In January 2023, the dissemination on social networks of a salary receipt of a municipal official in the Artigas Municipality caused a great scandal. According to the December 2022 receipt, the official had worked 196 hours of overtime, which earned her a payment of $120,000.
In November, he had worked 209 overtime hours for which he had been paid $89,211. In all, she had earned more than $180,000 in overtime, even though his nominal salary was only $45,000. The opposition pointed out that the official worked more than 17 hours a day that month.
The official was a partner of the Secretary General of the Mayor’s Office and sister-in-law of the Mayor. This led opposition councilors to call an extraordinary session in the Artigas Departmental Board, but the attempt to create an investigative commission was frustrated. The opposition councilors accused the department of being a “republiqueta” and said that there were “two parallel municipalities” and a “mini dictatorship.”
The scandal of overtime in Artigas
The mayor of Artigas, Pablo Caram, gave an interview to El Observador in which he addressed issues such as nepotism in his administration, the situation of his former general secretary and his political future.
Given the question about the departure of Rodolfo Caram of the General Secretariat, the mayor explained that it was a personal decision of his cousin, who left office due to the situation in which he found himself.
Regarding the issue of nepotism, Caram assured that “There are only three relatives” who work in the Municipality of Artigas: himself, Rodolfo Caram and the latter’s daughter. In addition, he defended the work of his partner, the former employee Stefani Severo, who is facing a complaint for improper collection of overtime.
Caram also spoke about his niece, the deputy Valentina Dos Santos, who is credited with a great influence on decision-making. However, the mayor denied this perception and assured that all the members of his government team work together.
Regarding his political future, Caram stated that he will run as a candidate for deputy and will support Álvaro Delgado in his potential presidential claims. Regarding her succession in the Administration, he assured that Valentina Dos Santos is an option and that she is already a “popular voice”.
