“Alicia’s priest” Alicia Kirchner in the trajectory and administration of the priest Juan Carlos Molina in the SEDRONAR (Argentina, 2000-2015)

Abstract

In November 2013, the priest Juan Carlos Molina was appointed as head of the Secretary of Programmes for Prevention of Drug Addiction and Fight against Drug Trafficking. (SEDRONAR, according to the Spanish initial letters). His administration, which lasted until June 2015, coincided with an intense increase in the public visibility of the secretary in accordance with the growth of its budget and expansion of the payroll of officials. The aim of this article is to approach to Molina’s prior trajectory and administration style with special emphasis on the role played by the figure of the State Ministry of Social Development of that moment, Alicia Kirchner (2003-2005/2006-2015). The premise of work is that this personal and ideological link allowed the priest to obtain the necessary experience for his arrival at SEDRONAR, while he was collaborating in the construction of a specific modality of exercising state administration. The analysis of this process allowed us to reflect on the way in which social networks produce porosities between the State and civil society, on the other hand, revitalize the transmission of skills and ways of performing the public function.