The meeting between the leaders took place at the Federal Investment Council (CFI)where the presentation was made Federal Logistics Strategy, an ambitious program devised by all the provinces, which includes the development of more than 1,100 projects, including airports, border crossings, railways and ports, anticipated exclusively by Scope.
The summit lasted two days and was attended by provincial leaders from various teams, who added the voice of their regions to the debate. This Friday afternoon, as a closing speech, they spoke Ignacio Torres (Chubut), Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Rios) and Gerardo Zamora (Santiago del Estero), in the panel titled “Logistics for development – Governors’ dialogue”, which was moderated by the head of the CFI, Ignacio Lamothe.
The first to speak was “Nacho” Torres, of PRO, who spoke on behalf of his province and as a representative of Patagonia. During his speech, Torres defended the role of the State and stated that he strives for an “industrial country.” “If we only focus on the macro and believe that everything else will be fixed by osmosis, we will shoot ourselves in the foot,” He commented. In this vein, he indicated that “at the very least, the State has to create the conditions to export more.”
“I refuse to believe that Patagonia will be an extractive zone, where our resources cannot be industrialized,” He also recalled that Chubut is one of the main exporting provinces in Argentina and focused on operating costs: “Argentina needs a competitiveness revolution. How can we compete with the world if we don’t even want to standardize a comprehensive plan like the one we are presenting today? How can it be that we haven’t agreed to move forward with the double-trailers?”.
At the same time, he criticized the fact that “the importance of the State’s role in infrastructure is being relativized” and that it is believed that “a private company comes and makes the investments” on its own, “something that does not happen.” Finally, he discussed the state of the roads, an issue that has the governors on alert due to the difficulties in coordinating with the Nation.We need to maintain every route in our country just as General Paz is maintained,” he concluded.
Then he took the floor Rogelio Frigeriorepresenting Between Rivers and the Central Region. Following the path of his PRO colleague, the governor displayed a belligerent tone with the Casa Rosada and assured that “he will fight for the resources that correspond to us, even in the Justice system when appropriate.”“I am fighting with the Government to transfer the national routes to me. From the interior we know much more than from an office here in Buenos Aires, but that has to be accompanied by resources,” he pointed out.
The president also praised the presentation of the Federal Logistics Strategy and highlighted the existence of regional alliances that, he assessed, “take color in the face of the national government’s decision to disengage from many things that it previously did.” “We have no other choice,” The former Minister of the Interior pointed out and, following that path, said that the provinces face a very complex situation: “We have fewer resources than ever before during democracy.”
Frigerio also stressed the need to support public works and commented that, in many aspects, “it is not replaceable.” On the other hand, the official said that “today more than ever, governing is about creating jobs.”I can imagine what Argentina could be like in a normal way. Let’s imagine what our logistics would be like with a system open to the world. We have a lot to do. I am glad that we are separating what is important from what is not so important. We cannot lose competitiveness,” he concluded.
The more bellicose tone of both PRO governors follows a common line among the provincial leaders of Together for Change (JxC), who in recent weeks, in the shadow of various breaches of the Nation with its coffers, They began to try to harden their stance against Javier Milei, in line with the legislative agenda that was adverse for the Casa Rosada.
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In turn, the governor of Santiago del Estero and president pro tempore of the Norte Grande, Gerardo Zamorahe said that “the Nation is a chimera” since “the provinces have the minerals, the energy, the natural resources.” However, he criticized that the one who collects the taxes is the national government: ““Federalism also implies having the resources.”
“I would also like to keep the routes, but I have to have the resources. By the way, a warning: we are keeping them, because it seems that there is not much interest,” said the leader of the Union for the Fatherland (UP), whose district will have elections to succeed him next year. Zamora also valued the experience of the Great North and said that the bloc is currently working on the creation of a foreign trade and investment agency. He also considered the Federal Logistics Strategy to be an “opportunity that Argentina has at a difficult time.”
“We understood that it is impossible to generate sustainable economic development if we do not integrate,” Zamora closed.
Other governors who paraded through the CFI between Thursday and Friday were Axel Kicillof (Buenos Aires), Carlos Sadir (Jujuy), Claudio Poggi (Saint Louis) and Leandro Zdero (Chaco). On this occasion, Kicillof attacked the National Government. “In this context of the absence of the national government, the provinces are deepening bilateral and regional cooperation to think about the logistics of a federal country, in which no one is saved alone,” he stated.
“The province of Buenos Aires is committed to working on its strategy and to doing so with a generous and supportive outlook, taking into account the needs of the other provinces,” The Buenos Aires native said and concluded: “We are not betting on a local perspective, but rather a federal one, which forms part of a national development project that generates well-being for all our people.”
Concern over roads and bridges: “Critical situation”
For his part, the Minister of Planning, Infrastructure and Services of Entre Ríos, Dario Schneiderspoke to the media and provided details on the province’s concerns in the logistical field. “Everything that has to do with the road network of the province of Entre Ríos is in a very critical situation. The provincial economies are finding it very difficult to carry out new works in the area of roads, in the area of bridges,” He reflected during the talk in which he participated Scope.
He also explained that the water component is “very important” in the province: “We have a bridge every 20 kilometres. All this infrastructure is very old and has collapsed. Road transport has changed a lot. We handle different tonnage, different unit sizes. Our bridges are not prepared, they collapse all the time. Just being able to cope with all this is very difficult from a financial point of view for the province.”
Schneider stressed that the Government “made the decision to stop national works” and that, through the governor’s efforts, a framework agreement was reached to reactivate some projects. In particular, he placed emphasis on National Route 18 and 12.“They are important national routes for freight transport, linking different provinces. Some of these works are being resumed, but obviously it is insufficient. We must also talk about ports. Our province has great potential, but there is a lack of investment,” he commented.
Source: Ambito
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