Argentina has been debating for decades how to confront the structural corruption that erodes the state, hollows out institutions, and destroys citizens’ trust. However, there is a clear constitutional mandate, in effect since the 1994 reform, that has not been fully developed or respected: The corruption crimes stipulated in Article 36 of the National Constitution are not dropped.
This article – perhaps one of the least widespread and at the same time the most revolutionary of the Magna Carta – stipulates with absolute force that those who commit serious acts of corruption attacking the democratic system are subject to the same penalties as usurpers of power, and that such crimes have no statute of limitations. There are no margins of ambiguity. The Constitution has already decided that corruption should not go unpunished simply because of the passage of time.
However, during these thirty years, the country was unable to develop legislation that, And organizing that mandate with cohesion and firmness. Meanwhile, the reality is showing a disturbing picture: corruption cases that take more than a decade to decide, files that expire in the statute of limitations, and the entrenched social perception that “justice always comes too late.” This combination is devastating, because impunity – as we know – is more harmful than corruption itself.
Why is imprescriptibility necessary? There are at least three reasons for the constitutional, institutional and practical weight:
What needs to be done? Congress has an unavoidable responsibility: to dictate a law that determines which corruption crimes are covered by the statute of limitations, how they are classified as attacks against the democratic system and what their procedural system is. This limitation is not intended to limit the jurisdiction of the article. 36, But to make it practical.
In turn, it must be supplemented by: a complete competition system throughout the country; Strengthening monitoring organizations (Sigen, OA, AGN); Active transparency in bids and contracts; Real protection for whistleblowers and repentants; Maximum deadlines for criminal proceedings.
The statute of limitations does not solve the problem in itself. But it removes the main advantage that the corrupt has today: waiting.
The Path That Society Demands Citizens are tired of seeing symbolic causes — involving multimillion-dollar transfers, overpricing, targeted public works, or regulatory takeovers — weaken over time. And each time this happens, what is weakened is not a file: It is the republic.
Art. 36 reminds us that democracy is not just about voting. It also aims to protect the integrity of the state, ensure that those who commit crimes from power cannot hide behind judicial delays, and send an unambiguous message: corruption has no refuge around the clock.
Respect for the Constitution starts there.
National MP (ARI Civic Coalition)