Deputy claims ASSE head's complaint to prosecutor aims to 'divert attention' from ministry's woes

The political arena in Uruguay is heating up as a National Party deputy, Federico Casaretto, has sharply criticized Álvaro Danza, the president of the public healthcare provider ASSE. Casaretto contends that Danza's decision to personally file a complaint at the Prosecutor's Office regarding alleged irregularities under the previous administration, led by Leonardo Cipriani, is a calculated political maneuver.

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We are at the peak of questioning the minister's irregularities, and this only serves to divert attention. I don't know if he is returning the favor for the minister having supported him for eight months having four or five jobs in parallel, because otherwise it doesn't make sense.

According to Casaretto, Danza's public appearance at the Prosecutor's Office was intended to create a "political event" designed to distract from the current management challenges faced by the Minister of Public Health, Cristina Lustemberg. "We are at the peak of questioning the minister's irregularities, and this only serves to divert attention," Casaretto stated, implying a potential quid pro quo for Lustemberg's past support of Danza.

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We want to investigate everything about Cipriani and what Danza presented today, but we also want Danza's management to be included in the investigation.

Casaretto, who is also pushing for a parliamentary investigative committee into ASSE's management, expressed his desire to scrutinize both Cipriani's tenure and Danza's current leadership. He argued that Danza is attempting to dissuade the Broad Front legislators from investigating his own administration, despite the announcement of the criminal complaint being made 20 days prior by Danza and former vice president Daniel Olesker.

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When does a minister, or a president of UTE or OSE, go to make criminal complaints in person? For that, there are the legal services of the different entities. Here there is an imperative need to divert attention because the Lustemberg issue is burning.

The deputy questioned the necessity of Danza appearing in person, emphasizing that such legal filings are typically handled by the respective entities' legal departments. "When does a minister, or a president of UTE or OSE, go to make criminal complaints in person? For that, there are the legal services of the different entities. Here there is an imperative need to divert attention because the Lustemberg issue is burning," Casaretto asserted, pointing to a growing number of new irregularities surfacing daily concerning the minister's management.

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Indeed, we presented the formal complaint document to prosecutor Mónica Ferrero. The expectation is that this type of complaint will follow the usual course and the Prosecutor's Office will verify if there is merit for further actions.