Federico Mayol
05/03/2021 21:21
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 05/03/2021 21:21
Alberto Fernández did not execute any movement in the last hours that would allow him to counteract the political weakness in which he was submerged since Friday by the failed resignation of the undersecretary
Federico Basualdo
, and Cristina Kirchner won again this Monday with the continuity of the official who responds to way straight to the heart of Kirchnerism.
"
Continue
", they admitted this Monday from the presidential environment when
Clarín
asked about the possible departure of the undersecretary of Energy, whose permanence in the Government, requested on Friday in vain by Martín Guzmán,
snubbed
not only the minister, but the head of state himself .
"When the lights go out, we look for (Basualdo) an agreed and orderly exit," they insisted from the government leadership: "
It could be in two weeks, or in a year,
" they added, anyway, with some resignation.
Federico Basualdo, Undersecretary of Electric Energy.
In the Casa Rosada they sought this Monday to lower the tone of the controversy that once again tensed the intern at the Frente de Todos.
A
Cristina Kirchner,
far from getting angry
, the
affaire
Basualdo had fun during the weekend
, according to
reports from some relatives: so far, almost all the fights that he and the places that got them
interested.
The main pending is his judicial situation.
In any case, in parallel with the government's decision to cool down the dispute, Kirchnerism again strongly supported the Undersecretary of Energy on Monday.
And to pressure Guzmán, in full negotiation with the Monetary Fund, for the implementation of the Emergency Family Income to try to alleviate the crisis due to the second wave of the pandemic around the coronavirus.
The spokesperson was
Andrés Larroque: stressed that the continuity of the IFE was "indispensable".
In the case of Basualdo, the accolade was paid by Axel Kicillof.
"He is an excellent official," he concluded in radio statements.
"Edenor and Edesur have an impact on the suburbs. If there is talk of an increase it cannot exceed 9%. Beyond the rumors, achieving an increase of less than 2 figures is important," he added.
Guzmán intends that the 9% increase published late on Friday in the official gazette is the
kick-off of another increase of around 15%.
It is not by chance.
Not only because of their interest in the readjustment of electricity rates in Greater Buenos Aires, where Edenor and Edesur operate, and the eventual impact in the middle of the election year.
If not because, in addition, the undersecretary, who adheres to La Cámpora,
reports every week
, directly, to the governor.
Summit in Olivos
A few months ago,
the President and Guzmán received Cristina Kirchner and Kicillof at the farm in Olivos to promptly discuss the rates
.
Fernández and the minister were surprised by the presence of the governor, who was not on the agenda.
Later, Guzmán traveled to El Calafate to have lunch alone with the former president, and extend the economic discussion.
The official's bond with Cristina Kirchner had been consolidated last year
with the progress of the renegotiation of the debt with private bondholders issued under foreign legislation.
And it began to
cool down
due to the difference in criteria when analyzing possible strategies to correct the macroeconomic imbalance, the renegotiation with the IMF and the payment to the Paris Club, to name a few examples.
But on Friday,
the minister got fully involved with the energy subsidy policy that Cristina Kirchner implemented
during her two terms.
And he justified the failed departure of Basualdo by the public affronts that the official about Guzmán's official position on the rates of the City and the Buenos Aires suburbs, and by the lack of authority of the official in not having advanced in a serious tariff segmentation program .
Guzmán never thought that doing without Basualdo would bring him such a headache with the vice president.
He spoke with the President and the Chief of Cabinet,
Santiago Cafiero
, and they asked the Secretary of Energy, Darío Martínez, to instruct the Undersecretary to step aside.
Those close to the Ministry of Economy now acknowledge the political defeat, but say that the debate is exclusively economic.
In this sense, they open a question mark about the future of the tariff segmentation scheme that, they assure, must be implemented in the short or medium term to solve a fundamental problem that entails monetary issuance and, therefore, an inflationary spiral.
"
The time has come to regularize the tariff system that was frozen all this time,
" promised the President in his inaugural address for March 1 sessions.
This Monday,
the markets were not discussing the future of Basualdo, if not that of Guzmán
, who next Monday plans to travel to Europe with Fernández, if the tour is not suspended due to the serious health situation.
