Vanina Kosteki: “The flags of work and dignity of 20 years ago are still valid”
Vanina Kosteki, sister of Maximiliano, stated in her memory that “the fight for justice continues today” and considered that the social claims that generated that social protest “are still valid today.”
“The flags of work and dignity of 20 years ago are still valid today, as well as for the families, the demand for justice for the political leaders of the Avellaneda massacre is still valid,” Vanina Kosteki stressed, in statements to Télam.
This Sunday, on the 20th anniversary of the murders of the social militants of the MTD at the hands of the Buenos Aires Police, after a social protest that began at the foot of the Pueyrredón Bridge and that ended with the two crimes, gunshot wounds and arrests, Télam spoke with vanina.
Twenty years after the murders of Darío and Maximiliano, what does your family have to say?
Twenty years is a lifetime and we, as relatives of Maxi, what we continue to demand is the trial and punishment of those responsible for these deaths. Beyond the fact that we have had partial justice with the convictions of (Alfredo) Fanchiotti and (Alejandro) Acosta, it is not enough. The political leaders today are still in the government, they continue to govern, and today they continue to repress as Aníbal Fernández does as Minister of Security.
Who are the political leaders for you?
There are several: (Eduardo) Duhalde, (Felipe) Solá, (Alfredo) Atanasof, (Carlos) Ruckauf, (Jorge) Matzkin, Juan José Alvarez, (Carlos) Soria, Luis Genoud and others…
Twenty years after those crimes, only two police officers from Buenos Aires were convicted and are in prison…
Today we only have two police officers in prison, which is not enough for any family member, not just for us. Moreover, (Felipe) Solá himself, when he was a deputy and there was repression when (Mauricio) Macri’s budget was voted on, he himself said: “I, as governor, for 8 years, know that the order is given from the top down. “, which shows that the police did not go out alone to kill, or to repress, or to arrest. It is very clear to us that there was a political order for these murders and we tell the Justice that we are not going to forget anything.
How were these 20 years for the Kosteki family?
Very hard. We lost my mother, my sister is orphaned; we try to live our lives as well as possible… I had a complicated divorce, my ex-husband took my children, I spent years without being able to see them. It wasn’t just years of fighting for Justice for Maxi, but I also had to fight for my children, in front of a totally irrational person; work and try to continue living, seeing how my house was set on fire. But we keep going, we never lower our heads and always putting our chest. And today we continue to face all the stones on the road and continue to demand Justice for Maxi. Maximiliano was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, but with a claim that was fair, which was to go out on the street to claim dignity, not only for himself but also for his neighbors. Maxi was a plastic artist, the only thing he wanted was to teach drawing to the neighborhood kids and they ended up cutting short his life.
Are you active in any organization today?
No, because what the organizations do is abuse family members and use them, so, nothing… They used me for a while and, as I realized, I gradually distanced myself from them. Only that, a family member of a victim is left totally alone, no one can be trusted, neither the State nor the organizations, nor anyone…
Did you feel used by any organization?
Of course they did, because they even forged my signature in court files.
Who is it?
The lawyers of the Partido Obrero (PO), the lawyer Claudia Ferrero, falsified my signature in the judicial file in the Courts of La Plata in order to collect compensation for Maxi’s death.
Twenty years after the so-called “Avellaneda massacre”, do you know how MTD Aníbal Verón is doing today?
After the murders of Maxi and Darío, the MTD was divided into 20,000 pieces, with many fractions. They split into many pieces. What happened to their lives? Many continue to militate in different political fronts, others are leaders, others are nothing and other officials in the Municipality of La Plata. The people are still poor as ever, but those who ran the organization are now municipal officials.
