Ignacio Torres signed an agreement with Luis Caputo for the debt relief of Chubut

The governor of Chubut, Ignacio “Nacho” Torressigned an agreement in Buenos Aires with the Minister of Economy of the Nation, Luis Caputo, that consolidates the debt reduction of provincial finances through the transfer and reactivation of priority works for the people of Chubut.

“Chubut is the first province in the country to sign this compensation agreement” of reciprocal obligations with the National Executive, the president highlighted at the end of a meeting that took place at the organization’s headquarters in the Federal Capital. The Secretary of the Treasury, Carlos Guberman, also participated in the signing; the provincial Minister of Economy, Andrés Meiszner; the State Prosecutor, Andrés Giacomone and the President of the Banco del Chubut, Paulino Caballero.

The agreement is part of “the historic debt relief plan that we launched in this administration to get rid of debt by carrying out those public works that were paralyzed for many years to the detriment of all Chubut residents,” said the governor. In this way, the works will now be completed with provincial funds and discounted from what is owed under the Trust Fund.

Torres also referred to “all the injustices that we Chubut people have suffered over the years where, in each conflict with the Nation, they always chose to desist from million-dollar lawsuits that stripped the province of millions of dollars that belonged to it.”

Along these lines, the president assured that from “day one, we made the decision to defend the interests and rights of the people of Chubut above all things, and to fight on all fronts.” In this regard, he maintained that, with that vision, “we were able to reach the most favorable agreement in the history of Chubut in a scheme that will allow us to take charge of works that the Nation decided not to do, get rid of debt and transfer zero pesos to the National Government.”

Scope of the agreement

Within the framework of the “Regime for Extinction of Reciprocal Obligations”, created by National Decree No. 969, Chubut becomes the first province in the country to sign this agreement with the Ministry of Economy of the Nation.

Through it, it is agreed that the debt corresponding to the Trust Fund for Provincial Development which, in August 2024 reached the sum of 119,091,257,332.46 pesos and, updated, reaches 140,287,250,516.03 pesos , be canceled in 4 years with a grace period of 12 months.

In this regard, the Minister of Economy of Chubut, Andrés Meiszner, explained that “if this management had not been done, the Province should be paying 250 billion pesos today,” and indicated that, in this way, “Chubut obtained a reduction of 100 million dollars.”

Completion of the Trelew-Puerto Madryn highway

The agreement also stipulates that will offset the cost of financing the double track between Trelew and Puerto Madryn, on national route No. 3according to the agreement signed between the Province of Chubut and the National Highway Directorate with the amount of the agreed debt, through the work certificates presented and validated by the National Highway Administration.

In that sense, Meiszner highlighted that this is the “first agreement of several” that will be signed with the National Executive, and indicated that “they continue to work together to compensate the debt maintained by ANSES with respect to the Institute of Social Security and Insurance (ISSyS) of Chubut” within the framework of National Law No. 27,260, regarding the Financing of the Provincial Pension Deficit and other public works.

The provincial official highlighted the efforts undertaken by Governor Ignacio Torres before the National State, “achieving a lot of debt to be discounted, with a 12-month grace period and, above all, carrying out public works.”