Guido Carelli Lynch
05/05/2021 8:58 AM
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 05/05/2021 8:58 AM
After the confusion caused by the underground fight between the Minister of Economy Martín Guzmán and the Undersecretary of Electric Energy
Federico Basualdo
, the Government sought to consider the differences that threatened to provoke a political cataclysm in the Frente de Todos and unpredictable consequences in the economic plane.
Both officials, one backed by the Casa Rosada and the other by the Instituto Patria, will retain their posts. The Executive whitewashed - as Basualdo, the Buenos Aires governor
Axel Kicillof
and Vice President
Cristina Kirchner
wanted
- that for now the only annual increase in electricity rates will be the announced 9 percent. The decision was advanced by two ministers representing the sectors involved: Albertism and Christianity.
At the Casa Rosada, no one confirmed whether the Fernándezes - the President and the vice - reached a direct agreement between them.
The head of state did not return to the Casa Rosada this Tuesday after the event in Ezeiza, where he questioned the ruling of the Supreme Court in favor of the autonomy of the City.
Hours later, the new position on rates was reported.
More than a strict tie, the resolution looks more like a victory for Basualdo and Kirchnerism.
The economy minister was unable to impose his willingness to secure a second 6 percent increase for the second half of the year and complete an annualized increase of 15 percent, a far cry from the 29 he had originally envisioned.
The Government privileged the vision of an undersecretary of state over that of the minister.
Federico Basualdo, former head of the ENRE and former undersecretary of Electric Power, remains firm in his position.
"It is a fight between two economists and they will have to solve it," they said near the president, forgetting the detail that Basualdo is a sociologist and that the rank of the two officials in the papers is very different.
The economist backing Basualdo is none other than Governor Kicillof.
From La Cámpora they compared the disciple of Joseph Stiglitz as a lightweight next to the best heavyweight in history: the vice president.
Christianity has already forced the departure of
Guillermo Nielsen
from the YPF presidency, where a man from Máximo Kirchner,
Pablo González
,
ended up
.
The increases for gasoline run smoothly.
In the economic Cabinet headed by the Chief of Cabinet
Santiago Cafiero
- and who will meet again this Wednesday - they assure that they will continue to work to segment the increases.
However, they immediately add that it is a very difficult task and that millions of tenants do not have the services in their name.
Mauricio Macri has
already tripped over that stone.
"The segmentation project is complex and is not there yet. There may be ideas, but there is no specific segmentation project," they highlight.
They also relativize the arguments that Guzmán himself gave to his interlocutors in private.
The official determination, they now say, will not impact the debt negotiation with the IMF and the Paris Club.
"It is better to have a good agreement than a quick agreement," they reiterate.
In the Kirchnerist cast, they pointed out that it is essential not to continue eroding real wages and
also to guarantee
energy to
the industry
at an affordable cost.
Until a few hours ago, close to Minister Guzmán they insisted that there could not be a "tie" and that Basualdo should leave his post sooner rather than later.
In addition to the crossings with Basualdo, Guzmán also had to face the constant challenges of the comptroller in the ENRE
Federico Bernal
, who opposed the promise of a second increase and between 2017 and 2019 served as an advisor to Cristina Kirchner in the Senate.
During the weekend, Guzmán received the support of the Chief of Staff and the President himself, but Basualdo's departure was never effective.
Now, as if there had never been any differences, the Cabinet charged inks against the Macri administration.
In that sense, they highlighted that if the rates had not been frozen, the increase in electricity would have already risen to 120 percent.
The crosses between the two officials had an impact on the markets at the beginning of the week: the blue dollar rose 4 pesos between Monday and Tuesday week and bonds fell one percent on the first business day.
In the midst of the tension, Guzmán, whose collaborators suggested that if Basualdo did not leave office he would, he joined the presidential entourage that will travel to Italy, France and the Vatican, where the former Columbia professor has a bank.
The common enemy that emerged on Tuesday - the Supreme Court - ended up unifying positions in the government after the earthquake.