Budget: how the Government reacted to the governors’ statement

In a return of kindness, the Government showed itself permeable to the demand for governors for the discussion of Budget 2025. Although he has not yet defined whether he will include it in a call to extraordinary sessionsthe Executive’s position became more flexible after the Congress session adjourned to discuss the project that sought to reject DNU 846/2024, which makes the conditions more flexible for Luis Caputo to carry out debt exchanges in foreign currency without endorsement by the Congress.

On Tuesday, before the governors issued a statement demanding the enactment of the law, There was a key meeting of the small table at Casa Rosada. For almost two hours, the Secretary of the Presidency, Karina Milei, met; presidential advisor Santiago Caputo; the vice minister of the Interior, Lisandro Catalán; the vice chief of staff, José Rolandi; and the Secretary of the Treasury, Carlos Guberman.

During the meeting, the officials addressed the governors’ demands to unblock the negotiations, and It was agreed to call those who are willing to dialogue individually. The intention of the Executive It is being able to negotiate hand-to-hand based on the needs of each province, breaking the unity of the leaders.

That is why in Balcarce 50 the statement promoted by governors of Together for Change, whom they nicknamed inside “Together for the Communiqué”. “The text is very nice, but they continue to give us arguments for not discussing the issue,” a source in direct dialogue with President Javier Milei told this medium.

As this media was able to reconstruct, the Government has already established contacts with the governor of Mendoza, Alfredo Cornejo; from Corrientes, Gustavo Valdés (UCR); from Entre Ríos, Rogelio Frigerio (PRO); and for Catamarca, Raúl Jalil (UxP). In Casa Rosada they continue to repeat that the five points demanded by the governors “are unfulfillable”, but failing that they analyze reviewing the debts that the provinces have with the Nation.

In a negotiation that is updated minute by minute, in the next few hours there could be new contacts. In fact, on Tuesday the governor of Chaco, Leandro Zdero, met with the chief of staff, Guillermo Francos.

Budget 2025: Javier Milei has the last word

Despite the bridges that seem to be built with the provinces, those around the President point out that the last word is his. In that sense, in the midst of a discussion with the leaders, the head of state published a message on his social networks that casts doubt on the intentions of reaching an agreement. “I started to think about the government’s measures for what will be in 2025… Faced with the landscape, I confirm that I will continue with the chainsaw fully… LONG LIVE FUCKING FREEDOM…!!!”, reads the published text.

Collaborators of the president point out that he will not give in despite the demands for greater budget allocations, and insist on the objective of zero deficit as a premise of public accounts. In that sense, they point out that although the dialogue with the governors was unblocked, They still do not have the votes to approve the Budget.

In turn, the Executive assumes that if extraordinary sessions are called, the projects for the elimination of PASO, modification of the financing of political parties and privatization of Aerolíneas Argentinas will also be included.

The document released by the governors bears the signature of Gustavo Valdés (Corrientes), Leandro Zdero (Chaco), Jorge Macri (CABA), Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos), Marcelo Orrego (San Juan), Claudio Poggi (San Luis), Ignacio Torres (Chubut), Alfredo Cornejo (Mendoza), Carlos Sadir (Jujuy) and Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe). In the text, the local leaders paraphrase Milei and assure that “Fiscal balance is non-negotiable, as is compliance with the law.”