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Kicillof believes that Milei is preparing more funding cuts and that he can go for the Co-participation of the provinces - Infobae
Source:
www.infobae.com
February 26, 2024
The man from Buenos Aires was once again at the center of the scene after the Nation's decision to eliminate the Fiscal Strengthening Fund. The dispute that is expected in Justice and the impact behind closed doors
By Making Cottet
Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof with Deputy Governor Veronica Magario (Aglaplata)
In Axel Kicillof 's government they understand that they had no alternative. The decree published by the national government eliminating the Fund for Fiscal Strengthening (FOFOFI), which the province of Buenos Aires received, forced the Buenos Aires administration to appeal to the Supreme Court. “We don't like to judicialize politics, but there is no dialogue or response to our requests ,” they say in La Plata. The last time Kicillof and Milei crossed paths was at the meeting with the governors at Casa Rosada in mid-December. Then there was no more contact, not even by WhatsApp . The truth is that the Government is already warning that the next step that the Casa Rosada may take in this adjustment plan is federal co-participation. It is a fear shared with the rest of the governors.
Kicillof received on Sunday night a draft of the decree that came to light this Monday and that bears the signatures of the president, Javier Milei ; of the Chief of Staff, Nicolás Posse and the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo . “There is nothing left, no funds to cut… What follows is the cup (read Co-participation) ,” they say near the provincial leader who this Monday called for national unity among the rest of the leaders. These days, both Kicillof and his counterpart from Chubut, Ignacio Torres, are the ones in the ring.
In La Plata they maintain that the situation of the Patagonian province is more complex in financial terms because the discount applied by the Ministry of Economy of the Nation means a third of Chubut's income via co-participation. The president's diatribe against the Patagonian generated political support for Torres from all the governors and a fluid and unexpected Buenos Aires-Chubut dialogue. To those closest to him, Kicillof refers to Torres as Nacho.
The governor of Santa Cruz, Ignacio Torres
With an impact on the province of Buenos Aires, the national government has already eliminated the Teacher Incentive Fund (FONID), the Transportation Compensation Fund and now has turned its hand to the FOFOFI. Regarding the FONID - which goes to the salaries of teachers - the Buenos Aires government took charge of that overdraft for the salaries of the month of February and will do so in March. It is already a confirmed decision that there will be no intervention for the following months . However, in La Plata they assure that salaries “will be protected.” It happens that the FONID implied in some cases 10% of the salary of teachers who were just starting out in front of a classroom. Government sources assure that they will cover part of that debt that will be generated through the increase that the Province gave to teachers on an equal basis: 25% for the months of December and January and 20% for the month of February, with the guarantee of opening a negotiation instance with the unions every month.
A similar scenario that exposes greater sensitivity occurs with the salaries of police personnel. One of the points covered by the Fiscal Strengthening Fund that was eliminated had to do with the salaries of police officers. In fact, the creation of this mass of resources occurs at the expense of what had been the police claim between August and September 2020 in the Province of Buenos Aires. With the FOFOFI underway, Kicillof had announced that the salaries of the Buenos Aires police were going to be equal to those of the national security forces and that progress would be made with a strong investment in security; from purchasing patrol cars, equipment to improving prison infrastructure. The Buenos Aires Executive guarantees that police salaries will continue to be updated on par with the rest of the state workers with their own resources. But the Fiscal Strengthening Fund was also used to reinforce certain social assistance programs such as the School Food System or the Mesa Plan.
Formally, if Milei advances with a cut in co-participation, it would be going above the Federal Co-participation of Fiscal Resources Law . It is an automatic and “drip” transfer mechanism, which is carried out daily based on national tax collection. However, the decision to eliminate a fund like FOFOFI through a decree and argued by the imposition of DNU 70/24 poses a disruptive scenario on the part of the national government. This is one of the points that the Province objects to. The confrontation and strategy to be adopted against the DNU will be part of the agenda of the governors' meeting.
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei at the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland
The luck that Kicillof may have in court will be put to the test starting this Tuesday when the formal claim presented by the State Attorney, Hernán Gómez, is entered . He, together with the Minister of Justice , Juan Martín Mena, and the General Government Advisor, Santiago Pérez Teruel , are at the forefront of the judicial strategy. In La Plata they believe that the Court should rule in favor of the Buenos Aires request , since the highest court already did something similar when it resolved that the Nation should restore the percentage of co-participation that the government of Alberto Fernández took from the City to -precisely - create the Fund that Kicillof is demanding today.
For this reason, the Head of Government, Jorge Macri, was one of the first to propose that the money from that fund that the Province will no longer receive should return to the City. Close to the governor, they analyze that the national government will not give rise to Macri's request because the decree “unchains the City.”
We are going to go forward with a judicial action aimed at claiming this annulment , that this decree be left without effect and that the funds that have not yet been transferred to the province of Buenos Aires be restored temporarily and as a precautionary measure and that also as a precautionary measure that they have not been innovate in that situation and that the Province can continue referring and receiving funds that are based on a standard. They are confirmed by law with a budgetary reserve and that they had been fulfilled in some way until December of last year ,” stated the Buenos Aires State Prosecutor after Kicillof's announcement. He will be the official who files the appeal before the Court.
Given the urgency of the case, the Buenos Aires government is looking above all at what will happen with the precautionary appeal that was presented within the framework of the underlying claim. There is some hope that the precautionary measure may delay the implementation of the cut and restore the amounts for the month of January and February.
Source:
Kicillof cree que Milei prepara más recortes de fondos y que puede ir por la Coparticipación de las provincias
El bonaerense quedó nuevamente en el centro de la escena tras la decisión de Nación de eliminar el Fondo de Fortalecimiento Fiscal. La disputa que se espera en la Justicia y el impacto puertas adentro
www.infobae.com
February 26, 2024
The man from Buenos Aires was once again at the center of the scene after the Nation's decision to eliminate the Fiscal Strengthening Fund. The dispute that is expected in Justice and the impact behind closed doors
By Making Cottet
Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof with Deputy Governor Veronica Magario (Aglaplata)
In Axel Kicillof 's government they understand that they had no alternative. The decree published by the national government eliminating the Fund for Fiscal Strengthening (FOFOFI), which the province of Buenos Aires received, forced the Buenos Aires administration to appeal to the Supreme Court. “We don't like to judicialize politics, but there is no dialogue or response to our requests ,” they say in La Plata. The last time Kicillof and Milei crossed paths was at the meeting with the governors at Casa Rosada in mid-December. Then there was no more contact, not even by WhatsApp . The truth is that the Government is already warning that the next step that the Casa Rosada may take in this adjustment plan is federal co-participation. It is a fear shared with the rest of the governors.
Kicillof received on Sunday night a draft of the decree that came to light this Monday and that bears the signatures of the president, Javier Milei ; of the Chief of Staff, Nicolás Posse and the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo . “There is nothing left, no funds to cut… What follows is the cup (read Co-participation) ,” they say near the provincial leader who this Monday called for national unity among the rest of the leaders. These days, both Kicillof and his counterpart from Chubut, Ignacio Torres, are the ones in the ring.
In La Plata they maintain that the situation of the Patagonian province is more complex in financial terms because the discount applied by the Ministry of Economy of the Nation means a third of Chubut's income via co-participation. The president's diatribe against the Patagonian generated political support for Torres from all the governors and a fluid and unexpected Buenos Aires-Chubut dialogue. To those closest to him, Kicillof refers to Torres as Nacho.
The governor of Santa Cruz, Ignacio Torres
With an impact on the province of Buenos Aires, the national government has already eliminated the Teacher Incentive Fund (FONID), the Transportation Compensation Fund and now has turned its hand to the FOFOFI. Regarding the FONID - which goes to the salaries of teachers - the Buenos Aires government took charge of that overdraft for the salaries of the month of February and will do so in March. It is already a confirmed decision that there will be no intervention for the following months . However, in La Plata they assure that salaries “will be protected.” It happens that the FONID implied in some cases 10% of the salary of teachers who were just starting out in front of a classroom. Government sources assure that they will cover part of that debt that will be generated through the increase that the Province gave to teachers on an equal basis: 25% for the months of December and January and 20% for the month of February, with the guarantee of opening a negotiation instance with the unions every month.
A similar scenario that exposes greater sensitivity occurs with the salaries of police personnel. One of the points covered by the Fiscal Strengthening Fund that was eliminated had to do with the salaries of police officers. In fact, the creation of this mass of resources occurs at the expense of what had been the police claim between August and September 2020 in the Province of Buenos Aires. With the FOFOFI underway, Kicillof had announced that the salaries of the Buenos Aires police were going to be equal to those of the national security forces and that progress would be made with a strong investment in security; from purchasing patrol cars, equipment to improving prison infrastructure. The Buenos Aires Executive guarantees that police salaries will continue to be updated on par with the rest of the state workers with their own resources. But the Fiscal Strengthening Fund was also used to reinforce certain social assistance programs such as the School Food System or the Mesa Plan.
Formally, if Milei advances with a cut in co-participation, it would be going above the Federal Co-participation of Fiscal Resources Law . It is an automatic and “drip” transfer mechanism, which is carried out daily based on national tax collection. However, the decision to eliminate a fund like FOFOFI through a decree and argued by the imposition of DNU 70/24 poses a disruptive scenario on the part of the national government. This is one of the points that the Province objects to. The confrontation and strategy to be adopted against the DNU will be part of the agenda of the governors' meeting.
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei at the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland
The luck that Kicillof may have in court will be put to the test starting this Tuesday when the formal claim presented by the State Attorney, Hernán Gómez, is entered . He, together with the Minister of Justice , Juan Martín Mena, and the General Government Advisor, Santiago Pérez Teruel , are at the forefront of the judicial strategy. In La Plata they believe that the Court should rule in favor of the Buenos Aires request , since the highest court already did something similar when it resolved that the Nation should restore the percentage of co-participation that the government of Alberto Fernández took from the City to -precisely - create the Fund that Kicillof is demanding today.
For this reason, the Head of Government, Jorge Macri, was one of the first to propose that the money from that fund that the Province will no longer receive should return to the City. Close to the governor, they analyze that the national government will not give rise to Macri's request because the decree “unchains the City.”
We are going to go forward with a judicial action aimed at claiming this annulment , that this decree be left without effect and that the funds that have not yet been transferred to the province of Buenos Aires be restored temporarily and as a precautionary measure and that also as a precautionary measure that they have not been innovate in that situation and that the Province can continue referring and receiving funds that are based on a standard. They are confirmed by law with a budgetary reserve and that they had been fulfilled in some way until December of last year ,” stated the Buenos Aires State Prosecutor after Kicillof's announcement. He will be the official who files the appeal before the Court.
Given the urgency of the case, the Buenos Aires government is looking above all at what will happen with the precautionary appeal that was presented within the framework of the underlying claim. There is some hope that the precautionary measure may delay the implementation of the cut and restore the amounts for the month of January and February.
