Milei threatened the rebel governors with prison sentences.
Argentina the main oil-producing provinces threatened on Saturday to cut off oil and gas supplies to the rest of the country in protest of the new president Javier Milein for austerity policy. According to the governors of the six oil-producing provinces, the oil cut will start on Wednesday if Milei does not back down from his intentions to reduce income transfers from the central administration to the provinces.
Milei, who has declared himself an anarcho-capitalist, has said that he will reduce the monthly refunds of state taxes to, for example, the province of Chubut by 13.5 billion pesos, or just under 15 million euros.
“If the Ministry of Finance does not deliver resources to Chubut, Chubut will not deliver its oil and gas,” said the provincial governor Ignacio Torres for the C5N television channel.
Argentina the Treasury minister Luis Caputo has justified the reduction in income transfers by collecting unpaid debts of Chubut province to the central government. According to him, ten other provinces also have similar debts.
Milei replied to the rebel governors that, according to Argentina's criminal law, obstructing energy supplies can be sentenced to up to two years in prison.
Argentina is the world's 39th largest oil producer and 20th largest gas producer.
Read more: Javier Milei, who started as president, warned about shock treatment: “There is no money”
Read more: The new president, Javier Milei, is pushing for startling cuts and the exchange of his own money for the dollar
#Argentina #provinces #threatening #cut #oil #supplies #protest #President #Milei39s #austerity #measures
