Abigail case: the Government takes off and defends the autonomy of the provinces to 'manage' their circulation

Guido Carelli Lynch

11/22/2020 2:54 PM

• Clarín.com

• Politics

Updated 11/22/2020 2:54 PM

"There is ignorance of what it is to live in a federal country," some of the officials who manage the relationship with the governors explained in the Executive Office regarding the restrictive measures of the provinces to manage the entrance to the districts.

In the first hours after the video of

entering Santiago del Estero on foot with his

12-year-old

daughter

and oncology patient, carried in his arms,

went viral

, in the face of the refusal of the provincial police, the Government avoided the public statements of repudiation, which finally came this Saturday.

Vilma Ibarra

was the exception.

"What happened with Abigail is a horror," said the Legal and Technical Secretary.

Speaking to CNN Radio, the official added that since the beginning of the quarantine, the Government was very careful with medical exceptions.

"In no way does the presidential decree say that you cannot cross from one province to the other," he said.

In the Casa Rosada, however, they avoided criticizing the governor of Santiago del Estero

and the rest of the provincial leaders, whom they consider a pillar of the ruling party.

"The governors cannot prevent the entrance to the provinces but they can administer it, as the Nation does with the borderlands," explained a senior official to Clarín.

As confirmed by official sources from the Executive and from the Santiago governor's office, there were no conversations in this regard between the governor and national officials.

Abigail with her family.

The girl that her father crossed in his arms to return to Santiago del Estero.

The Ministry of the Interior did not intervene directly in Santiago del Estero or in other districts, as it had arbitrated in other conflicts.

The participation of the head of the political portfolio,

,

it had been fundamental in unlocking the

"At that time, Wado took the lead in the negotiations, because the affected producers and truckers - who could not enter from the surrounding districts - contacted him," explained the minister's side.

On that occasion, De Pedro delegated to his deputy, José Lepere, the creation of a table together with the Ministry of Security to lift the cut, which also affected

.

In La Rosada they were also contemplative with the Formosan governor

after the Supreme Court ruling that forced the provincial president to accelerate the entry of 7,500 resident citizens, who could not return to their homes.

"We understand the situation in Formosa, because the indiscriminate entry of citizens put the success of their health management at risk," they explained.

They added that many of those who claimed to return home did not have a registered address in the province.

Vilma Ibarra, Legal and Technical Secretary of the Presidency, in an interview with Clarín in August.

She was one of the few to speak critically about the Abigail case.

Photo Fernando de la Orden.

In addition, they highlighted that a

was generated

and that few residents of the province had signed up for the

that served to repatriate residents stranded in other provinces at the beginning of the pandemic.

They also pointed out that the Highest Court echoed the media coverage of the Formosa case and

the 15-day period that the Court imposed on the province

.

"What seems like a good decision on the board may have contraindications," they say. 

In the Government they maintain that interprovincial circulation was never prohibited, but they recognize that

the controls at the beginning of the pandemic.

For that reason, the Executive asked to guarantee circulation on national routes.

The Minister of the Interior, Eduardo de Pedro.

He avoided intervening in the case of Abigail, who had problems moving around Santiago del Estero despite being an oncological patient.

"The Ministries of the Interior, Security and Transportation worked in coordination with all governors," they maintain.

They mention the cases of

, among others, as some of the districts with restrictive measures that forced the national authorities to build bridges for dialogue.

Also, the management for YPF to guarantee the truckers rest posts.

Cabinet chief

was another of the national officials who this Saturday referred to Abigail's case and accused the opposition leadership of wanting to benefit.

said in statements to La Red. The coordinating minister expressed solidarity with the family. "They are very painful images. The authorities have already contacted and are trying to solve any damage that has been done. In a short time, they tried to solve it, but that does not remove the frustration and impotence of what that father lived" , Held.