families of the victims of the

disappearance of ARA San Juan On 15 November 2017, the Argentine submarine disappeared off the coast of Argentina while on a training exercise. After a search lasting 15 days, the Argentine Navy downgraded the operation from a rescue mission to a search for the submarine' ...

Notebook scandal (2018)

Driver Óscar Centeno alleged that he had frequently carried bags filled with US dollars to several locations, including public buildings and even the personal house of

. Those bags would be payments for bribes. The prosecutors of the case asked for a

search and seizure Search and seizure is a procedure used in many civil law and common law legal systems by which police or other authorities and their agents, who, suspecting that a crime has been committed, commence a search of a person's property and confiscat ...

raid at the houses of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Argentine COVID-19 vaccination scandal (2021)

Literary critic

Beatriz Sarlo Beatriz Sarlo (born 1942) is an Argentine literary and cultural critic. She was also founding editor of the cultural journal '' Punto de Vista'' ("Point of View"). She became an Order of Cultural Merit laureate in 2009. Biography Beatriz Sarlo ...

denounced that she was offered to be

vaccinated A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.< ...

"under the table," but refused to identify the people who did it. Faced with the complaint, Fernán Quirós, the Minister of Health of the Autonomous City of

, indicated that this did not happen in his jurisdiction. As a result of the scandal the country's

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Ginés González García Ginés González García (born 31 August 1945) is an Argentine medical doctor who served twice as the country's Ministry of Health (Argentina), Minister of Health under President Alberto Fernández, from 2019 to 2021, and under the successive pres ...

resigned from office.

Attempted assassination of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2022)

On 1 September 2022,

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

was the target of an assassination attempt. A man approached her as she met with supporters outside of her official residence in

Recoleta, Buenos Aires Recoleta is a ''barrio'' or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the northern part of the city, by the Río de la Plata. The area is perhaps best known to be the home of the distinguished Recoleta Cemetery. It is a traditional upp ...

References

{{South America topic, List of political scandals in

Politics of Argentina

Scandals A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

Political history of Argentina