Late Monday afternoon I walked over to Plaza de Mayo where families of victims from the Cromagnon nightclub fire were starting a vigil. The families had placed posters of the dead around the monument in the center of the plaza. A quarter after six p.m., the families started walking around the Pirámide de Mayo in a manner reminiscent of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.

Below each poster of the deceased is a small sign. Some say things such as “Dead because of being transported in a bus instead of an ambulance”, “Dead because the ambulances had no oxygen”, “Dead because of the corruption”…. some of the signs are more political with accusations towards specific individuals in the city government. Of course, the center of attention is now Aníbal Ibarra, the suspended mayor of Buenos Aires who is facing impeachment. Tuesday afternoon the city legislature will present their verdict.

I’ve written before on the political fallout of the Cromagnon tragedy. Unfortunately, the battle between opposing political forces in the city, as expressed through these proceedings, has overshadowed the safety issues. The politicizing of the event has become a controversial topic and there will never be any agreement about it in this city. A good post, in Spanish, at Agua Fuertes talks about the contradictory nature of the issue.