Lepratti, Claudio Hugo

Early years, education, beneficence

Claudio Lepratti was born in Concepción del Uruguay in the province of Entre Rios , the eldest son of Orlando José Lepratti ^[1] (1943–2004) and Dalís Bel ^[2] .

Young Claudio attended elementary and high school in Concepción del Uruguay .

In the period from 1983 to 1985, he studied law at the University of Nacional del Litoral ( Spanish Universidad Nacional del Litoral ), studying at public expense. In 1986, he became a seminarian at the Salesian Institute in Funes (about 15 km west of Rosario), and chose a religious assistant brother. He studied philosophy , eventually became a professor .

Among the seminarians, it was customary to visit places nearby in order to see everyday poverty and in every possible way help those who are outside its line. Lepratti asked his mentors to extend this practice on an ongoing basis, but they only said to take an oath of obedience and continue their studies.

Five years later, Claudio left the seminary and went to live in the villa of Barrio Loudanya, in Rosario. In the parish , headed by his father Edgardo Montaldo, he created and coordinated a number of children's and youth volunteer groups, organized camping trips, master classes and much more. He worked as an assistant in the kitchen in institutions providing food for poor children, taught philosophy and theology in the parish school ^[3] .

Civic Activism and Doom

At the end of 2001, Argentina was in the balance of the economic crisis caused by a long-term recession and massive unemployment . On December 18, riots broke out in Rosario and Greater Buenos Aires . The unrest was accompanied by looting of shops by activists who demanded food . The then president, Fernando de la Roy, proclaimed a state of emergency, suspended constitutional guarantees and resorted to violent repression.

At that time, Claudio Lepratti lived in the Villa Miseria in Loudouenie, but he was constantly volunteering at a school located in Barrio-las Flores, a poor district in the south of Rosario. On December 19, Santa Fe provincial police raided a school district to stifle a developing protest. Lepratti and two other school staff climbed onto its roof, after which they demanded a cease-fire.

According to witnesses and the investigation carried out later, two policemen began firing on the roof. One of them, Ernesto Esteban Velasquez, subsequently killed Lepratti. The cause of death was a 12.70 mm caliber bullet that passed through his trachea . The last thing Claudio said:

“Son of a bitch, drop your gun, there are only children here that we feed!”

Lepratti was taken to the Roque Saenz Pena hospital, but he died before his arrival ^{[4] [5]} .

On that day, the protests continued in Rosario. December 20, in the face of brutal demonstrations, robberies and riots in major Argentine cities ^[6] , President De La Rua resigned ^[7] .