He Minister of Infrastructure and Public Services from the province of Buenos Aires, Gabriel Katopodisjoined the call and detailed: “The problem of high rates is national, it is federal. It is a national government that has made an SME in Gran Rosario more expensive and burdened with anguish, but also a winery, a farm in Gran Mendoza.” In addition, the forum, together with the Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights (ADDUC), presented a appeal for protection against the Government.
National blackout against rate increases
The measure called by the multisector forum is a “public expression of repudiation and rejection“to the”excessive increases” of the energy rates ordered by the libertarian administration. According to the organizations, “the increase in public service rates leads the increase in prices and exceeds the generalized inflation that measures the INDECbeing the middle class the most affected“.
In detail, they denounce that there was a “increase of 758%, compared to average salaries that rose less than 154%” in reference to electricity rates. In the case of gas, the bill for the middle class suffered an increase “of 198%, while increased by 225.9% for the sector with the least income“.
In this way, the organizations called for a blackout throughout the country this Thursday, for 10 minutes, between 9 and 9:10 p.m.
Katopodis participated in a press conference of the organization on October 8 and is in charge of the claim proposal. “It is a real tragedy, a real headache, an anguish for any working-class, middle or lower-middle class family that has to do the math every month to see how it faces the weight of what it means in a family the payment of electricity, gas, water, transportation. All this with a single pocket that is skinny“, he stated.
After this Thursday’s action, the multisector will analyze taking other measures to fight against the increases in bills. In this sense, they did not rule out organizing protests in front of Casa Rosada or Congress.
The lawsuit filed against the Government for public service rate increases
In addition to the day of protest, ADDUC and the multi-sector forum A few days ago they filed an action for protection against the National Executive Branch, the Ministry of Economythe energy department (ENERE – ENARGAS), the secretariat of Public works (AYSA SA), the National Electricity Regulatory Entity (ENRE), the National Water Regulatory Entity (WERE), EDENOR and EDESUR and Metrogas SA
The objective of the lawsuit is to declare the “unconstitutionality and absolute and incurable nullity“of DNU 55/2023, DNU 70/2023, Resolutions 02/04, 101/2024, 10 2/2024, 199/2024, 104/2024, 105/2024, 198/24 and 335/24 of the National Regulatory Entity of Electricity, Decree 465/24, Resolutions 115/24, 264/24, 608/24 and cctes of the ENARGAR, Resolutions 7/24, 90/24, 91/24, 93/24 of the Ministry of Energy. , Resolution 5/24 and 9/24 of the ERAS and the “rate tables that arise from them.”
Furthermore, the appeal for protection requires that the defendant companies refrain from “require or pursue the collection of any sum of money with cause in the referred rule“and of”establish a new pricing and tariff scheme for public services of electricity, gas and water in networks”. Through an official statement, the complaining organizations explained that the “rate increase carried out by the National Government produces the payment capacity of residential and non-residential usersmerchants, SMEs, NGOs, neighborhood clubs, public welfare institutions, retirees, etc. are at the limit of their resources, causing the impossibility of payment, a situation that is aggravated by increases in transportation.
In this regard, the president of ADDUC, Osvaldo Bassano, stated: “The weight of the electricity, water, gas and transportation basket on income doubled of wage earners in the formal private sector, in less than a year. “With the current rates, the spirit and letter of the Constitution are violated.”
For his part, one of the coordinators of the Multisector Forum against Tarifazos, Adrián Ganino, warned that “this priceless scheme increasingly degrades purchasing power and increases inequalities”. “Putting a stop to high tariffs is necessary and urgent,” he concluded.
“Users of Public Services have the right to information and transparency in how the ruler manages public goods. Energy, gas and water are a public good and a Human Right that is above the interest of the markets“, they highlighted in the lawsuit filed.
Source: Ambito
