The Minister of the Interior,
Guillermo Francos
, pointed out that
the issuance of quasi-currency
by the province of
La Rioja
is "illegal" , which was approved by a large majority in the provincial Legislature and which generated protests from employees.
"
All governors know that it is illegal
, there is a Fiscal Pact that prevents the issuance of quasi-currencies, which are bonds," he stated on Neura Medio.
In this way, the national official detached himself from the position of President Javier Milei, who had celebrated the issuance of $22.5 billion of Bocada (Debt Cancellation Bonds) by the government of Ricardo Quintela for the payment of salaries of public employees. .
"Welcome the provincial currencies to the competition, which, I want to point out, unlike what happened in the past, are in no way going to be rescued by the National Government," Milei warned after the provincial president's announcement.
Now, his minister Francos maintained that in accordance with the agreements signed between the Nation and the provinces, Quintela's decision includes sanctions and confirmed that the national State will not receive these bonds to pay taxes.
"If I used them in the province, I will be violating the Fiscal Pact,
I will have sanctions such as fines and the cutting off of the advance payment from the State Treasury
," he specified.
Quintela will use the quasi-currency to pay salaries to state employees.
Francos stressed that these bonds will only be used in the province, because the national State will not receive them to pay taxes as happened with the Patacones, issued by the province of Buenos Aires after the 2001 Crisis.
In addition, he maintained that the Riojan Bocade will be devalued after its issuance, because people will not want to have them.
During the announcement of the issuance of the quasi-currency, Governor Quintela had blamed Milei's management, arguing: "The national government forces this due to the cruelty of the adjustment that it precipitated in 20 days. This generated that when people went to receive the salary, it no longer made ends meet".
The idea arose after the crisis with the provincial security forces and after a "salary recomposition" agreement with the local Police, which sent a project to the provincial Legislature to create "its own currency" for the district.
The provincial leader maintained that the use of the bonus will be to pay "a part of the salary" once they have been printed.
After the approval of the project, the law passed in the Rioja Parliament establishes that "the quasi-currency may be used through a physical or representative issuance of the same in a virtual and/or digital manner, it will have the same value as the peso, and it may be used as a means of payment for civil and commercial operations, and to make transfers".
The law also establishes that all levels of the provincial state, including decentralized companies, have the obligation to receive the quasi-currency as payments for their taxes at a value of parity with the peso.