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Northern governors demand permanent agreement for disadvantaged region benefits
🇦🇷 Argentina /Elections & Politics

Northern governors demand permanent agreement for disadvantaged region benefits

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Argentine governors from the northern provinces are demanding that a national agreement for benefits to disadvantaged regions be made permanent.
  • They expressed concern that past compensation schemes were temporary and discontinued without notice.
  • The proposed agreement includes increased electricity subsidies for warmer zones during summer months, aiming for 50-80% cost reduction.

Governors from Argentina's northern provinces are pushing for a permanent national agreement to provide benefits to disadvantaged regions, expressing frustration with the historical inconsistency of such programs. They met with Chief of Staff Diego Santilli and Minister of Economy Luis Caputo to advance discussions on reforming the "cold zones" law.

the experience of recent decades in terms of compensation for the north is that benefits are announced, applied for one season, and discontinued without notice.

— Gustavo SáenzSalta Governor Gustavo Sáenz explained the need for a permanent policy regarding national compensation for the north.

Salta Governor Gustavo Sáenz highlighted that past compensation schemes for the north were often seasonal and abruptly ended. He stressed the need for a "permanent" policy with "legal continuity." The proposed framework would increase electricity consumption covered by subsidies in very warm zones from 300 to 550 kWh and in warm zones from 150 to 300 kWh, effective from November to April.

the new scheme must be born with an instrument that grants it legal continuity.

— Gustavo SáenzSalta Governor Gustavo Sáenz stressed the importance of a permanent policy for regional benefits.

Sáenz explained this would subsidize 50% to 80% of electricity costs, depending on the zone. He cited Salta's provincial program, which already subsidizes around 106,000 families and costs the provincial treasury nearly $1.8 billion pesos monthly, totaling about $9 billion pesos annually. The province seeks national recognition for an additional 140,000 families.

the country is divided into three parts: the north, the center, and the south. And it is really an unjust country, because the north has been subsidizing the cold zones for many years.

— Gustavo SáenzSalta Governor Gustavo Sáenz described the perceived regional inequality in Argentina.

Other governors present included Raúl Jalil (Catamarca), Leandro Zdero (Chaco), and Carlos Sadir (Jujuy). Representatives from La Rioja also attended. Sáenz argued that the country's division into north, center, and south creates an "unjust" system where the north has long subsidized cold zones. He believes this reform could introduce more fairness, comparing the need for continuity to the unresolved issue of revenue sharing since 1994.

This is like revenue sharing, which has not been resolved since '94. And I think this can bring a little justice.

— Gustavo SáenzSalta Governor Gustavo Sáenz drew a parallel between regional benefits and the unresolved issue of revenue sharing.
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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