Axel Kicillof speaks before the Legislative Assembly: he will respond to Milei, with pressure from the opposition to sign the May Pact - Infobae
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Axel Kicillof habla ante la Asamblea Legislativa: le responderá a Milei, con la presión de la oposición para que firme el Pacto de Mayo
El mandatario bonaerense hablará ante diputados y senadores provinciales. Será tras el discurso de Javier Milei en el Congreso. Balance de gestión y expectativa por su participación en el acuerdo que propuso el Jefe de Estado
www.infobae.com
March 04, 2024
The Buenos Aires president will speak before provincial deputies and senators. It will be after Javier Milei's speech in Congress. Management balance and expectation for his participation in the agreement proposed by the Head of State
By making Cottet
When on Monday afternoon the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, sits in the main seat of the Buenos Aires Chamber of Deputies to give his speech with which he will open the 152nd period of ordinary sessions, political attention of the day will move to La Plata ; after what was the invitation that President Javier Milei put on the table to the governors of the entire country to sign the so-called “May Pact.”
So far there are eight governors who positively received the call to the May Pact. The majority integrates what Juntos once was. The agreement that Milei invites includes some guidelines that fully impact the management of the provinces, such as, for example, “the reduction of public spending to historical levels, around 25 percent of GDP; a tax reform that reduces tax pressure, simplifies the lives of Argentines, and promotes trade or the discussion of federal tax sharing to put an end forever to the current extortionate model,” among other aspects that the president put forward on Friday in The congress.
For now, Kicillof is far from getting on that train. His peer from Pampa - also a Peronist - S ergio Ziliotto stated that “an agreement will never be possible if the National Constitution and, based on its highest postulates, the division of powers and Federalism are not first respected. I have the responsibility to govern and defend La Pampa. "No agreement will lead me to give up any rights of the people of Pampa." In the background, there is the fight for funds where Kicillof is one of those who stands on that battle front.
The governor of La Pampa, Sergio Ziliotto with his counterpart from Río Negro, Alberto Weretilneck (REUTERS/Matias Baglietto)
This Monday, Kicillof will talk about the cut that the national government has already applied to the resources that the province of Buenos Aires received. In summary: transfers that correspond to the Teaching Incentive Fund (FONID), the Transportation Compensation Fund, the Conurbano Fund Compensation Fund, the Fiscal Strengthening Fund, the completion of nine prison infrastructure works where the Nation contributed 80 % of the resources; undrawn funds that correspond to an agreement sealed in May 2023 between the Ministry of Community Development of the province of Buenos Aires; related to Food Safety. The claim for the Fiscal Strengthening Fund is already in judicial proceedings before the Supreme Court. The rest was through the administrative channel directed by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo . It is likely that in the medium term they will become legal claims.
The Buenos Aires governor was in Congress this Friday night at the opening of sessions starring Milei. He was placed in the front row along with the rest of the leaders who arrived in the Federal Capital. Since he left the premises until this afternoon he maintained secrecy. As Infobae learned , the speech he will give this afternoon was almost ready on Friday and had a blank space reserved for the response to Milei. Over the weekend, Kicillof dedicated himself to filling in the empty space.
Kicillof with governors at the opening of Milei sessions (Rodrigo Nespolo/ pool ARGRA)
That is why he also decided to move the day of the Legislative Assembly . According to the provincial Constitution, the opening of sessions must be on March 1 of each year. Strictly speaking, the Legislative Assembly met on Friday afternoon, but only to vote on an interim period until Monday afternoon. In that express session, a note that the governor sent to the vice governor, Verónica Magario, was read , arguing why it was imperative to change the day. She maintained that he had been invited to the opening of sessions of Congress and both events could coincide in time. The majority of the opposition blocks rejected the request for that fourth intermission ; but Unión por la Patria still got the votes.
He will also take stock of his four years in office and just as Milei linked his government actions based on the electoral result that led him to the presidency after winning the runoff, Kicillof will do the same at the provincial level. He will remember that he was ratified by 18 points in last year's elections and that Unión por la Patria won the elections in the province of Buenos Aires in all three elections: PASO, General and Ballotaje.
The opposition, for its part, will seek to set the agenda for the day. The Buenos Aires PRO will invite Kicillof to sign the May Pact to discuss federal co-participation. Deputies and senators from the party founded by Mauricio Macri celebrated Milei's call. In a statement that will be issued before the Buenos Aires president's speech, they will state that "it is an opportunity to transit a different Argentina and we hope that Governor Axel Kicillof confirms his participation and announces it in his Opening of Sessions speech.
In addition, the president of the PRO bloc in the Buenos Aires lower house, Agustín Forchieri and the deputy, Matías Ranzini , will present a draft declaration where they entrust to the governor “ his personal and non-delegable assistance to the May Pact convened by President Javier Milei for the 25th of May in the City of Córdoba, representing the interests of the Province of Buenos Aires in order to be a refounding part of the bases for the development of the Argentine Nation.”
They will also ask the governor to convene all mayors and political forces to define “the Plan and the roadmap that will mark the destiny of the Province of Buenos Aires in the long term.”
Senators from Libertad Avanza anticipated this Monday that they will also pressure Kicillof to confirm his participation in the May Pact. “This invitation to dialogue, forgetting grudges, is what all Argentines need and if it is about improving people's lives, ideological positions must be left aside,” they said.
Peronism, meanwhile, will use the opening ceremony of sessions to show “resistance” from the Buenos Aires territory to the Casa Rosada program. It is expected that on Monday afternoon the Buenos Aires Legislature will be a defile of the Kirchnerist leadership that will end up giving political muscle to the Buenos Aires governor.
There is even a call from different spaces of Unión por la Patria to participate from outside the Legislature. Different organizations will be located on the Plaza San Martín, in the heart of the city of La Plata, to follow the president's speech on screens, who after his speech at the venue will say a few words to the militancy , as happened when he assumed his second term. of government in December of last year.
