The former Minister of Economy and Production of the Nation and also former candidate for president,
Roberto Lavagna
, asked this Sunday
to "eliminate automatic deposits"
in salary increases, after the controversy that was generated by the increase of almost 50% that the President and the senior officials of the Executive Branch received, a few days after another that the deputies and senators received.
"I see discussions, chicanes included, about salary increases in the upper layer of civil servants. Perhaps it is time to ELIMINATE THE automatic 'HOOKS', widespread today, and provide that each increase to a category or scale responds to an absolute and relative appreciation" , Lavagna wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter).
This is the first message she has published on the social network since November of last year.
The scandal broke out after a complaint on social networks by deputy Victoria Tolosa Paz, former Minister of Social Development of the government of Alberto Fernández, that the President, the ministers, the secretaries and the undersecretaries raised their salaries by decree "by 48 % between January and February".
In the first instance, the Government tried to relativize the increase and linked it to
"an accounting error"
generated by the elimination of the fourth category of Income Tax that came into force in October of last year and that exempted civil servants. of the December rise.
According to the ruling party's version, when the first salaries were settled during Milei's administration,
a secretary ended up earning less than a director
.
"What was done was to compensate for that accounting error," they justified from the Casa Rosada.
But Milei pointed directly to "a decree signed by former president Cristina Kirchner in 2010, which established that political officials
should always earn more than public administration employees
."
With this background, as the president explained, "an automatic increase was granted to the political staff of this government."
That decree,
799/2010
, established an ascending scale of remuneration for the higher authorities of the Government and linked these salaries to the parity of State workers.
The new decree that ignited the controversy, denounced by Tolosa Paz, and that determined the increase of almost 50% of salaries, 206/2024
,
carried the signatures of Milei, the Minister of Human Capital, Sandra Pettovello, and the Chief of Staff, Nicolás Posse.
Specifically, the salaries of the secretaries of State increased following that decree, which the President signed on February 29, through which
a 12% increase in February
was authorized for hierarchical positions as a result of the employment parity. public, but also added
a 14% granted to state officials in December
and which was not applied in January for those positions.
To complete, in the month of February the general basis for calculating SINEP salaries was increased by
16%
, which was also transferred to the salaries of the ministers.
In this way, the President received a salary of
$4,068,738.23 in January
, while in February it became $6,025,801.32.
For her part, Villarruel, the vice president, received $3,767,339.40 in January and in February it increased to $5,579,429.66.
This marks
an average increase of about $2 million from one month to the next
.
In the case of the ministers, the January assets were $3,584,006 and later rose to $5,311,463.77, while the secretaries received $3,282,709.47 and $4,864,945.09, respectively.
Cristina came out to respond to Milei on the networks based on a note published by
Clarín
.
"It made you braver, President. It turns out that you and your officials increased their salaries by 48%,
and you can't think of a better excuse than to blame me for a decree I signed 14 years ago?
" he retorted. the former President.
"I'd better not even tell you who it reminds me of, with this blaming a woman. You can't get more chaste and less original," Cristina completed in a shot by elevation against Alberto Fernández, who due to the insurance scandal The ANSeS held its secretary responsible.
In an afternoon of back and forth, Milei returned Cristina's message and warned her on social media that "to talk about courage you first have to name the people you criticize and then unblock me on Twitter."
The President told her that "you could also start by once taking charge of the fact that you are directly responsible for the 2019-2023 administration, that is, for the worst government in Argentine history, having appointed President Alberto Fernández."
In the midst of the scandal, Javier Milei decided and
announced that he would repeal that decree by Cristina Kirchner and annul that increase
for the hierarchical personnel of the National Public Administration.
Previously, in statements to
Clarín
, the president explained that
he encountered the increase in his salary bill
and announced that he would reverse the increases that affected him and all the officials who work under his orbit in the Executive Branch.
"Every day that passes we find a new rule that favored politicians and harmed Argentines. With us, the ones who are harmed will be the politicians. Obviously we are going to repeal that decree and roll back any increase that the political plant has perceived," Milei said. .
The controversy had started much earlier, when during the week it was learned that the deputies and senators had increased their salaries by 30% based on the so-called
"Hitch Law"
, which has been applied since 2011, and which allowed legislators adhere to the joint agreement that Victoria Villarruel, as head of the Senate, and Martín Menem, as head of Deputies, signed in February for Congress employees.
In this way, the deputies began to collect a net amount of $2,174,887 for the month of February, to which must be added what is received for uprooting, which reached $464,090.29.
While in January, the allowances were at $1,699,000 and $323,789.25, due to uprooting.
Faced with this news, Milei asked Menem and Villarruel for explanations, but the vice president, with the support of the senators, resists freezing salaries, while the president of the Lower House echoed the President's order to move forward. back with the measurement.