Argentine President Javier Milei Faces Governors’ Rebellion: Implications in Congress and Justice

2024-02-25 06:20:00
Argentine President Javier Milei speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Md., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The unusual rebellion of the governors once morest the adjustment policies that Javier Milei has been applying since he took office on December 10 will have implications in the Justice and Congress in the next few hours, simultaneously with a foreseeable deepening of the political confrontation between the ruling party, the opposition and the sectors that had been dialogue-oriented at the beginning of the mandate. It is a fight to define who bears the greater burden of reducing public spending.

The most significant development that occurred in the conflict that began due to the withholding of 13 billion pesos from the co-participation to the province of Chubut was the adherence of the leaders of Patagonia to the threat launched by Governor Ignacio “Nacho” Torres to suspend the shipment of gas and oil to the rest of the country if that sum is not returned by Wednesday. It was a decision made by five of the six governors of the southern provinces, which provide more than 80% of the hydrocarbons consumed in Argentina.

Patagonian leaders belong to local political parties, which respond more to the logic of their districts than to national alignments. Torres is from the PRO, Rolo Figueroa originates from the Neuquén Popular Movement; Alberto Weretilneck founded Together We Are Río Negro; Claudio Melella from Fuegian is, if you will, the clearest Kirchnerist, although he heads the Concertación FORJA party; while Sergio Ziliotto from Pampa is from the organic PJ; and Claudio Vidal from Santa Cruz emerged from Peronist unionism. This multi-party region ended up unified once morest the adjustment and willing to apply a measure of force that does not recognize precedent and that might have serious consequences.

The implementation of this measure would be carried out through a strike by oil and construction unions, with support from other unions, social organizations, political parties and picketers. As Infobae anticipated yesterday, the CGT has already warned that it will support the forceful measures taken in the south.

Nacho Torres unleashed a rebellion of the governors once morest the Milei adjustment plan

But they were not the only ones who ended up united by fear. After a week of tensions and internal fights, the 10 governors of the PRO and the UCR – the only dimension where the Together for Change brand still survives – signed a joint statement of support and solidarity with Chubut and of demand to the national government to that “comply with the Constitution and urgently send the co-shareable resources that belong to the province.”

He was supported by the head of the Buenos Aires government, Jorge Macri, but also by Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos); Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe); and Gustavo Valdés from Corrientes; or Alfredo Cornejo, from Mendoza. With the 10 from JxC, the five from Patagonia, the Peronists Axel Kicillof (Buenos Aires), Ricardo Quintela (La Rioja), Gildo Insfrán (Formosa), Gustavo Sáenz from Salta, and the rest of the leaders, a rebellion was confirmed generalized to the permanent adjustment that Milei has been proposing.

The cut to Chubut was the spark that ignited the dry prairie of provinces that were left without financial rest. Since December they have been “burning” their own resources and funds on account, due to the abrupt reduction in transfers from the Nation. They were left without money for public works, without the Teacher Incentive Fund, or money for transportation subsidies, among other lines of financing that came from Buenos Aires. The situation worsens if we add that they must face a significant drop in their own revenue due to an acute recession, combined with high inflation and depressed salaries. An explosive cocktail.

They are the externalities that pushed Chubut to announce a measure of force that Milei himself challenged the governor to execute and face the legal consequences. “Nacho Torres did not get into this conflict without a way out and the way out that he is going to build is Justice. That is why he is going to go to court and ask for an urgent measure that allows decompression,” said last night one of the leaders who has been dealing with the same spending reduction policies that unleashed the threat of cutting off the supply of gas and oil.

From the left. Weretilneck, Torres, Figueroa, Ziliotto and Melella

Specifically, Vice Governor Gustavo Menna confirmed that he will appear before the Court tomorrow – it is not yet defined in which court – to request immediate intervention to suspend the measure ordered by the Ministry of Economy, headed by Luis Caputo, to retain those funds. of co-participation. The argument raised by the Government is that the province has signed a contract that put these resources as a guarantee for the payment of a loan. “A contract was fulfilled. No law was violated nor any arbitrariness committed,” sources from the Casa Rosada explained to Infobae. Menna also acknowledged that it was not ruled out to file a criminal complaint once morest the Minister of Economy.

In turn, among the governors there began to be talk of a common response once morest the continuous reductions in shipments of national items to the provinces. “The chainsaw plan found a limit. There was already a lot of anger with the cut of the Teacher Incentive Fund and transportation subsidies. But what happened with Chubut is that the transfers that were untouchable were now touched upon, because they were part of the co-participation. First it was Nacho Torres. “Who guarantees that, with other arguments, they will do it with another?”, stated in dialogue with this medium one of the leaders who is dedicated to this stealthy management.

There is talk of a declaration or even a bill that provides a kind of “shield” for the resources that are allocated by federal co-participation or by specific laws. It is an offensive that will be deployed in the National Congress, although it depends on a complicated consensus, due to distrust between sectors as dissimilar as Kirchnerism and the representatives of Córdoba.

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