Hear
The comfort that Kirchnerism displayed in its role as opposition during the first six months of the libertarian government has run out. The adjustment to which Javier Milei He subjected the governors produced a cleavage in the Unión por la Patria (UxP) bench in the Deputies, where the bidding increased between those who are committed to maintaining a staunch confrontation with the ruling party and those who, with a more pragmatic outlook, seek to survive on their small payments by dint of parliamentary agreements.
In addition to Two UP deputies from Catamarca who voted in favor of restoring the income tax, three others from the Independencia bloc – originally from Tucumán and elected by the PJ – joined the benches of La Libertad Avanza and its allies at the time of voting. “He was talking to them”admitted to THE NATION an important source of legislative Peronism.
With 99 members, the bloc led by the Santa Fe deputy German Martinez In general terms, he maintained party discipline. Cohesion, however, suffered a setback tonight. Although the final approval of the Executive’s projects was not in doubt, the unknown lay in the final text, where the Government He fought for the inclusion of the restitution of the fourth category of the Income Tax and a reconfiguration of Personal Propertytwo co-participating taxes that will increase provincial budgets.
Strictly speaking, The focus of the Government’s concern fell on Profits. Many “landless” dialogue deputies refused to support for the fourth time a tribute that will reach almost a million salaried workers and will benefit their political adversaries in their small payments. The position of radical legislators such as Karina Banfi (Buenos Aires), Gabriela Brower de Koning (Córdoba), Rodrigo de Loredo (Córdoba) and Juan Carlos Polini (Formosa) was in doubt.
This panorama forced the Executive to launch into the search for a dismemberment of Kirchnerism based on a thorough negotiation with the provincial leaders headed by the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francoswho activated the promise to complete the paused public works.
The governor of Catamarca, Raul Jalil, is one of the Kirchnerist leaders who has been winking with the libertarian administration for months. These gestures correspond to his need to alleviate the fiscal redness of his province. One of his legislatorsSebastian Noblega-, voted in favor of Income Tax last April, during the first passage of Milei’s projects through the lower house. And tonight he did it again.
The other three, Fernanda Avila, Silvana Ginocchio -wife of the provincial president-, and Dante López Rodríguezabstained. The latter joined the positive vote in the early hours of this Friday.
This definition is not surprising if you look at the numbers provided by a report from the Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis (Iaraf) -directed by Nadin Argañaraz-, which analyzes the impact of Profits on the collection of each of the provinces. According to this document, Catamarca is the second jurisdiction, after Tierra del Fuego, that will receive the largest amount of extra annual funds per capita. A total of $110,544 per inhabitant. Furthermore, it will contribute – in relation to the number of taxpayers reached by the tax – less money than it will receive. Your contribution will be 0.008% of your total GDP.
Jalil has already obtained a benefit from the link he built with the Casa Rosada. He achieved the withdrawal of the interstate company Yacimientos Mineros Agua de Dionisio (YMAD) of the original package of companies “subject to privatization” in the first Base Law. YMAD represents a large fund controlled by the provincial government, which retains 60% of the net profits from the million-dollar investments in reserves of gold, silver and the strategic lithium. His brother Fernando Miguel Jalil is the current president of the entity.
There was also speculation that the three Sanjuaninos from the Kirchnerist bloc could support the objectives of the ruling party. Walberto Allende, Ana Fabiola Aubone and Jorge Chica, who openly support the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) for the extensive benefits it represents for their province, with great mining potential. However, they gave the thumbs down to the entire Base Law, where the regime is immersed.
The four Catamarcans and the three Sanjuaninos put their provincial realities on the table at the meeting of the Kirchnerist bloc held on Wednesday morning. According to what this media was able to find out, one of the strongest counterpoints was between Ginocchio and the legislator and union representative of the bankers, Sergio Palazzorefractory to reimposing Profits because of the impact it will have on those he represents.
The relevance of incorporating back into the text the Article 111that instructs the Executive Branch to send a roadmap to Congress to reduce tax spending by 2%, also divides UxP. This is a clause, pioneered by the deputy of the Civic Coalition Juan Manuel López, which aims to dismantle the Tierra del Fuego promotion regime. The positioning of this space is key to determining the fate of the article, which requires an aggravated majority – around 170 votes – for its approval.
While there is a sector that is betting on the outright rejection of this article – mirroring their peers in the Senate – others want to avoid being functional to the objectives of the libertarian administration, which refuses to move against the privileges of the industrialists of Tierra del Fuego. López’s tweet, which shows a video of Cristina Kirchner where he calls this business sector “luxury gliders”, makes the discussion more complex.
