Guido Carelli Lynch
05/23/2020 - 16:35
- Clarín.com
- Politics
The city and suburbs are part of the same urban conglomerate. "The metropolitan area of Buenos Aires is a continuum and one thing that happens on one side of General Paz," Governor Axel Kicillof summed up this Wednesday. That criterion, however, was buried on May 8, when the new extension of the preventive and mandatory isolation to contain the coronavirus was announced, which will conclude this Sunday.
Paradoxically, that same Friday, President Alberto Fernández indicated that there would be no changes in the area. "In the AMBA the quarantine will continue as it is now until May 24," said the head of state that day, flanked by Kicillof and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta. The only thing that did not change that day was the need for the City and the Province to have the approval of Chief of Staff Santiago Cafiero - that is, of the President himself - to enable new activities in the midst of isolation.
The rest is history. The City enabled non-essential businesses and the Province favored the reopening of industries . In the Capital, recreational outlets were enabled for boys while in the Conurbano they were allowed to accompany their parents on purchases. For now, the City does not plan to back down with that permission.
The tension between districts grew and was resolved in the media with the cross declarations of Buenos Aires mayors and ministers of the two administrations.
Despite this, the governor and the head of government, who maintain direct and daily contact, denied the differences visible to all.
In the last week they coincided with the diagnosis: the interjurisdictional traffic was too relaxed and it was necessary to restrict it. This will be done today. Kicillof will go further not only will deepen controls on the flow of travel between Capital and Province but also within the municipalities of Greater Buenos Aires. At CABA there will be more controls, although they will be more lax.
This is where the coincidences go. In the City, they do not believe that Buenos Aires flexibilization has overloaded the transportation system or favored more infections. They highlight that there are more people on the street, due to the weariness generated by the quarantine and the economic needs. Despite that, it is almost a fact that they will close areas with high trade density that generate a lot of crowding.
Although the two leaders will concentrate their efforts on assisting the towns and settlements, they differ in the reasons why more cases were registered . Larreta believes that the increase in cases has to do with the increase in testing. In the City they affirm that the cases detected in the towns multiplied when testing the close contacts of those infected.
Kicillof believes that it is exactly the opposite. “It is not that when there are more tests there are more cases, it is the other way around, when there are more cases there are more tests . Because what the protocols show is that the tests are carried out in feverish situations, ”said the governor at the end of the meeting with the President and the head of government on Wednesday in Olivos.
Buenos Aires Minister of Health Daniel Gollán pointed to the City as the main infectious focus. The health authorities of the Capital, on the other hand, consider that the contagion curve will evolve inexorably and that restrictive measures only serve to better prepare the health system.
They point out that the Buenos Aires concern is reasonable for the lack of infrastructure and for the real danger is the multiplicity of foci that the largest district in the country must attend.
Not only are the criteria for easing quarantine different from the two sides of General Paz, but also controls on businesses.
In the City 42 closings were registered; In Quilmes alone - whose mayor Mayra Mendoza publicly criticized Larreta - 150 locals were sanctioned and another 45 were closed for violating the quarantine and increasing prices without reason. In the Buenosairean government they consider that in Province and in Capital the merchants open with or without authorization, by necessity.
The last difference is discursive. Larreta ordered not to answer the criticism of Kirchnerism, which multiplied without the authorization of the governor. After two weeks of tension and at the request of the President, they will try to show a coordinated exit with fewer fissures.
"As until now, we agree to tackle sanitary measures together and taking care of the health and lives of our people," said Fernández after the joint videoconference with the governors of the most compromised provinces.