Argentina Sees Conspiracy Behind Maradona's Fall
It's a plot.
For Argentina, those are words have echoed through much of its history as an  explanation when "bad" things happened to "good" people.
For the military governments of the 1970's, international outcry over human  rights abuses were considered a plot by terrorists outside the country to discredit the Argentine military. Earlier in the century, Jews were plotting to  take over the Patagonia, in what was called the Andean Plan. More recently, to explain periodic sharp public criticism, President Carlos Saul Menem has said that there is a media plot, backed by Communists, out to get him.
And now, the news that Diego Maradona tested positive for banned medication has Argentina again raising the banner of conspiracy, or complot, as they say in Spanish.
On Thursday, the 33-year-old Maradona, who has a history of cocaine use, was  withdrawn from World Cup play by the Argentine delegation after tests found five derivatives of the drug ephedrine.
"The theme of a plot is very Argentine because it excuses your own guilt," said Jorge Lanata, a columnist for the daily newspaper Pagina 12. "If Argentines confront reality, they have to face the fact that they are responsible for what  is happening. It is much easier to place the blame on others. If there was a conspiracy, then we are not responsible for anything. It is a typical symptom of the Argentine sickness. All the world is conspiring against 30 million Argentines. That is crazy."
A telephone survey of 200 people in Buenos Aires by the newspaper found that  nearly 60 percent believed Maradona and the Argentine team were the victims of a plot. Barely 10 percent said they were mad at Maradona and more than 50 percent  said they felt sorry for him.
And for the country where a common saying is, "We're the best, but they don't let us become the best," the fall of Maradona has many pointing fingers rather than looking inward. The fingers have pointed to Maradona's personal dietitian,  his training team, to soccer's international governing body.
"I don't agree with the historical Argentine view of a conspiracy, but I believe there is a conspiracy against Maradona," said Osvaldo Soriano, an Argentine writer, who questioned the fairness of the draw that chose to take a urine sample from Maradona, as one of two Argentine players, after its match with Nigeria. "Maradona has made a lot of people mad at him and he had some bills to pay."
Indeed, the stunning fall of Maradona seems to have many of the tragic elements that play to the Argentine national character and that the country, despite more than three years of spectacular economic growth and stability, has  yet to move beyond.
Among those are a sense that the powerful are outside of the law, and almost  an admiration for those who take a cavalier view of rules and regulations. Even  though many Government officials in the last three years have been accused of corruption, none have yet been convicted.
Much of the country's history is involved with pardoning those who have transgressed the law. Lanata said that since the early 1800's, the Argentine Government has instituted 26 general amnesties.
"We have inbred in this society a sense that you don't have to play by the rules," said a prominent local banker, who asked not to be identified. "I feel very sorry for Maradona as an individual, but for Argentina, maybe this will inject a sense of discipline and help us realize that if we are to be part of a  group of mature countries we have to respect rules and how the game is played."
There has been an unmistakable surrealism about Maradona and his comeback after being banned from international soccer play for 15 months in 1991 for cocaine use. Before the tournament began, an overweight Maradona and the Argentine national soccer team were disparaged by the public, playing poorly and standing little chance of winning.
When Maradona appeared in the World Cup trim and energetic and Argentina won  its first two matches, the team was among those considered able to win the championship. Overnight euphoria set in.
"We believe what we want to be is what we are," said Lanata. "Menem says we are the First World. No. We want to be the First World. What we are is what we are and if we don't realize that, we are confusing reality with desire."
Still, much of the country mourned the fate of its once brilliant superstar.  Today, Economic Minister Domingo F. Cavallo, and Interior Minister Carlos Ruckauf both voiced support for him.
"From that sad encounter with Colombia," wrote Soriano in an article today, referring to a 5-0 drubbing of Argentina in last year's qualifying round, "Diego has made everything possible: the qualifying, the great beginning. Now, it is no more and we are left in the hands of other gods."
WORLD CUP '94