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Governors' silence and discomfort over funds received coinciding with congressional votes
🇦🇷 Argentina /Elections & Politics

Governors' silence and discomfort over funds received coinciding with congressional votes

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Governors of several Argentine provinces received over $33 billion in road construction funds from the Economy Ministry in the first five months of the year.
  • These fund transfers coincided with legislative votes where their representatives supported the ruling party's initiatives.
  • Provincial governments offered mixed responses, ranging from silence to attempts to distance the payments from legislative support.

Governors from several Argentine provinces have remained largely silent or defensive when questioned about substantial road construction funds received from the Ministry of Economy. Over the first five months of the year, more than $33 billion pesos were transferred for highway projects, with Jujuy, Santa Cruz, Misiones, Tucumán, Salta, and Santiago del Estero being the primary beneficiaries. These payments, channeled through the "Sistema Vial Integrado" (SisVial) via Banco Nación, occurred during critical legislative periods.

Payments were made for works on Route 34, which is national. The Nation pays the company directly.

— Sources close to the governor of JujuyAttempting to distance the road fund transfers from legislative support.

Reports indicate that a significant portion of these funds, 92.5% of $18 billion pesos disbursed to four provincial road authorities (Tucumán, Salta, Santa Cruz, and Santiago del Estero), coincided with legislative "windows" in February, April, and May. During these times, Congress debated key legislation, including an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), electoral reforms, and pension adjustments. Furthermore, 41.5% of all SisVial disbursements in the period were concentrated in just three jurisdictions: Jujuy, Misiones, and Santiago del Estero.

The governor does not have senators who respond to him.

— Sources close to the governor of JujuyExplaining the lack of direct legislative leverage despite receiving funds.

Sources close to Jujuy's governor, Carlos Sadir, stated that payments were for national routes and that the national government paid companies directly. They also noted that the governor "does not have senators who respond to him," attempting to decouple the funds from legislative support. Similarly, officials from Santa Cruz's governorship offered "no comment on the payments," while asserting that Governor Claudio Vidal maintains a good relationship with the national government despite limited congressional representation. These responses come as governors from the Norte Grande region, including Jujuy and Santiago del Estero, are set to meet, with the Chief of Staff invited.

No comment on the payments.

— Santa Cruz governorshipRefusing to comment on the fund transfers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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