Opposition call for Aníbal Fernández’s resignation after clash with cartoonist

Aníbal Fernández under fire after clashing with Cristian Dzwonik, a.k.a. Nik; Security minister downplays the message he sent to well-known satirical cartoonist identifying daughters’ school.

Security Minister Aníbal Fernández thrust himself into an extraordinary scandal this week with a threatening tweet this week, with the opposition calling for his immediate resignation.

The 64-year-old, who only returned to the Cabinet last month, eventually apologised to newspaper humorist Cristian Dzwonik, better known as ‘Nik’, after the cartoonist denounced him after a heated exchange on social media.

Press associations also condemned the minister, with Fernández even facing criticism from his own party colleagues. Juntos por el Cambio’s leaders went even further, demanding the official’s head.

The controversy erupted after Dzwonik, the creator of the famous Gatturo comic-strip character, posted a tweet in which he slammed the government for ‘giveaways’ to voters in the middle of an election campaign, citing “[state-funded] graduation trips, [social] plans and handouts.”

Angered by the comments, Fernández responded that “many schools in the City of Buenos Aires receive state subsidies and that’s OK.” He went on to controversially cite the example of ORT college – the school the cartoonist’s daughters attend.

“Security Minister Aníbal Fernández has dedicated a tweet persecuting me with a veiled threat by letting me know that he’s aware which college my younger daughters go to,” Dzwonik responded on Twitter. “The minister who should be offering ‘SECURITY’ to every Argentine harasses those who think differently.”

He added: “I’m scared.” The minister sought to explain himself, while responding to a user who had criticised his remarks, but the damage was done. “I didn’t threaten anybody. I told Nik that if he felt threatened, I would apologise. No sweat, I did no harm,” said Fernández.

The ADEPA newspaper association harshly condemned the minister’s intimidatory expressions and reference to the cartoonist’s family.

“The message, which includes information about the cartoonist’s family circle, is especially serious, above all coming from somebody entrusted with looking after the safety of the citizenry,” said the press group.

Fernández, however, assured that his controversial tweet against Nik was part of “a debate,” complaining that the cartoonist “attacks [the government] non-stop.”

By Wednesday morning, he had changed his tune, complaining to journalists about the “phenomenal attacks” against him, which he described as “merciless.”

CLASH

The clash between the security minister and the cartoonist began when Nik criticised Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof’s plan to grant “free graduation trips” to 220,000 provincial school students.

On October 8, he tweeted: “Giving away refrigerators, gas canisters, graduation trips, [social] plans, cash handouts, whatever. How sad never to hear the words WORK, EFFORT, FUTURE. The DIGNITY of the people will defeat them once again.”

Without being directly addressed, Fernández picked up the gauntlet. Naming the school attended by the cartoonist’s daughters was what made the message sound like a threat. It was understood as such by the cartoonist.

“The headmaster of ORT college has confirmed that he receives zero subsidies from the state. The minister is giving fake news. Hours afterwards @Fernandezanibal, who mentions me on his Twitter but blocks me off, deleted his tweet,” complained Nik.

“National Security Minister Aníbal Fernández, with our kids, NO,” were the words the humorist attached to a cartoon drawn in reaction.

In response to this the minister explained: “For those who have been following Nik’s argument with my person, I wrote to his Whatsapp saying that if he understood anything in my expressions as a threat, I apologise. I’ve spoken about it with the President of DAIA [Jewish umbrella grouping]. Didn’t he understand when I said I would draw it for him? Here goes,” adding a drawing of Gaturro (Nik’s feline cartoon protagonist) visiting the school, giving it to understand that he used it as an example for that reason.

“It’s very clearly written. Nothing more than a running debate I was having with him about subsidies and the debate ended there,” argued Fernández, asserting: “Children, homes and women are temples with which one does not meddle.”

On Tuesday, the first legal complaints arrived, with one lawyer denouncing Security Minister Fernández for “abuse of authority and threats.”

Santiago Dupuy de Lome, a familiar presence at Comodoro Py federal courthouse, mailed his denunciation, which has been registered under the number 6580/2021 and falls to federal judge Julián Ercolini.

REACTION

The comments were condemned swiftly, with Cabinet Chief Juan Manzur describing them as “very unfortunate.”

Civic Coalition leader Elisa Carrió asked the courts to investigate the threats of Aníbal Fernández against Nik, considering them to “express racist and Nazi thinking,” as well as “a very clear kind of antisemitic attack.”

Via his Twitter account, former president Mauricio Macri also referred to the controversy.

“WE ARE ALL NIK. I cannot get over my amazement. Security Minister Aníbal Fernández threatened Nik over a tweet criticising the delivery of refrigerators, gas canisters and graduation trips for electoral ends,” said Macri.

Along the same lines, he added: “Minister Fernández publicly identified the school attended by Nik’s daughters, seeking not only to intimidate the author and his daughters but at the same time any other citizen who dares to criticise the government.”

Nevertheless, he explained that “this time fear did not win out,” given that citizens and organisations “immediately repudiated the minister.”

The ruling coalition’s top lower house candidate in the City of Buenos Aires, Leandro Santoro also spoke out.

“Yesterday I called Aníbal over this issue and could not get through to him,” said Santoro, considering any reference to family or children in the framework of a political discussion to be “unacceptable,” whether direct or indirect.

“The truth is that I don’t know what Aníbal meant to say, it’s unacceptable,” he said in an interview, questioning the minister and adding: “When arguments become personal, it does not help politics.”