New BA City security minister sworn in

Eugenio Burzaco is set to replace Marcelo D’Alessandro, who resigned last week

Eugenio Burzaco was sworn in as the new city security minister this morning by Mayor Horario Rodríguez Larreta, following his predecessor’s resignation last week. 

“He has the necessary skills and courage to continue the work that we’ve been doing since we took office,” said Larreta, telling Burzaco that “7 million Argentines who go through Buenos Aires each day trust you to take care of them.”

Burzaco was chief of the City Police between 2008 and 2011. His administration ended after the police fatally shot two people at the Indo-American Park, where families were protesting for their housing rights. The investigation into his involvement was dropped in 2018, although judicial proceedings continue. 

He was later appointed Security Secretary of the Casa Rosada by former president Mauricio Macri, where he served from 2015 to 2019 under then-security minister Patricia Bullrich.

“The ministry will be on the streets and the police will be close to the neighbors. We will have no mercy against drug trafficking,” said Burzaco. “We will fight every day to reduce the scourge that takes the lives of so many innocent people.”

Marcelo D’Alessandro, Burzaco’s predecessor, was praised throughout the ceremony. A series of chats between D’Alessandro and high-profile members of the judiciary and the business world were leaked in December of last year. They led to a three-month leave, his eventual resignation, and impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court justices in Congress. 

Larreta described the leaks as “a new Kirchnerist operation that resorts to manipulating information and illegal espionage to attack, persecute and smear” D’Alessandro. 

He also praised the city’s crime rates. 

“Everyone who lives in Buenos Aires can be calmer than ever: the crime rates are at their historic lowest. In 2022, the City registered its lowest murder rate in 28 years, with 2.86 cases per 100,000 inhabitants,” he said. “Buenos Aires is the safest capital city in Latin America and the second safest city in the continent, after Ottawa”. 

Several in the city administration have cited this comparison. According to the fact-checking NGO Chequeado, while it was true in 2019, the latest numbers for Ottawa are from 2020 so it’s a comparison between two cities in two different time periods — which is methodologically incorrect. 

Newsletter

All Right Reserved.  Buenos Aires Herald