MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Corruption allegations force resignation of Kirchner minister

Argentine Economy Minister Felisa Miceli submitted her resignation Monday after a prosecutor requested an investigation into a package of money containing 64,000 dollars found in her office lavatory, her spokesman said.

found in her office lavatory, her spokesman said. "She confirmed her resignation officially" Silvio Robles told reporters at the Economy Ministry in Buenos Aires. President Nestor Kirchner appointed Secretary of Industry Miguel Peirano, 40, to replace her, Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez told reporters at the presidential palace Casa Rosada. "Peirano will continue with the same economic policies that we've had up until today" Fernandez said. An Argentine federal prosecutor on Monday called for an investigation into corruption allegations involving 64,000 dollars in cash found stashed in Miceli's office lavatory during a routine search of the premises last month. Despite Miceli's explanation that the money was for a down payment for a house, the prosecutor said he had "gathered enough evidence" supporting the suspicion Miceli "failed to abide by her duties as a public official". He also said the minister was suspected of destroying public documents and of a cover up. Miceli, 54, is the first member of President Nestor Kirchner's cabinet to be smeared by corruption allegations. She said she believes the controversy has been trumped up to influence the October 28, 2007 presidential election in which Kirchner's wife is a candidate. "It's a political attack, not against me, but against the government during a political year" she said after the scandal broke. "There was an undeserved damage to my honor which undoubtedly affects our government" Miceli said. Miceli, who took over her post at the end of 2005, when she replaced now presidential candidate Roberto Lavagna, added that she also has made many political enemies during her tenure that could be eager to get rid of her. However the Buenos Aires media openly speculates that the total amount of money involved was far more (over 200.000 US dollars) and some even point out to a blatant corruption. Peirano, an economist trained at the University of Buenos Aires, was appointed as secretary of industry in 2005 after an 11-year stint as head of the economics department at the Argentine Industrial Union, the country's largest industry group. Fernandez said the allegations against Miceli won't hurt the government or the presidential bid of Senator Cristina Fernandez, the wife of President Nestor Kirchner, who will run on the governing Peronist Party ticket in October elections. Miceli's resignation follows newspaper reports this year accusing the Secretary of the Environment of cronyism for hiring relatives, including her brother's girlfriend, and an investigation of alleged bribes paid in connection with a contract to build a natural gas pipeline involving the Swedish corporation Skanska.