Argentina should let Maradona rest in peace. Instead, it’s made a political circus out of his death | Opinion

The death of Argentina’s soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona made headlines around the world, but the way in which his country’s populist government tried to exploit it for political purposes has drawn relatively little attention. It is scandalous and should be condemned.

In most other democracies, when a sports legend dies, the celebrity’s memorial services are non-political events.

For instance, when NBA star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January, his widow held a private funeral on Feb. 7, and the city of Los Angeles convened a public memorial service at the Staples Center for Feb. 24.

About 20,000 people attended Bryant’s public memorial. President Trump tweeted his condolences, as did several other U.S. political leaders.

But when 60-year-old Maradona died on Nov. 25 in Argentina, President Alberto Fernandez turned the tragedy into a self-serving political circus.

Maradona died while he was recovering from a successful surgery for a blood clot on the brain, after a decades-long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. In his recent public appearances, he had looked frail and seemed to have trouble speaking.

Fernandez declared a three-day period of national mourning, then had the soccer star’s coffin moved into the Casa Rosada presidential palace for a mass vigil there.

In addition to actively supporting the Cuban and Venezuelan dictatorships, Maradona backed Fernandez and Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the leftist-populist former president who is the power behind the throne in Argentina.

“I want all Argentines who want to bid farewell to him be able to do so,” Fernandez said. Government officials said they had expected 1 million people to file past Maradona’s remains at the presidential palace.

Problem is, the massive vigil at the presidential palace was held with scant health precautions, amid a national peak in COVID-19 infections. Many in the crowd that filed past the coffin were not wearing face masks. To make things worse, the vigil was held indoors.

Critics pointed out the Fernandez government had earlier this year imposed one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns, during which people were prohibited from leaving their homes for weeks at a time. Yet, it was now inviting hundreds of thousands of people to walk through an indoor location, in the midst of a new COVID-19 peak. It was irresponsible, and dangerous.

And the show surrounding Maradona’s death didn’t end there. Hours later, the presidential palace’s doors were inexplicably closed, reportedly after the vice president’s arrival. People outside began to protest for not being allowed in. Some people broke into the presidential palace. Police dispersed the crowd and made several arrests.

The Fernandez government blamed opposition Buenos Aires mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta for the crackdown. The mayor’s office replied that the city police had acted on orders from the central government.

Days later, in a new chapter of this ongoing story, prosecutors charged that Maradona’s physicians had been “absolutely negligent” during his last days alive.

The surgeon who operated on Maradona was called to testify, and his home and office were raided by police. Earlier this week, police also searched the office of Maradona’s psychiatrist.

Now, much of the country is glued to the TV set following the latest twists of the case, looking for a culprit. Few public figures dared to remind the public that Maradona’s substance addictions, chaotic life and reported disdain for medical advice were most likely to blame for his death.

Though the government may not have pushed for the investigation into the soccer player’s death, the president certainly is one of its beneficiaries — it’s diverting public attention from the country’s worsening economic crisis.

Argentina’s economy is projected to collapse by nearly 12 percent this year, more than those of most other Latin American countries, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Maradona should be allowed to rest in peace and to be remembered as the unique soccer player that he was. Argentina’s government should focus its energies on fighting the pandemic and attracting investments, instead of trying to score political points from Maradona’s sudden — but not surprising — death.

Don’t miss the “Oppenheimer Presenta” TV show at 8 p.m. E.T. Sunday on CNN en Español. Twitter: @oppenheimera

This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 1:16 PM.