| Work Detail |
The trend
The Milei government paralyzed more than 2,300 projects underway in the 23 provinces and the City of Buenos Aires. Highways, routes, hospitals, schools, universities, water treatment plants, water, sewage and gas networks, housing and urban infrastructure, in numerous cases awaited for decades, entered libertarian limbo. What impact did that decision have on the economy, employment and the quality of life of disadvantaged citizens?
Plaza Sobremonte is a must-see for tourists visiting the picturesque Villa de Merlo, in San Luis. It is curious how at dusk flocks of birds spin madly around the main pyramid, becoming quite an attraction, while the bars, shops and businesses in the area vibrate with the public that walks and consumes. This year, however, that postcard of the San Luis city did not exist. The paralysis of public works by the national government turned that traditional photo into a memory of other times. "Its a mess," the neighbors complain, with the square closed by a green tarp, while restaurant and business owners affected by the decrease in tourists cried out. The mayor promised to finish the abandoned works by the middle of the year, with his own resources.
The case is one more example of the multiple impacts that Javier Mileis decision to cut short the infrastructure investment of the national State in provinces and municipalities throughout the country. If the mayor of Merlo, Juan Alvarez Pinto, keeps his promise and completes the works before the winter holidays, the damage to commerce will be limited to this poor summer season and a few more months, but the fear there and in thousands of towns of Argentina is that the images of abandonment and backwardness that La Libertad Avanza installed become a reality for years and years.
The white elephants of public works canceled by tightening governments are history repeated in the country. The risk of reliving these traumatic experiences is multiplied by the speed that the previous management, the Frente de Todos, gave to these initiatives. Alberto Fernándezs government maintained an accelerated pace of investments in infrastructure, first resuming 210 projects paralyzed by Mauricio Macris administration - mainly housing, roads, schools and hospitals, which were frozen after the agreement with the IMF in 2018 -, and then deploying an ambitious program that completed 4,434 jobs.
This list includes connectivity works - routes, highways, bridges, access to towns and cities -, those that highlighted historical or tourist places - museums, squares, cultural centers -, those that provided housing solutions - housing programs, establishment of lots with services -, those that extended the gas, water and sewage networks, those destined for education - universities, technical schools - and those for rural, urban and care infrastructure - from the expansion of the Salado River basin to child care centers. Energy works - such as the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline - and transportation works - railways or ports - are not counted in that list of 4,434 completed works.
Less development, less employment
The interruption of public works directly impacts the quality of life of the population, employment and economic growth. The Argentine Chamber of Construction and the sector union warned that there are 150,000 jobs at risk due to Mileis decision. Even work that has international financing, with credits from the World Bank, the IDB or the CAF, was interrupted. For example, the construction or remodeling of buildings for universities. The previous government completed 67 projects in that area, but there are one hundred that went into the freezer since the extreme right took office.
According to the survey of the former Minister of National Infrastructure and current Minister of the area in the province of Buenos Aires, Gabriel Katopodis, until Mileis arrival at the Casa Rosada there were 2,308 public works in progress in the 23 provinces and the City of Buenos Aires , with an ongoing investment of 310 billion pesos. Almost all of these initiatives are those that are now stopped.
That dynamism of investments in infrastructure was key for the construction union to reach its maximum mark in terms of employment in August of last year, with 479,856 registered workers. Now the opposite movement is observed.
The works were distributed in different typologies: connectivity and road infrastructure (514 projects), integrated management of water resources (1,031), and urban, rural and care infrastructure (763). They are the 2308 initiatives cut by Mileis chainsaw.
Without bridge or aqueduct
The construction of a new 772-meter bridge between the cities of Resistencia, Chaco, and Corrientes, over the Paraná River, with two bypasses that would benefit some 100,000 people fell into disrepair. The old bridge from 1973 will remain, planned for the transit of 5 thousand vehicles per day, although the current saturation reaches 25 thousand per day.
Another emblematic work for Chaco that was about to be completed and now entered libertarian limbo was a second aqueduct that would provide drinking water coverage to 26 towns, reaching 400,000 citizens. In addition to reducing the gaps in access to this essential service, the initiative would improve the conditions for agricultural production. The project was designed during the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, it was put in a drawer with Macri, it was launched with Alberto Fernández and when there were five months left to finish it, Milei canceled it.
No Roads or Highways
Most provinces had long-awaited road and highway construction projects underway. In Buenos Aires it is the third ring road of the AMBA, from the Camino del Buen Ayre and the Western Access to Route 2, benefiting 12 million people. The Presidente Perón highway has a route of 83 kilometers, with 32 bridges and the connection of 12 municipalities. By the end of Fernándezs term, 53 kilometers were completed and 37 were opened for traffic. By completing another 5 kilometers it was possible to add another 15-kilometer stretch, but Milei stopped it.
In Chubut it was the new highway 3 between Puerto Madryn and Trelew. The project contemplates the duplication of the road in an extension of 64 kilometers, which would improve road safety and the connection between these cities, with benefits for tourism and cargo transportation. But now he is a victim of the "outside" of La Libertad Avanza.
In Córdoba it was the highway between San Francisco and Río Cuarto. The 13 kilometers of road duplication were essential for the central bioceanic corridor, with a key role for the province and a strategic connection for Mercosur. But now, outside.
In Santa Fe it was the highway between Angélica and Sunchales, with an extension of 74 kilometers that would improve road circulation in one of the most important agro-industrial areas of the country. It would also improve the connection with the province of Buenos Aires and the port conglomerate of Gran Rosario. The highway already has 45 kilometers enabled for traffic, while what is missing is outside.
In Mendoza it was the new Cristo Redentor System highway, with 39.5 kilometers that would be part of the bi-oceanic corridor and would be essential for the link with Chile, providing a new outlet to the Pacific for Argentine production.
The list of works, as mentioned above, included all the provinces. The decision to cancel them is another attack against the common good.
Source: https://www.pagina12.com.ar/ |
