The Anti-mafia Seminar: a Success and a Starting Point

Fernando Iglesias
President of the World Federalist Movement, Director of the Spinelli Chair in Buenos Aires, member of the Argentinian Parliament and of the Friendship Group with Italy in the Chamber of Deputies

With singular success and repercussions, the first Italo-Argentinian Anti-mafia seminar took place in Buenos Aires, gathering in the city the highest authorities of the National Anti-mafia Directorate of Italy (DNA), with the purpose of sharing experiences and learning in the fight against organized crime.

The event’s huge repercussion was since the seminar’s opening day, which was in charge of the President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, who called to an end of illicit practices in our country. The closing words were in charge of the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Dr. Carlos Rosenkrantz. In between, authorities like the ministers Patricia Bullrich (Security) and Jorge Faurie (Foreign Affairs), the head of the Anti-corruption Office, Laura Alonso and the General Attorney of the city of Buenos Aires, Luis Cevasco took the floor.

The DNA was led by its highest authority, Federico Cafiero De Raho, accompanied by his team: Elisabetta Pugliese, Cesare Sirignano, Michele Del Prete and Antonino Di Matteo. The Italian delegation was completed by the senators Pierferdinando Casini, Pietro Grasso and Laura Garavini, and the judge of the International Penal Court, Rosario Aitala. Lastly, worth mentioning is the participation of Raúl Jungmann, former Minister of Public Security of Brazil, and several Argentine deputies: Fernando Iglesias (promoter of the seminar), Cornelia Schmidt Liermann, Ezequiel Fernandez Langan, Karina Banfi, Gonzalo Del Cerro, Silvia Lospennato, Lucas Incicco, Paula Urroz, Hernan Berisso, Alejandra Martinez, Marcelo Wechsler and Maria Carla Piccolomini, among others.

During the three days of presentations and debates, the authorities of the DNA spoke about the institutions and the ways of work that Italy has adopted in the fight against the mafias, from the experience accumulated since the 90’s. Also, there were tables of exchange of the parliamentary aspects, in which the best anti-mafia regulations were presented that allow justice to act against criminal groups.

“In recent years, the fight against organized crime has been very successful in Italy. The key to this success has been the action of the National Anti-Mafia Directory and the implementation of important legislation on the subject. That is why it was very important to have the presence of the authorities of the DNA and, especially, of the parliamentarians, all experts in what we are discussing today in Argentina: extinction of ownership right, repentance, rewards, illicit association...”, argued Fernando Iglesias, seminar ideologist.

For all the above, the main objective set for the First Edition of the Italo-Argentine Anti-mafia Seminar was successfully fulfilled: information and experiences were exchanged; and institutions, laws and prevention mechanisms used in Italy (country with a leading experience worldwide in the fight against organized crime), were analyzed. Owing to the active participation of magistrates and politicians, it was possible to generate a debate based on the exchange of ideas and experiences that will also serve for future joint work between the Italian and Argentine judicial and investigative bodies.

Among the activities of the seminar, the dissemination of the campaign for the creation of a Latin American and Caribbean Criminal Court against Organized Transnational Crime (COPLA) was of fundamental importance: numerous participants and speakers supported the initiative and adhered to its creation, authorized their support to be made public and committed themselves to call all citizens, organizations and democratic governments of Latin America, the Caribbean and the world to actively participate in the campaign for the constitution of the Court.

It’s our intention that this edition of the Italo-Argentine Anti-mafia Seminar is the first of a long series, and that it also promotes all kinds of activities related to this topic in Argentina and the region. We trust that the present legislators can take advantage of the extensive knowledge developed in Italy for the fight against organized crime, promoting and facilitating the development of better public policies in the Argentine Republic.

To watch all the panels of the Seminar, you can access the YouTube channel of COPLA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPQoQGCb28e-DYWEFK3isPw ).