2024-02-28 04:54:15
As in any discussion that crosses his path, Javier Milei is not willing to give in in the battle for Chubut’s shared funds. The President will raise a per saltum before the Supreme Court to intervene directly in the fierce dispute that he maintains with Governor Ignacio Torres. That is the route that the Casa Rosada will take following yesterday the federal judge of Rawson Hugo Ricardo Sastre ordered the national Executive to “cease the retention” of the resources that correspond to the province by law, although it does not force it to return those already confiscated.
Milei’s position is clear: he refuses to pay Chubut’s co-participating funds, with the excuse of an outstanding debt that the province has with the national State. Hence, the strategy evaluated by the Minister of Justice, Mariano Cúneo Libarona, and the Treasury Attorney, Rodolfo Barra, includes not only the per saltum before the highest court but also appealing Sastre’s ruling before the Chamber of Comodoro Rivadavia. “We are analyzing with what legal instruments this appeal will be carried out. We still have time to respond,” they told Página/12 in Casa Rosada.
The President’s intention is to extend the discussion to continue withholding the co-participating funds until the Court of Appeals or, if applicable, the Supreme Court issues a ruling. In parallel, it is being analyzed to request the recusal of the magistrate in question. The Government argues that Sastre should not have intervened because, according to article 116 of the Constitution, the link between the provinces and the Casa Rosada is the responsibility of the highest court.
In this way, Mieli will come out with his caps to respond to the court ruling in favor of Torres. This is a claim presented by the governor of Chubut once morest the National State to “cease” the automatic withholding of co-participation. According to the federal judge, the discount of 13.5 billion pesos that the national government ordered is an “unfair” and “intransigent” measure and “leads to the aggravation of the special situation that the Province is going through, whose state of economic, financial emergency and administrative was provided by law.”
In the foundations of the resolution, Sastre highlights that the withheld funds imply a very severe defunding of local coffers, given that they represent more than a third of what the province receives through co-participation. “This situation might not continue over time without affecting essential services such as health, hygiene, education, etc., basic needs of the population whose satisfaction must be guaranteed,” he indicates. Under these arguments, the magistrate ordered that the retention be suspended of funds and urged the parties to move forward in canceling or renegotiating the loan granted to the province.
After learning the ruling, Torres tried to close the fight. “The arbiter of this discussion was Justice. Afterwards the Government can appeal, but for Chubut the issue is settled,” he stated. “I never imagined experiencing a situation like this 70 days following taking office when in reality it might have been resolved with common sense, but it mightn’t,” he added during a press conference of the Patagonian governors in the Senate.
Regarding the debt that the province has with the Nation, the federal judge points out that the actions of the national government are “irrational”, stresses that it is in a “dominant position” and questions it for “ignoring the refinancing requests made” by Chubut. However, he rejects Torres’ claim “regarding the return of the sums already withheld and the imposition of conditions for an eventual refinancing.”
Sastre is the same judge who last week, in response to another presentation by Torres, ordered the national government to refrain from eliminating or reducing the Interior Compensation Fund, intended for financing the interurban transportation system. According to the Chubut governor, this was the trigger that angered Milei and, for this reason, he punished the province by stopping the delivery of the co-participating funds.
I fought once morest everyone
In the legal war between the President and the governors, the files are piling up. In December, Ricardo Quintela from La Rioja requested a per saltum for the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the megaDNU. Last Friday, missionary Hugo Passalacqua filed a lawsuit before the highest court to demand that the Government “immediately collect” the amounts owed under the Teacher Incentive Fund. And this Monday, Buenos Aires native Axel Kicillof announced that he will ask the supreme authorities to order the national Executive to return the Fiscal Strengthening Fund that the central administration recently took from him. The Chubut file is now added to the list.
After the failure of the omnibus law in Congress, Milei took his fights with the governors to the extreme. Yesterday, following the ruling, the Patagonian leaders tried to calm the waters: they invited him to a meeting that they will organize on March 7 and asked him to open a “dialogue table.” The President, on the other hand, is not willing to put down the chainsaw. He will advance once morest Chubut and once morest everything that crosses his path.
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