MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kirchner’s tax officials’ raid on Argentina’s main newspaper backfires

Former president Nestor Kirchner has promised to bring farmers and the media

Dozens of tax officials raided on Thursday Argentina's biggest newspaper, intensifying a fierce battle between the government and one of Latinamerica's largest media groups.
More than 150 tax inspectors searched the Buenos Aires building housing the offices of daily Clarin, which is owned by media and telecommunications company Grupo Clarin, and removed files and documents.

The raid comes as President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is pushing a media reform bill that, among other things analysts say will weaken Grupo Clarin's role as the dominant media company in Argentina.

An opposition lawmaker said the tax operation damaged Cristina Kirchner’s argument that her bill is aimed at bringing more democracy and competition to the media sector.

“There are no more doubts about what the bill's real aims are. It's meant to damage an economic group and not to help citizens,” Deputy Julian Obiglio, head of the centre-left PRO party in the lower house, said in a statement.

An unidentified tax official was quoted by a local television station saying “it’s more than obvious who sent us to this shameful act, Kirchner”.

Cristina and her husband and predecessor, former president Nestor Kirchner, have increased state intervention in some sectors of the economy and have clashed with the agricultural industry over farm policy.

Ex-president Kirchner has publicly criticized Clarin's coverage of the government as biased and described the company as a “monopoly.”

Grupo Clarin used to have a harmonious relationship with Kirchner but its news outlets criticized Mrs. Kirchner’s handling of a dispute with farmers and have stepped up negative coverage of the proposed media reform.

Grupo Clarin owns newspapers, television and radio interests, as well as cable and Internet access companies. The group’s share price closed down 1.6 percent on Thursday at the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange as local television stations covered live the tax raid which was also extensive to the homes of some of the company’s executive officers.

A spokesman for the AFIP tax agency said the raid was aimed at examining the company's books and was similar to recent inspections carried out at other companies.

But Martin Etchevers, a Grupo Clarin spokesman, questioned the raid and said the company was being singled out.

“This kind of inspection has never occurred in the 64 year history of Clarin,” he told a local TV channel. “Not even under military governments”.-

Last week, the head of Argentina's broadcast regulator said he had vetoed the merger of the country's two cable TV operators owned by Grupo Clarin, a move that also drew criticism from company officials.

Argentine lawmakers are currently debating President Cristina Kirchner's media reform bill, which would overhaul the country's broadcast regulations, which date from the 1976-83 military dictatorship.

Members of the opposition claim the bill is targeted to splinter the media group which would then be taken over by business friends of the Kirchners, as has happened in other areas such as oil, public utilities, casinos and betting games, fisheries, etc.