Importance of the Cro-Magnon Tragedy (2004)

One of the most devastating tragedies that Argentina suffered as a direct result of corruption and government negligence, an episode that is always latent and that I live in the heart of the country.

A flare that should never have entered the República de Cromañón nightclub, located in the neighborhood Once, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, unleashed a devastating fire on December 30, 2004, which caused the death of 194 people and more than 1,400 wounded who had attended it to witness the recital of the rock band Callejeros, one of the most popular at that time among young people.

A fan of the group lit a flare in the middle of the recital and his projectiles hit directly on a half shade, a highly flammable material, which phenomenally expanded the fire and the smoke.

A death trap: emergency exit blocked

The crowd present, seeing the danger, panicked and ran in search of a way out, however, the evacuation was the main obstacle and cause of the tragedy since one of the emergency exits was closed with padlocks and wires, a fact that increased the impossibility of leaving and immediate suffocation due to inhalation of large amounts of monoxide carbon.

But it was also the most faithful expression of generating an economic business at the cost of anything, including the lives of thousands of young people.

Because the place where the disco worked was not only overflowing with the public, more than allowed, but also did not have with the conditioning required in the formality for the correct functioning and the security that this type of establishment.

An outrageous chain of irregularities and corruption

To the responsibility that fell to the state for voluntarily or involuntarily omitting the pertinent controls, is added that of the manager of Cromañón, Omar Chabán, and the Callejeros gang, who that fateful night they did not try to provide their public with a minimum of security: prohibiting the entry of pyrotechnic material and respecting the maximum capacity of attendees that the place.

Like any dramatic event, it produced a before and after in the current system for inspecting public spaces, which clearly failed.

All dance venues were closed, as well as those that received a large influx of public, and that did not comply with the regulations in subject of security.

The night of December 30 was irregular in Cromañón: presence of flammable material, public capacity exceeded, emergency exit closed, use of fireworks and authorization inappropriate.

the hour of justice

A long judicial process began to establish responsibilities and punish the guilty, which reached the authorities of the municipality of the city of Buenos Aires, Chabán, manager and public face of the bowling alley, and the Callejeros group, among the main defendants who had to sit on the bench of the accused.

On the political level, the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires initiated a political trial against the then Chief of government Aníbal Ibarra, after which he was removed from office for finding him politically responsible for the tragedy; Vice Chief Jorge Telerman took over in his place.

For his part, in 2009, Chabán, who knew how to be a rock celebrity during the eighties by promoting many groups and managing the Cemento disco, he was found guilty of the crimes of intentional havoc followed by death and active bribery, and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. prison.

He passed away in 2014, on November 17, at the age of 62 due to Hodgkin's disease.

While the members of Callejeros were also sentenced for their responsibility in the event.

Reports published later show that even today the survivors present psychological sequelae that they cannot overcome despite the treatments.