A few hours after President
Javier Milei
again harshly criticized Ignacio Torres, the governor of
Chubut
reiterated his demand for the funds corresponding to the co-participation and assured that he is willing to "defend himself."
"
The national government wants to take over the province of Chubut
thinking that we are a small district, far from the Capital, but it did not calculate that despite our size
we know how to defend ourselves
," said the Chubut president in statements to Télam.
This Sunday, from the United States, President Milei criticized the provincial president by ensuring that he "does not know how to read a contract", in reference to the dispute over the joint funds maintained by the Nation and Chubut.
"Poor boy, Nachito, he doesn't see it. He's a poor boy who can't read a contract. He's very intellectually precarious," said the president from Washington, in a telephone interview with the LN+ channel.
Torres replied that "
the central government evidently does not know how to read the Constitution, much less a contract."
In the midst of the counterpoint over resources, he added that "beyond the economic difficulties, the start of the school year on March 4" in the province is guaranteed.
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The President responded harshly to Ignacio Torres, after he threatened not to extract "not one barrel" more of oil, within the framework of the dispute over 13.5 billion pesos of co-participation funds.
The Chubut president acknowledged that his "main concern" arose when he saw that the national State "was accruing federal co-participation beyond what was reasonable" and that generated "uncertainty about the beginning of the school year."
Furthermore, he recalled that "of the last six years, only one school year was moderately completed" in the province, because "the rest were a failure."
"That is why we are with children with severe text comprehension problems and who cannot solve basic equations," he explained.
Regarding the differences with the national government, which included a warning on its part about preventing the exit of crude oil production from the San Jorge Gulf basin, Torres maintained that "that situation had no solution and, unfortunately, there is no progress." back".
"What is going to happen, surely this Wednesday, is that production will be interrupted not only in Chubut, but in all the fields in the country, since it is clear that
if they can with us they will go after everyone
," he indicated.
The governors of the Patagonian provinces, where the country's main oil production is located, will meet next Tuesday.
After that, they will hold a press conference and it is expected that the meeting will expand on Wednesday with all the provincial leaders.
"In addition, on March 7, in Puerto Madryn, there will be a regional meeting and there will surely be a push for a Patagonian bloc so that the 18 senators from the different provinces can unify their agenda," he said.
The governor of Chubut also sent a "message of gratitude to all the governors", with the exception of that of Tucumán, Osvaldo Jaldo, who "expressed their support for our claim," he indicated.
According to the Chubut government, the conflict escalated when the Nation absorbed a third of the 30,000 million pesos of the federal co-participation that corresponds to the province for debts contracted during the previous administration.
"We were never unaware of that debt that was taken irresponsibly. We put all our will to pay and good faith, but they put us on undesirable ground even a few days before starting a school year with all that it means," he reiterated.
The Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, maintained over the weekend that the governor of Chubut "has to submit to the law" and considered that he "does not have any capacity" to cut off the supply of gas and oil, as he threatened on Friday. "unless he does it by force", which would be committing an "illicit".
This morning, in statements to Radio Miter, the vice-governor of Chubut, Gustavo Menna, indicated that the province receives only a third of the budget in co-participation despite being "the fourth" that exports the most nationally.
"Chubut does not live on subsidies and contributes much more than it receives. It is one of the biggest victims of the co-participation regime," said Menna.