Mario Montoto

Mario Montoto (born December 23, 1956, in La Plata) is an Argentine businessman and politician. His company Codesur provides military products and services to the Argentinian military and other clients, and the firm's Global View division supplies surveillance cameras to Buenos Aires and other municipalities.

Montoto is well known for his background as a member of the Montoneros, a Peronist-left guerilla group of the 1970s for which he served as the chief legal advisor and financial officer. He is equally well known for his subsequent transformation into a friend and ally of successive Argentinian presidents, as well as other politicians and businessmen, his connections with whom are considered to be the principal reason for his business success.

Early life and education Montoto was born in La Plata on December 23, 1956. His father was a civil and commercial judge, and later a member of the Court of Appeals. At the age of 12, Montoto began to attend the Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas Juan Manuel de Rosas. While he was there, he joined a reading and discussion group that went on to form the Alianza de la Juventud Peronista (the Alliance of Peronist Youth).

He and Nestor Kirchner, the future President of Argentina, were friends while attending law school together in La Plata.

Montoto created the first Unión de Estudiantes Secundarios (UES, Union of Secondary Students) to be formed in La Plata after Peron's third term.

Montoto, whose codename in the Montoneros was Pascualito, was also the godfather to Firmenich's daughter. Montoto has rejected the charge that the Montonero counteroffensive of 1979 and 1980 was a massacre. “The conversion of Montoto is notorious,” stated the left-wing daily La Izquierda Diario, “because he was enriched under Menemism and placed himself in the path of 'crazy' Rodolfo Galimberti, who turned him into a show-business and security entrepreneur.” The newspaper described his “conversion” from radical to capitalist, profiting from privatization, as “shameless and obscene.”

Career In the early days of his business career, Montoto sold clothing and watches in the city of Paso de los Libres. In partnership with Spanish entrepreneurs, he founded Background, a firm that rented offices in Maipú by the hour. The enterprise was not successful, however. He later joined other Spanish partners in establishing a firm that hooked up homes for natural gas.

Metropolitano Montoto went on to be the president of Metropolitano, a railway consortium. During Montoto's tenure in this position, the General Audit Office and ARI both issued reports stating that the awarding of this concession to him had led to deterioration in the railway service. Montoto's partnership in this and other early ventures with Sergio Tasselli, a leading K-businessman, also raised questions at the time. was “quietly building an economic empire” that was growing “in the shadows,” and that his “associates generally do not come from the world of business but from the world of politics, such as former Montoneros leader Mario Montoto.” Instead of improving the train service provided by Metropolitano, Montoto reportedly directed Alejandra Rafuls to film train operations and to edit the film in such a way as to make it look as if customers were themselves responsible for the service problems.

When Kirchner became president of Argentina, Montoto quit the presidency of Metropolitano and formed Codesur. and is said to be the main supplier of the Buenos Aires municipal police. Montoto has publicly praised Scioli as “a pioneer in the fight against insecurity” and lauded his “bravery and courage.” Montoto has been described as a creature of Carlos Menem who was later taken under the wing of Daniel Scioli. Another source, however, has stated that Montoto's relationship with Garre has not been as friendly as his relationships with former Defense Ministers José Pampuro and Arturo Puricelli, and that, by the same token, he is not as close to Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as he was to Menem and Nestor Kirchner.

Montoto has sold security cameras to Buenos Aires through the Global View company.

Mototo's negotiations for security cameras with suburban mayors have been described as “rough” and as involving “allegations of overpricing.” According to La Verdad Online, “Many mayors complained about the pressures put upon them from above” to buy security cameras from Montoto, and despite the pressures, many of them “refused to work with Montoto.”

Personal life Montoto claims to have forgiven the enemies of his youth, including those who apparently killed Raverta. Montoto also had a son and daughter with Segarra. He has also maintained that he and his fellow Montoneros never intended to dissolve the military. Reportedly, Montoto has a huge picture of Evita Peron hanging in his office in Puerto Madero.