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Argentinas provincial governments are asking President Javier Milei to clarify the fate of public investment in infrastructure, which remains frozen as part of the federal administrations drastic cuts to public spending.
Although the Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, told the governors of the northern zone last week that the Federal Government could resume work on projects that are nearing completion, there is concern among the presidents allied governors due to the lack of clarity about financing.
"We are worried. We need more resources to manage our provinces,” an anonymous governor from the center-right coalition Together for Change told the newspaper La Nación.
The uncertainty comes as the Milei administration tries to shore up support for the head of states legislative priorities: an omnibus law and an economic decree that reform broad sectors of the economy.
Transfers to the provinces from the federal fiscal sharing system experienced a year-on-year contraction of 25.5% in March. It was the sixth consecutive monthly drop and the biggest since Milei took office in December, according to policy center CEPA, which cited data from the Economy Ministry.
Meanwhile, governors have been trying to stretch funds to avoid work stoppage. The governor of the province of San Juan, Marcelo Orrego, pointed out that 40% of the projects that were stopped due to lack of federal financing were reactivated with local funds.
His administration is also negotiating with the Federal Government to resume financing for larger projects such as the Zonda tunnel (US$71.1 million upon award in 2022) and the Gran Tulum aqueduct (US$106 million).
"We hope, with some optimism, for a national reorganization, which will unlock the funds from the IDB to resume activity," Orrego said in a statement.
In Tierra del Fuego, the local Minister of Public Works, Gabriela Castillo, indicated that the 30 projects in the province financed by the Federal Government remain paralyzed. “There is uncertainty because in the media discourse one thing is said, in reality the money does not arrive, but in reality no one signs that they are going to cancel a work,” she declared to the FM Fuego radio station.
One of the governors looking for alternatives is Maximiliano Pullaro, from Santa Fe. Sources from his administration told TN that he will request that certain projects be transferred to the province so that they can be resumed under a public-private partnership model. This would include initiatives such as the Gran Rosario aqueduct and a penitentiary center under construction in the municipality of Coronda.
A group of governors from Together for Change, which includes Pullaro, will meet with Francos to discuss infrastructure financing and other issues related to Mileis efforts to reform the economy. |
