Wado de Pedro has under his arm the Federal Development Plan, which aims to strengthen and diversify the productive matrix of northern Argentina. The Minister of the Interior of the Nation will arrive today in the capital of Salta to talk with businessmen of different activities and to present projects to improve infrastructure in a historically neglected region. He will meet around noon in the Grand Bourg with referents from the private sector, but first he will inaugurate the San Agustín transformer station.
The official recognizes that it is a difficult time to access financing, but considers the articulation between the public and private sectors to be key to get ahead. In an exclusive interview with El Tribuno, De Pedro questioned the policies of macrismo and even said that behind the Belgrano Plan there was more marketing than works.
What issues do you have on the agenda to address with businessmen?
I am going to Salta to listen to the business sectors within the framework of the Federal Development Plan. We have already made a diagnosis with all the governors and the national Cabinet. We understand that in order to generate jobs, the public and private sectors must join forces in the best possible way.
Each government always makes promises to get the north of the country out of postponement. What elements does it have to make this project come true?
In the last four years, and later with the onset of the pandemic, the north lost many jobs. Since November, the economic numbers have been better as a result of the policies to contain the pandemic, such as the IFE and the ATPs. This mass of money that was turned over to the provinces is generating greater consumption and increased production in the domestic market. Beyond that, northern Argentina, and in particular Salta, have infrastructure deficits. For companies to be competitive, beyond regional economies, it is necessary to have lower costs compared to other regions, closer to ports. For the north to develop, works such as high-voltage lines and gas pipelines must be finished, and an intelligent use of water must be generated. We must invest in dams, aqueducts and irrigation. It is important to strengthen the rail network to lower logistics costs. We are negotiating with Chile and firmly analyzing the design of the bi-oceanic corridors. Today the north has great potential to be able to get products through the deep-water ports in Chile and from there to trade with Asia. That continent, for Argentina, is the most important market with a growing future. There the bi-oceanic corridors will generate savings in the freight of goods.
As a State policy, we aim to strengthen industrial parks to facilitate access to energy and connectivity for entrepreneurs and businessmen. It is also a challenge to finish the fiber optic network. Cristina’s government (Kirchner) covered thousands of kilometers but stopped with Macri. Now we are ready to re-invest in that. We all know that technology applied to production is the present and the future. Those are the questions that we have to think about for the innovation of the Argentine productive system.
There is a complicated economic context, what are the financial tools that the Nation has to promote these projects? For example, there was Chinese financing for Belgrano Cargas but the works were delayed …
The management of Cambiemos received a country without debt, with high levels of collection. In four years they devalued strongly and removed all the regulations that existed to take care of the dollars that were in Argentina. The largest leak in the history of our country was generated, with 84 billion dollars. All Argentines are left with a debt close to 100 billion dollars. Thus, access to financing from international markets is very difficult. We have negotiated with investment funds and now we are doing so with the International Monetary Fund.
You raise a question prior to the current government and how it was made more complex by the economic policy they adopted, but what do we do from now on? How do we access that tool?
Today what we have left is access to multilateral organizations, such as the World Bank, CAF and IDB, which promote development and, furthermore, we have the sovereign wealth funds of the countries that do have lending capacity. We still have to generate bilateral agreements between the countries to finance infrastructure works that increase the productive capacity of Argentina.
There are thriving productions in Salta such as lithium, what do you propose from the Province?
We participated in the formation of the Mesa del Litio, with three provinces (Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca). From the Ministry of Science and Technology, we are going to put a line of investigation to see what the possibilities of using lithium are to generate more resources and try to add value. Everyone talks about making agreements with companies that manufacture batteries, there are a number of potentialities that will be discussed at the Table.
What production are you interested in promoting in Salta?
Salta has a diversified profile, it produces meat, fruits, tobacco … It seems to me that trying to strengthen the electrical system, irrigation systems, helping the Province to generate investments that promote development will also help entrepreneurs and businesswomen bet on diversification. We see that it is very important for the North that they dare to invest and diversify.
Entrepreneurs in the region requested the extension of the biofuel law, what will be the support of the Executive?
It is a law that is being discussed in Congress. What we want is to maintain jobs and a balance between the use of biofuels and fossil fuels.
A central issue for Salta is to recover gas exploration and production in the northern basins …
Within the Federal Development Plan, in Salta we have the proposal to advance with the construction of gas pipelines, we understand that it will enhance the productive system of the province and also access to gas.
How are the internal ties in the Government? The departure of Marcela Losardo from Justice was read as an action by Cristina to impose a minister.
The ministers are placed and removed by the President of the Nation. I am not carried away by the fantasy that some journalists write.
Do you think the government’s plan to curb inflation is viable? For now it’s getting out of hand …
We have to appeal to responsibility and controls. We knew it was going to cost the economic reactivation after four years of recession and a pandemic. These are periods in which it is necessary to take care of the pocket of the Argentineans. We must protect domestic consumption and the profits have to be well distributed in the income of producers and merchants. That is the reasonable balance of a society that does not seek to gain an advantage but tends to continue producing for the long term without the desperation of maximizing profits in this economic rebound. I call on all of society to reflect, to take care of the internal market, we take care of tourism when the borders open. Argentina has a good internal market that generates 80 percent of the work.
What do you think of the Belgrano Plan from the previous administration?
The Belgrano Plan, according to what the governors of the north tell me, was another campaign more linked to the need for marketing than to carrying out specific works to create jobs.
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