The Government spends $ 800 million per day on plans managed by social organizations

Bernardo Vazquez

05/22/2021 18:57

• Clarín.com

• Politics

Updated 05/22/2021 7:40 PM

In less than five months of 2021,

the Government has already exhausted half of the entire budget allocated to social spending

and has an execution rate within the Ministry of Social Development that is equivalent to

$ 800 million per day

, well above the original plan and even the first records of this year, when around $ 600 million a day were turned.

These are funds allocated directly to social programs such as the

Empower Work

and the delivery of the

Alimentar Card

, which have grown exponentially due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

As of May 23, after 142 days of the year, to

the portfolio headed by Daniel Arroyo, $ 115,689 million

of the $ 252,626 million that had been foreseen for the entire fiscal year

have been transferred from the Ministry of Economy

, calculated in the budget that sanctioned the Congress.

It is equivalent to 45.8% of the entire item, which was subsequently increased twice to $ 260,181 million.

Of all the national jurisdictions,

Social Development is the one that has received

the

highest percentage of funds

: most ministries average an execution of 35%.

The Ministry of Social Development has two strategic programs, which represent 88.6% of all the funds they group.

They are the so-called Food Policies, which involves the delivery of the Alimentar Card, and the one that has the funds from the Empower Work.

Food Policies manages an annual cash of $ 118,621 million, which is in charge of Laura Valeria Alonso

, a central leader of La Cámpora, with a lot of ancestry within the ministry, where she works as secretary.

From this budget, payments arise, according to the message of the budget, destined to "actions related to the Alimentar Card, which consists of a monthly accreditation of funds" to holders of the Universal Child Allowance and other plans.

Also from there come resources to assist school canteens.

Laura Alonso, head of Social Inclusion, together with the head of ANSeS, Fernanda Raverta.

Both are references of La Cámpora.

Similar figures administer the

Empower Work, a plan that has funds of $ 111,997 million and depends on the Secretariat of Social Economy led by Emilio Pérsico

, a social leader and one of the leaders of the Evita Movement within the government coalition. At the beginning of the month, Persico had been highly critical of the Rosada's decision to expand the reach of the Alimentar Card.

"It is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow," he

had said, in what was read as a request for programs that promote greater labor inclusion.

Sources from the Ministry of Social Development assure that the scope of the Empower Work

includes not only social movements, but also religious institutions, governments and municipalities

that have executing units that bring together people who receive the Empower Work and carry out the program.

To date, the Ministry of Social Development has already used $ 115,689 million of its annual funds, according to the official Open Budget website.

Considering that almost 90% of these resources correspond to the Food Policies and Empower Work programs, the investment to date in them exceeds $ 103,000 million

. Until January, in the portal that depends on the Ministry of Economy, the level of execution of the budget allocated to each program could be followed day by day. Now, at least in the case of Social Development, only that of the ministry.

The level of spending growth is exponential so far in 2021. At the end of January, when the first budget execution data were known,

Clarín

published that $ 605 million per day were being turned in total in terms of social assistance.

Closing May, Social Development comes with an outlay of funds, on average, of $ 809 million per day.

Emilio Pérsico, leader of the Evita Movement, entering the Ministry of Social Development Photo: Emmanuel Fernández.

The inmates in the Government

The discussion on social plans has motivated very different points of view within the Frente de Todos.

For example, the vice president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner herself stated internally that "the plans are not enough."

According to sources from the Patria Institute told this newspaper in April,

for Cristina and Máximo Kirchner "the plans, as they are, are exhausted

. You have to convert them into employment plans or you don't go out anymore."

Not unlike Persian's statements.

Another reference among social leaders, such as Juan Grabois, was also very critical of the implementation of the Alimentar Card.

Openly, the leader of the CTEP called it "a stupid policy."

For Juan Grabois, the Alimentar Card "is a stupid policy."

Photo: Juano Tesone.

The crack between one sector of the Government and another was also left open when Andrés Larroque, Minister of Social Development of the province of Buenos Aires, spoke, demanding the return of the IFE, the $ 10,000 bond that was paid in three batches last year to assist the most vulnerable sectors due to the pandemic.

Larroque considered that it is an "indispensable" tool.

In addition, despite the increase in social assistance and employment plans, the generalized discontent of the piqueteros sectors increased during this year, with growing protests and marches rejecting official policies towards the sector.

Spending on the rise until the end of the year

Spending on key programs of the Ministry of Social Development will continue to rise in the second half of the year, taking into account that the Executive announced that it will be expanded in budget and in the scope of its assistance.

Last Thursday, when Alberto Fernández announced the return to a strict phase of quarantine for nine days, among other points, he

decided to extend the Alimentar Card for families with children up to 14 years of age, in a monthly investment that the Government foresees in $ 18.1 billion

.

In the case of

Empower Work, the 920,000 workers in this program will earn $ 12,204 in May and $ 14,040 at the end of the year

, representing an estimated annual investment of $ 167,000 million.