Leonel Baruch Goldbergpresident of the BCT Corporation and of the board of directors of the digital newspaper CRHoy.com affirmed that he was willing to submit to a lie detector if the deputy also participated in the process Pilar Cisneros Gallothe Minister of Finance, Nogui Acosta Jaen; and the President of the Republic, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, “if that’s what you like: the circus”.
This was expressed by the retired banker after the deputy head of the ruling party challenged him to submit to a lie detector, after Baruch accused her of having proposed, on behalf of the Executive, to join efforts to attack the newspaper The nation.
In his appearance this Monday before the Special Commission to Investigate the Financing of Political Parties, Baruch confirmed when asked by deputy Ariel Robles Barrantes of the Broad Front that he met with Cisneros in his office on August 29, 2022a meeting in which the legislator made two requests: that CRHoy join the Government against the amparo appeal that journalists from The nation had presented after the untimely closure of Parque Vivaand “should CRToday support the interests of the government that La Nación disappearbecause according to her, it suited the interests of CRHoy”.
Baruch gave those statements under the faith and gravity of the oath.
After these statements, Cisneros accused him repeatedly of not being a gentleman and challenged him to submit to a lie detector In another commission, and on the brink of the conclusion of the session, although the representatives of the ruling party had already withdrawn from the room, Baruch replied: “I am and always have been a gentleman, what I am not is a servant of his boss or his circus, and I will never be.”
The subject of the challenge that he gives me with a lie detector seems interesting to me, but there could be several of us there, let’s say, bring Mr. Nogui Acosta and bring the President of the Republic, so yes, we all get together with a bunch of cables and We are going to see who is telling the truth and who is telling the lie, including Doña Pilar. I’m in for that one, I don’t have any problem, it’s a nice circus, if that’s what you like: the circus.
Subsequently, Baruch, who waived his right to make a demonstration at the beginning of the appearance, used that time to send a message to the members of the legislative forum, in which he initially described as “regrettable” the course that Costa Rica is taking.
It is clear that one of the fundamental bases of democracy is an informed citizenry, the decisions that we all make depend on it, but they also depend on effectively knowing the work that the government is doing, which it is supposed to be at the service of the citizens and not at the service of the rulers. Guaranteeing the existence of multiple means of communication through which to receive this information and with the greatest diversity and breadth of points of view is vital for democratic health. The government is responsible for absolute transparency and veracity in the information it provides, never the destruction of communication media independent of the government because it is not to your satisfaction. Unfortunately, the lack of transparency and such constant misrepresentations, such as the government’s actions, are becoming more and more evident.
Baruch affirmed that falsehoods from political power are today one of the greatest challenges that put democracy at risk, and that post-truth, based on misinformation and lies, constitutes one of the worst attacks on democratic life. “When it occurs in the organs and personalities of the highest level, there is no way to let it pass”narrowed.
He added that the open lie, when it comes from a hierarch, is the most dangerous cancer because it destroys credibility, the social fabric, coexistence and poisons citizens, especially when its interest is to create polarization with attacks based on falsehoods.
In these cases, not only the subject attacked by the lie is affected, but also and more seriously, the institutionality itself. Every person who represents the State must be an example of truth, otherwise, the lie is a mockery of the political system, of democracy and above all of the citizen. Lie put at the service of the darkest interests. The citizen has the right to the truth, to deny it, as is happening in this government, is to attack the fundamental rights of each and every one of the Costa Ricans.
Baruch claimed that “the proven lie of the President of the Republic and his Minister of Finance” constitutes a terrible message to the public, and which also destroyed the credibility of institutions such as the Taxation Directorate, which is of vital importance for its role in improving tax collection, by use that entity as an instrument of political repression and not as a collection instrument.
Great damage was done to the very good executives and officials who work in Taxation, they did not deserve it either. It is also a terrible message for the national productive sector, legal security and the environment for investment are damaged. Falsehood seeks to go unpunished. But beyond the particular case, it shows that the perverse political interests and objectives cloud the image of our country, both for the attraction of foreign investment, as well as for its leadership in Latin America as an example of democracy and protector of the fundamental rights of all the citizens. The chasing towards some today, and potentially towards others tomorrow, produces uncertainty and, above all, fear in citizens, intimidation that characterizes autocracies and dictatorships.
Baruch claimed that “Costa Rica is at risk” and that the path followed by the current government is different from the one that has characterized Costa Rica as a peaceful country of coexistence and solidarity.
He also said that the lie is seeking to leak to use the institutions against those who do not agree with the dark objectives of the Government, and that the examples outside the borders were clear.
Every affront to democracy has begun underhandedly using lies as the vehicle to destroy the institutional framework and the possibilities of defense for citizens. It’s no wonder Continuing this government as the script of the dictator Chávez of Venezuela, we are at the gates of a ruthless attack by the Government against the judicial system, based on the falsehoods and with all the modern tricks of disinformation that, as has been demonstrated in this same commission, this government uses extensively against those it considers its enemies, to then continue against this Assembly and against its deputies.
Given this, Baruch affirmed that it was necessary in order to protect the integrity of the country and its citizens, to act promptly, and that Congress had the institutional tools to do so. He also warned that “later could be too late.”
The commission summoned Baruch, as well as Álvaro Saborío de Rocafort, general manager of Banco BCT; and Mario Gómez Pacheco, president of the trust that administered the guarantee trust with which financing was made to political parties in 2022, for a second hearing with a date to be determined.
