Public works, the key to unlocking the budget with the governors

After clarifying that the President’s request to the districts to make an adjustment of $60 billion was “figuratively speaking”, The libertarian administration heard complaints about the negative impact on the territory of having frozen numerous infrastructure projects -especially housing and roads- without a solution in the near future.

Public works, a priority for governors

In recent months, complaints have been growing among provincial leaders, regardless of their political affiliations. In fact, the problem affects all districts and affects subnational administrations, which report the deterioration of various works already started. “We are trying to reactivate the housing issue so that it does not get worse,” A voice consulted by Scope from a province governed by Together for Change (JxC).

In fact, weeks ago, at a logistics summit held at the Federal Investment Council (CFI), the various leaders who spoke made their discontent known. “We need to maintain every route in the country as General Paz is maintained,” said the Chubut native Ignacio Torresfrom the PRO. His partner Rogelio Frigeriofrom Entre Ríos, added: “”“I am fighting with the Government to transfer the national routes to me. We know much more from the interior than from an office here in Buenos Aires, but that has to be accompanied by resources.”

This state of mind has several correlates. On the one hand, as he said, Scopewas palpable in the conclave with Caputo and Francos. There, the provincial leaders, who participated mostly via Zoom, ordered the Government to redo the annex of the 2025 Budget on public works, pointing out various deficiencies in its wording. “At Monday’s meeting there was a commitment to work on the projects included in the signed agreements”one of the attendees told this newspaper.

At the same time, the source indicated that national public works had a slight reactivation in July, as a result of the agreements signed by the Nation with 21 provinces for transfer and reactivate those projects already advanced.

However, doubts regarding the provision of resources to carry them out and various grey areas in the understandings made that The index fell again during August and Septemberreviving the concerns of the leaders. In the same vein, a Patagonian official in the economic area pointed out that “It is difficult to sustain public works after the decline in variables.”

He also said that essential projects, such as basic infrastructure or health projects, will be considered. “We will probably end up agreeing on a modest $20 billion plan,” He explained, adding that it will be key to seek financing in pesos, with the collation of bonds or bills.

The B side of that fight was exposed this Tuesday in Jujuy, when workers of the Union of Construction Workers of the Argentine Republic (UOCRA) protesting against unemployment caused by the paralysis of construction work were repressed by the provincial police in the town of Ledesma. The protesters demanded that President Milei and Governor Carlos Sadir reactivate various projects.

“This issue is affecting us a lot, we have 8 thousand unemployed workers. Just as Jujuy was once historic in public works, today we are having a hard time, waiting for the reactivation,” denounced the general secretary of the UOCRA jujeña, Ramon Neyraspeaking to AM 750. “I totally reject any act of violence. A colleague goes out to ask for work and is repressed. I will never agree, I spoke about it today with people from the Government. The people went peacefully and we found this,” he concluded.

Precisely, in the 52nd Plenary Session of the Parliament of the Great North, which took place last week in Misiones, The 10 provinces that make up the region demanded that specific items be included in the 2025 Budget for unfinished public works and for others that have already been approved but to which the current national administration has not allocated resources. “Our concern is that work be done on a federal distribution of resources to complete many of those works that have not yet been done,” said the president of the Misiones Chamber of Deputies, Oscar Herrera Ahuad.

Collapse of public works and impact on the provinces

According to a report by the consultancy firm Politikón Chaco, the investment of the national State In the provinces it fell by 83.7% in real terms during the first half of the year, the lowest amount since at least 2017. In particular, the construction sector, i.e. Public Works, contracted by 86.2% compared to the first half of last year. Only Tierra del Fuego and Jujuy showed improvements compared to 2023, while La Rioja had the sharpest decline of the provinces.

These demands also have a political dimension that is reflected in Congress, where governors who are in favor of dialogue play “good cop, bad cop.” For example, the Federal Innovation Deputies bloc, where legislators who report to the ruling parties of the Federal Government come together, Rio Negro, Salta and Misiones -all from provincial forces-, They voted in favor of the Retirement Mobility Law and then abstained when Javier Milei’s veto was discussed.

Almost mirroring this, senators from those same spaces raised their hands in favor of university financing projects and against the DNU that assigned $100,000 million of reserved funds to the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE), expanding the give-and-take with the Casa Rosada. In the same vein, the governors of the 23 provinces issued a critical document two weeks ago in which they demanded “compliance with respect to the financing and/or execution of public works in provincial territories.”

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Public works contracted by more than 86% year-on-year in the first half of the year.

They did so just days after the Minister of Deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger, announced that “public works will no longer be allowed to return” during a luncheon at the Fundación Mediterránea. “There was a group of officials who were selling the works in the municipalities and provinces. Thus, public works were a mechanism of corruption and political subjugation. It took determination to eliminate all that in one fell swoop. And Javier Milei did it,” he said on the occasion.

Despite playing down Milei’s request to the provinces, the libertarian ranks are not giving in: “They will have no choice but to make adjustments. The start of bilateral meetings will be the forum for negotiation, especially on the eve of an election year when the government wants to win more seats.”