Messi's hat-trick sparks holiday in Argentina's La Rioja, highlighting provincial governance issues

The governor of Argentina's La Rioja province, Ricardo Quintela, declared a provincial holiday for public employees the day after Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in the World Cup. The decree, issued shortly after midnight, was widely criticized as a "disparate" and emblematic of the province's "feudal" Peronist government, which often blends the striking with the scandalous.

La Rioja is presented not just as a place of peculiar curiosities but as a reflection of a nation grappling with distortions, authoritarian tendencies, and a formalistic adherence to republican systems. The article argues that this "deep country," often dismissed as "the interior," has lost its grasp on basic principles of the separation of powers, mirroring the national political landscape more closely than perceived in the corridors of central power.

The piece draws parallels between the provincial situation and national trends, citing Manuel Adorni's statements as an example of how those in power can admit to falsehoods without consequence, even glorifying illicit enrichment. It points to the subjugation of provincial judiciaries to local executives, where investigations into ruling party officials are rare. Legislatures, it claims, function as mere secretariats, endorsing gubernatorial wishes, with any attempt at oversight met with immediate reprisal.

Independent journalism is described as increasingly scarce in these "informative deserts," replaced by propaganda and self-praise from those in power. This institutional devastation in the provinces, the article contends, has garnered little attention during the current libertarian era, despite having been a tool for previous administrations. The private economy, meanwhile, is depicted as an appendage of the government, with most ventures requiring political accommodation. The most fluid commodities in these regions are drugs, destined for major urban centers, and new private constructions are often suspected to be products of money laundering.