Harsh complaint from governors of the Central Region for withholdings: “If the field melts, we are going to have a very bad time”

The governors of the Central Region They met this Tuesday in Rosario and gave strong support to agriculture in their claim for withholdings, while sending a message to the Casa Rosada. “If the field melts, we are going to have a very bad time,” The leaders warned at a press conference when analyzing the reality of the sector.

The summit of the bloc, which took place after noon in Rosario, was hosted by Santa Fe Maximiliano Pullaro and was attended by Martin Llaryora (Cordoba) and Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos), representatives of the three provinces that make up the alliance. The day began with a closed meeting, in which various provincial officials participated, where the creation of a table with the different agricultural sectors to monitor the situation was proposed.

Harsh warning from governors due to the situation in the countryside

Subsequently, the provincial leaders held a press conference in which they provided details about their claims. The triad agreed to demand that the national government lower the next tax, as part of the Javier Milei to alleviate the tax pressure, are withholdings. At the same time, they indicated that the three provinces will invest 100% of the proceeds from the Rural Real Estate Tax in a productive infrastructure fund.

“If the decision is not made quickly to lower withholdings, we can have a collapse in agricultural matters as happened in the 90s. We want withholdings to be lowered so that this money remains in the hands of the producers,” Llaryora protested during his speech. In parallel, he warned that “the countryside could melt down” and that, if that happens , “we are going to have a very bad time.”

In this regard, the Mediterranean leader indicated that “today is the Nation’s turn; today is the time for the field, we must react before it is too late. It is the alert that we want to give today” and recalled when the bloc stood up against the attempt of the Nation to charge 15% of the added value as part of the Bases law. “Our producers do not put their money in the Cayman Islands: they put it in each of our towns and regions. The three of us are from different political parties, but we agree that governing means generating jobs,” the boss specified.

Rogelio Frigerioin turn, commented that they raised the need to urgently convene representatives of rural entities, producers and also rural workers: “We want to form a table that permanently monitors the situation in the sector.” He also said that the Government has to urgently analyze the possibility of reducing the tax pressure on agricultural export duties.

For its part, Maximiliano Pullaro He assured that they agree with the lower tax rates carried out by the Nation and with the fiscal balance. However, he clarified: “Depending on the tax reduction that the President promised to carry out, the next tax that must be lowered has to be directly associated with the productive sector, with the countryside: the damn rents.”

Immediately afterwards, the radical governor assured that “the rural producer moves the wheel of the economy and at this moment he does not give more.” At the same time, he said that in the last six years, Santa Fe contributed, in terms of values ​​of some equipment, 22 thousand combines and 150 thousand tractors in terms of withholdings to the national government.

On the other hand, he leaked a complaint to the Casa Rosada about the state of the routes, one of the main complaints agitating the provinces, and again asked the Government to “fix them or transfer them.” “We have to have support for the rural sector. Let the next sector be the field. We ask you to look at our provinces,” concluded Pullaro.

First meeting of the year of the Central Region

This meeting was the first of the year for the Central Region, a bloc that gained momentum again last year, when Pullaro was inaugurated as president pro tempore in an event in which the then Minister of the Interior participated, Guillermo Francos, today Chief of Staff.

Within the menu of claims that the alliance agitates against the administration of Milei some stand out such as Waterwaythe state of the routes and the debt that the Nation maintains with its pension funds, an item that is judicialized before the Supreme Court, in addition to withholdings, an exclusive issue in the national situation.

Although Pullaro and Llaryora had expressed themselves on the matter – they even held a meeting in Córdoba to promote the demands of agriculture -, This Tuesday’s conclave added Frigerio, the PRO leg of the bloc, and served as a show of strength in the face of the libertarian management.

Specifically, 2025 began with bad news from the field for Javier Milei, since agricultural entities from all over the country began to demand in a coordinated manner the elimination of withholdings, citing “suffocation” in the sector, enhanced by the adverse weather conditions that affect the harvest.

Last week, the head of the Argentine Rural Society (SRA), Nicolas Pinomet at the Casa Rosada with the Press Secretary of the Presidency, Eduardo Serenellini. It was a first approach between the parties. In any case, the entity intends to meet with the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputoto raise first-hand the concerns of the sector.

Before leaving for the United States and Davos to accompany President Milei on his tour, Caputo announced that he will receive the Liaison Table on his return to the country. Estimates are that this meeting would take place in the first days of February.