Mendoza. — in the midst of this county’s “social epidemic” of alcohol behind the wheel, once again Mendoza is a public servant He was caught driving drunk on the city streets. This time, with extra spice: on board a convertible, without a license plate, and with a glass of wine in hand. It’s about Libertarian Party advisor, Martin Antolinoriginally from San Rafael, from the local South.
The mayor was identified upon a police search during the early hours of the traditional Monday Aristides Villanueva Street He received penalties for exceeding the permissible alcohol limit, which in Mendoza is 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, according to the traffic law of this province. The melist leader had 1.15 grams at the time of the corresponding test.
According to the sources consulted, the advisor did not show resistance or “challenge” his political position, even though the car he was driving attracted attention, without an identification plate: a white BMW convertible. In addition, he learned that he was surprised by a cup of wine in his hand.
The incident occurred after one o’clock in the morning while security personnel were conducting a routine inspection in the heart of downtown Mendoza, violating Article 67 bis of Law 9099, regarding driving under the influence of alcohol. Because of this violation, his car and driver’s license were impounded and he was taken to the police station, awaiting the final amount he must pay as a fine that could reach 5 million pesos.
They said: “Antolin was driving a BMW convertible. They stopped him and the test showed 1.15 grams of alcohol in his blood. They arrested him in Aristides and Tiburcio Benegas. He was arrested, the police moved in, and the car was seized.” Nation From the municipality of the city of Mendoza, after verifying the information with the Ministry of Provincial Security, where municipal security personnel were the first to act in the case.
In contact with this newspaper, from that portfolio, they expanded data on the fact that continues to surprise neighbors and authorities, especially since last year two cases of officials driving under the influence of alcohol have already been recorded.
This event occurred at 1:10 a.m. when the mayor was driving a BMW Z4, domain AA269MV, without the license plate in place, for reasons yet to be reported. The case was settled at the 6th Police Department and referred to the Violations Court. “Metropolitan Traffic personnel at an operational location stop the vehicle and conduct an alcohol test with a positive result,” they said from security.
Antolin has been a Libertarian councilor since 2023Therefore, he has two years left in his administration. However, voices began calling for him to resign from his position, as happened in May with his Guaymalin counterpart, Miqueas Burgoa, who was arrested for driving with more than 1.25 grams of alcohol. The radical councilor, who was also driving without a licence, was punished, but was saved from dismissal after a political process in the deliberative council, after the president of the council, Veronica Cancela, broke a tie in the vote in his favour.
“Just as the UCR chancellor in Guaymallén was asked to resign for driving with alcohol levels higher than permitted, the same should be done with the libertarian chancellor in San Rafael. End,” said Vice Governor Hebe Casado, former PRO, who was not accepted to join the ranks of La Libertad Avanza (LLA).
Antolin from Liberal PartyBut not from the LLA, because in 2023 he went to the elections within the primary group. Likewise, he continued to support the ideas of President Javier Miley. The Liberal Party also came out to ask him to resign and will work to accelerate his withdrawal.
Also, in January of this year, there was another scandal on wheels in Mendoza. The head of the transportation agency tested positive for an alcohol test, twice the permissible limit. Jorge Tevez was driving an official car, and the test revealed one gram of alcohol in his blood, resulting in a fine of 2.5 million pesos. As the days passed, and due to social, media and political pressures, he decided to resign from his position.
Such dangerous driving accidents due to alcohol consumption are a constant in the province of western Argentina, which has risen up strongly against Zero Tolerance Law At the national level, especially in the field of wine industry advocacy. However, there are more and more resonant events and tragedies, prompting Governor Alfredo Cornejo to classify it as a “social epidemic”, although specialists associate it more with young and nocturnal consumption of other alcoholic beverages, since wine consumption is usually more moderate, especially in restaurants and wineries.
In any case, experts stress the need to tighten road controls and tests for breathalyzers suddenly rather than in fixed places, while calling for strict adherence to regulations and tightening of relevant penalties, regardless of who falls.