Alberto Fernández on the Court’s ruling: “The solution is to ask Congress to expand the budget”

President Alberto Fernández clarified today that the “solution” he has to comply with the precautionary measure of the Supreme Court in favor of the city of Buenos Aires is “to ask Congress to expand the Budget, to tell him where he gets the resources or if he puts new taxes, if he pays less Food Card or less AUH, to give the City of Buenos Aires what it wants.” The only way is with a remnant of Budget bonds that remained from the payment to the province of Santa Fe that can affect the fulfillment of what the Court requests, so that they see my good will not to rise up against the Judicial Power, “said the president. He also insisted that the Court’s ruling is “unenforceable,” as detailed in the statement that was accompanied by his signature and that of the governors. However, he denied that it is a contempt of the decision of the highest court and pointed against the leaders of the Frente de Todos for falling into “disinformation.” This weekend misinformation reached our leaders. We held a meeting with the governors in front of the Court’s ruling, which is highly criticizable for many issues, the rupture of federalism and the others are legal issues. In the meeting with the governors, what I propose is that the sentence is impossible to pay because it is not in the Budget and we do not have the resources, that is why we agree that it is unfulfillable, let’s say it and announce that we are going to resort to Justice for this ruling because it has a series of elements that make it vulnerable. If you read the document in no line is disobeying the Court, “said the head of state in dialogue with C5N. And he argued that the Constitution requires that any sentence that the Nation State must comply with must be incorporated into the Budget Law and have the necessary resources to face the Court. For this reason, the only solution is to send a law to Congress to expand the 2023 budget.Currently, the Economy Ministry is analyzing a bill to seek the collection of $ 200,000 million, which is estimated to be needed to pay the City of Buenos Aires the additional co-participation. “We are working to see what alternative we find,” the president said. The President again attacked the Court and affirmed that the highest court: “lost all criteria of justice.” The Court benefits a sector of Argentine politics. This system serves them, stigmatizes people, unjustly condemns them,” he said. Referring to the official reform project of the highest court, he said: “I had a more attractive idea of federalizing the Court with 25 members, to ensure that the whole country was represented. But if it continues to do the shackling it does, it is not a problem of number of members but of the rule of law.” During the interview on C5N, the President highlighted the work being carried out by Economy Minister Sergio Massa and said that the data on the economy are “very auspicious.” At the same time, he referred to the future of the Frente de Todos for 2023 and pointed out that the candidate will be “the one who meets the best conditions”, but that whoever “wants” can present himself to the PASO. He also predicted a victory for Peronism for the next elections.

Original source in Spanish