Gustavo Sáenz and Raúl Jalil negotiate with the Nation so that Belgrano Cargas remains in provincial hands

After the Government announced this week the privatization of Belgrano Cargas y Logística Sociedad Anónima, the leaders of Salta and Catamarca, Gustavo Sáenz and Raúl jalilboth of the “dialogue” Peronism with the Casa Rosada, negotiate with the Nation so that the railway company remains in the hands of the provinces.

Sáenz and Jalil, together with Osvaldo Jaldo from Tucumán and missionary Hugo Passalacqua, participated this Monday in a barbecue at the Quinta de Olivos, invited by Javier Milei as a kind of entertainment for the governors who collaborated to uphold the vetoes to the pension increase. and university financing.

The photo, more institutional than that of the previous barbecue, that of the “87 heroes”, was released on Tuesday. Also participating were the Chief of Staff Guillermo Francos, the Vice Chief Lisandro Catalán (he took over functions from the defunct Ministry of the Interior) and the Secretary General of the Presidency, Karina Milei. The next day, the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorniin statements to the press, stated: “As a result of the Bases Law, the company Belgrano Cargas y Logística Sociedad Anónima will be privatized.”

The four governors were allies of Union for the Homelandand they moved away from the Peronist opposition to build direct bridges with Javier Milei. At the Olivos meeting they complained to the President about works, items to be incorporated into the 2025 Budget and they left on the table the high logistical costs that northern companies have to transport their products to the ports. In this discussion, the Belgrano Loadswhose creation is a consequence of a 2008 decree which terminated the concession that the company Belgrano Cargas Sociedad Anónima had on the General Belgrano Railway since the late 1990s.

“We have been talking with the governors that we are going to make a proposal to see if the provinces can have that. And lower costs, which is what we need. The famous issue of freight for our beloved economies, which is becoming so expensive. Well “We will see if it works out and if it is possible,” said Sáenz, in statements reported by the local media El Tribuno. The Salta president also warned about the inconveniences that a poorly handled privatization could bring.

It is worth noting that Both Salta and Catamarca are part, along with Jujuy, of the lithium trianglemagnet for investments and main objective of Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI)sanctioned together with the Bases Law. For example, in an unusual event, Milei used his social networks not to punish a governor, but to congratulate him, as happened on Thursday regarding Sáenz, for the inauguration of the lithium hydroxide plant “I extend my greetings to all the Governors of the north who are promoting, with the help of RIGI, Argentine mining that is so important for our country,” said the President in X.

The leaders of the Norte Grande are key to Freedom Advances to maintain the third in Congress, a central factor of Milei’s governability to contain laws opposing the signing of a veto. The strategy is also useful in this instance for the leaders, especially given the potential closing of the doors of Peronism if Cristina Kirchner manages to be elected president of the party on November 17. The governors’ negotiations also focus on the 2025 electoral setup, where provincial leaders could contribute to the territoriality that the ruling party lacks.

In this context, Jalil also expressed that he is working on a project for the northern provinces to acquire Belgrano Cargas, and associated the initiative with the production of lithium. “We are going to make an extra contribution of 7,000 million pesos to the mining trust because, although production has increased, the price has fallen and that affects royalties,” said the man from Catamarca.

The privatization of Belgrano Cargas

To justify the ruling party’s measure, Adorni gave details of the state of the company at Wednesday’s conference, which, according to the data presented by the Government, presents a situation of abandonment and lack of development. “The average distance transported today it is 500km and it is the same average distance that was transported ago 50 years in the Argentine Republic“.

“Last year the State put US$112 million in this company, of course money that came from each one of us, from all Argentines,” denounced the libertarian official.

Along these lines, the spokesperson also assured that “The limit that Belgrano can transport loads has remained frozen since 2009“. After breaking the news, Adorni stated: “Unfortunately in the last 20 years politics has accustomed us to only good intentions but not having any type of good result or even results that They have caused a lot of damage to us Argentines“.

Then, Adorni gave his place to Diego Chaher, head of the Agency for the Transformation of Public Companies, who was in charge of providing details about the privatization.

“Today we began the privatization process of the state company Belgrano Carga y Logística, a public limited company,” announced Chaher, who then detailed: “The company operates three railway lines that cover a total of 7,600 kilometers. For each of the three lines we are going to implement seven differentiated concession processes. Of the 3 lines that the state company has in its possession“7 differentiated concession processes” will begin.