Carlos Menem's series has created a rift in the former president's family: "Bad temper," "phonies," and "a great fable."

If there's one thing the series and former President Carlos Saúl Menem have in common, it's that they divide opinions. It was only to be expected, then, that the series about the former president would create a rift . What was perhaps surprising was that the production pitted members of the Menem family against each other. Eduardo , the former president's brother, called the series "bad-tempered," while Zulema , Carlos's daughter, defended the intentions of the script, which she herself actively participated in during the production stage.

Menem. Without a doubt, a name that marked an era, a turning point in Argentine history. Not only for the political capital he was able to build, wield ostentatiously, and also lose, but also for the caliber of the character the Riojan represented, for the brilliance of his charisma. The series, Independence Day, premiered last Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video, which deals with Carlos Saúl's rise to the presidency, was based on that foundation.

The premiere made its presence felt in the public conversation, with opinions about the acting, the script, and the entire narrative. Now, the conversation shifted from the public to the family.

"They're trying to attack him, to discredit the image of President Menem, who can't defend himself because he's dead. It's done with very bad intentions," began Eduardo Menem, the former president's brother and former senator and president of the 1994 Constitutional Convention, in his argument against the series.

In his speech, the former national legislator made it clear that his assessment of the series directed by Ariel Winograd and produced by Mariano Valera, in which Leonardo Sbaraglia acts as the representative of Carlos Menem, is resoundingly negative.

The former president's brother continued, speaking with A24 at noon on Friday: "I don't know where they got the script from, but they probably copied it from some book that criticizes Carlos, and they distort the real facts and the fictional ones, and they also invent the characters that didn't exist. And they take advantage of those characters to tell a false story."

"Those who made the series are frauds because they distort the facts in a damaging way. I can describe the series as one made with a lot of malice ," concluded Eduardo Menem, father of the current Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Martín Menem.

But hours later, it was his niece Zulemita, daughter of former President Menem, who came to the defense of the series, for which she oversaw the script and other aspects. "It's a fictional series, a great fable with humorous and powerful parts . But it's still fiction, not a documentary about my father's life. So, if we put ourselves in that position, we see it with humor," Zulemita told A24.

"You have to consider that if they made a series that was completely in favor of my father, even with humor, it wouldn't work; and if they made it completely against him, it wouldn't work either. So they reached a middle ground , a great fable. For example, with the scene of the odalisques in my father's office, you realize it's a lie, that it's fiction, because that didn't exist," his defense continued.

And he continued: "Although my father was a womanizer, he was also very thorough. My brother and I lived in Olivos and never saw a woman cross our paths. It's funny."

"Did you have anything to do with it? Did they consult you for the series?" the interviewer asked.

"My father sold his rights while he was alive, and they told him it would be fiction and who would direct the series. He knew there would be spicy humor, which is what Winograd (the director) does. And at the time he sold his rights to Amazon, the company wasn't in the country. He was a visionary. And he always said that the important thing isn't whether people speak positively or negatively about you, but that they speak positively," Zulemita outlined.

"He would have died laughing, I think. I think he would have died laughing with the series. And my mom was hooked by the acting , the quality of the actors, incredible . In the series they didn't manage to reflect what a statesman my dad was, someone who changed the country, who was recognized throughout the world because he made a great transformation of Argentina; but they did manage to reflect a fiction. And I was absolutely favored ," she added about her character in the strip, played by Cumelén Sanz.

And regarding her role in the production, she specified: "I met with Leonardo Sbaraglia (the actor who played Carlos Menem), as well as with the production company as an advisor, a consultant, and I also had interviews."

There was a direct response to Eduardo Menem . "I understand that my uncle would have preferred a documentary, but this series isn't a documentary, and I'm comfortable with that," Zulema replied.

"Surely someone will write his biography," he sought to reassure the former senator. Finally, he highlighted Carlos Saúl's vision : "And I think my old man, who smoked underground , had the idea that we'd all be talking about him today. In two days, he surpassed Diego Maradona's series."