AT PAYMENT.- The Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillo, demonstrated in public on which side he positioned himself in the crack that consumes the Front of All. The relationship with the President was deteriorated by the loud criticism, increasingly fierce, against the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Instead, The governor came out to defend Vice President Cristina Fernández and Máximo Kirchnerwho refused to vote for that agreement.
The friction between the President and the governor began in February, shortly after the fine print of the agreement with the IMF became known. But it worsened two weeks ago, during the debate in the National Congress. Kicillof ordered his most trusted deputy, Daniel Gollán, to abstain from voting on the agreement proposed by Alberto Fernández. In this way, Gollán differed from the first deputy on the list, Victoria Toloza Paz, who voted in favor.
Kicillof went further and criticized the understanding hours before being confirmed, last Friday. “The agreement with the IMF on food prices and the financial issue is old,” the governor lashed out. “The unit has to have goals. It is not unity for its own sake”he added.
“Those who are not interested in fighting with anyone do not need it,” he said during the march on March 24, where he shared photos with Máximo Kirchner. “They voted for us to recover what had been lost with the macrismo,” he lambasted. “Can’t have a lukewarm position so that the crisis is not unloaded on people’s backs”, he said, just before the new agreement with the IMF becomes operational.
While criticizing the agreement that the President closed, he also publicly defended the Vice President: “I do not agree that after four years of persecution with the compañera Cristina we cannot set ourselves a close horizon,” he said on the eve of the holiday for the memory.
“Kicillof has a normal relationship with the President,” they said in the Governor’s Office after the cataract of criticism leveled against the agreement with the IMF. Instead, a political interlocutor between Fernández and Kicillof assured that this link is perhaps going through its worst moment. But Kicillof will preserve the forms of institutionality. He will appear again with the President, as he has done until now, since you need the transfers of the National Treasury Contributions (ATN). That box is in the hands of the Minister of the Interior, Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro, from La Cámpora.
However, the agreement with the IMF may limit these transfers.. The “Other Current Expenditures” chapter of the memorandum states: “In order to free up resources for key priorities, we will seek to rationalize other expenditures while protecting the real incomes of retirees and pensioners and public sector employees.” In this sense, the commitment is take “actions to limit discretionary transfers to provinces and state-owned companies”.
In 2021, the Nation transferred a total of $606,177.5 million to the provinces outside the co-participation. Buenos Aires was the most benefited from these funds, with $239,239 million. Kicillof demanded before the Legislative Assembly of the province that these transfers not be cut. Later, he deepened his criticism of the deal. It remains to be seen whether the political fight will have direct consequences on fund transfers.
“In the province there is no room for an adjustment,” warned Kicillof before deepening his fight with the President. The governor understands that Buenos Aires cannot depend on discretionary funds from the Casa Rosada and asked the Legislative Assembly for more co-participation funds.
Kicillof knows that the agreement with the IMF will have costs. And in the discussion with Alberto Fernández his governability is subject. The provincial president, who this year needs to take on debt for 94,000 million, in markets hit by the war in Europe, sees an adjustment coming from the Nation, while anticipating growing pressure from the 500,000 public employees to get raises. And, on top of that, he promised to hire 80,000 new police officers to contain insecurity, which is the Achilles heel of every governor. Just in case, he already warned: “They have no right to cut off our legs”.