Ministry of the Interior of the Argentine Republic

The Ministry of the Interior of the Argentine Republic is identified by name on an official report concerning Molina’s imprisonment. The evidence establishes its documentary presence, but does not specify the Ministry’s direct role in preparing or acting on the report; the document itself is addressed to the Warden and marked as prepared by staff assistants.

Documentary Appearance

The Ministry’s name appears as the letterhead above a report to the Warden. That report format places Molina’s prison history within an official administrative record, rather than presenting the information as personal testimony. The document identifies staff assistants as its preparers, without stating what part, if any, the Ministry played in compiling or transmitting it.

Information in the Report

The report states that Molina was sentenced on July 20, 1974, by Judge Justo José Dalpierre of the Criminal Court of the City of Buenos Aires to eight years’ imprisonment for corruption of minors. It records that he was lodged in Pavilion B, cell 34, on July 28, 1974, with Benito Jaramillo, Mario Carlos Bianchi, and David Margulies.

The same record notes Molina’s transfer on April 4, 1975, to Pavilion D, cell 7, where he was housed with political prisoner Valentin Arregui Paz. Its final assessment of his conduct is simply “Good.” The dates, locations, cellmates, and brief judgment compress a changing prison situation into an institutional chronology.

Significance and Limits

The Ministry’s appearance connects the novel’s prison narrative to the language and procedures of state administration: a sentence becomes a recorded term, movements between cells become dated entries, and conduct receives a terse official rating. The report documents Molina’s changing placement, including his move into the cell of Valentin Arregui Paz, but does not explain the reasons for that transfer or establish that the Ministry ordered it. Its significance rests on this limited but concrete presence: the Ministry’s name frames a record through which prison life is rendered legible to authority.