Javier Milei continues with his objective of cutting public spending as much as possible. The new announcement from the Libertarian cabinet has to do with the privatization of passenger rail transport. This was confirmed by the Secretary of Transportation, Franco Mogetta, and the head of the Temporary Unit for the Transformation of Public Companies, Diego Chanher, in a press conference. Both assured that for this business of public passenger transport by train “we have many interested companies.”
Currently, the State has the management of two commuter suburban transportation lines in Buenos Aires that link the towns of Roca, Belgrano Sur, Sarmiento, San Martín and Mitre, and that transport almost 30 million passengers per month.
At that same press conference, the heads of Transport and Public Companies confirmed that they were going to privatize 7,600 kilometers of tracks for the transport of goods by train.
Diego Chaher said that the Government is going to privatize the state company Belgrano Cargas, in charge of managing the railway axis, because it is “tremendously deficient,” he reiterated. Specifically, the state had to contribute some 103 million euros to ensure its survival.
Manuel Adorni, government spokesperson, reported that the protection of the Base Law allows for “what will be the first privatization of a railway company” since Milei assumed the presidency.
The Minister of Transportation reiterated that these 7,600 kilometers of railway tracks will be in private hands in the form of a concession, so the rails and land “will continue to be state property.”
“All the roads are going to be concessioned to the private sector,” said Chaher. This will “triple the volume of cargo transported, since the number of trains and their frequencies will increase.” Likewise, he reported that the concessionaire “will have the obligation” to allow “all operators who want to transport cargo” to circulate on this road in order to “avoid monopolistic conduct.”
Government sources sent a statement in which they assured that the public rail freight transport company “has an oversized workforce of 4,429 people.” In addition to many senior officials, they highlighted that in the last 15 years “it has transported the same tons.”
The argument put forward by the Casa Rosada to privatize this railway line is to “make freight transport more efficient and competitive”, at the same time that they intend to “promote investment in the sector and introduce the real estate sector into the free market.” .
Tax Agency
The plan to implement a reduction in the size of the State of Milei continues. Last week, the Government of Argentina announced that they are going to close the Tax Agency to replace it with a cheaper, more agile, simpler and more useful organization for the country’s citizens. It is estimated that this measure will save the treasury more than six million dollars, although it means the dismissal of more than 3,000 employees. These are in addition to the more than 25,000 public employees that he laid off until June and the libertarian’s goal is to reach 50,000.
Within the framework of the reduction of the State and the elimination of inefficient structures, it will proceed to dissolve the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP),” the Office of President Javier Milei announced in a statement.
The new body will be called the Customs Collection and Control Agency (ARCA), which will be “less bureaucratic.”
According to the Argentine authorities, this measure will allow the State to save 6.4 billion pesos (6.3 million dollars) annually, thanks to the 34% reduction of the current management structure of the Treasury.
As part of this decision, 3,155 AFIP agents will lose their jobs who, according to the Government, entered irregularly during the Executive of Peronist Alberto Fernández (2019-2023). This is equivalent to 15% of the current Treasury endowment.
#Milei #starts #privatization #suburban #freight #rail #transport
