In the Buenos Aires government, when asked by this newspaper, they denied that the letter had any intention of creating a conflict with the national government by Axel Kicillof. “It’s protocol,” was the answer. But the letter existed. This is a text sent by the governor to the Minister of Security, Aníbal Fernández, asking for details of how the presence of the Gendarmerie in the Conurbano would be reflected in the facts.
Buenos Aires/12 also consulted national government officials. They explained that on the initiative of the Boanerense chief of staff, the mayor of Lomas de Zamora on leave, Martín Insaurralde, began a series of meetings three months ago to go into the details of sending gendarmes, a now classic demand of several mayors.
“We even talked about the fact that in principle they were going to take charge of the mobile phones,” said a national official who requested anonymity.
The meetings included representatives from the security areas of La Matanza, Avellaneda, Pilar, Tigre and La Plata. Of the five, the first four are governed by the Frente de Todos and the last district by Juntos por el Cambio in its PRO version.
The last meeting was 15 days ago and Kicillof’s letter was sent last week.
The permanent short circuit between the Minister of Security of the Province, Sergio Berni, and the national ministry team is public.
On the other hand, a confrontation between Kicillof and national officials would be a political novelty. Contrary to some of his ministers, such as Andrés Larroque Community Development, or the president of the Buenos Aires Justicialista Party, the national deputy Máximo Kirchner, the governor claims the leadership of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner but avoids disagreements with President Alberto Fernández . In fact, he does not formulate public criticism and is accustomed to appreciating the coordination of infrastructure policies between the Province and the Nation. Kicillof and Fernández also agree on the questioning of the Supreme Court of the Nation for the ruling that gave rise to a precautionary measure that ordered the return to the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires of co-participation points taken at the time by Fernández and delivered to the Province in a review of an opposing measure resolved by Mauricio Macri when he was President.
The operational question of security had a chapter of differences between several mayors and Berni. The mayors maintain that the creation of local police must be carried out and adduce a criterion of knowledge and proximity. Berni responded that the creation of autonomous municipal bodies entails the danger of poor preparation and risks both for the troops and for the citizens.
The presence of gendarmes had been demanded by CFK in a speech delivered at the Estadio Único de La Plata on November 17, 2022, when Peronism recalled the 50th anniversary of Juan Perón’s return to Argentina after exile and ban. The vice president then recalled the Sentinel Operation of 2011, under her government. “Why can’t we do the same, deploy thousands of gendarmes in the Province of Buenos Aires, instead of having them in Ptagonia, nobody knows doing what?” If that question was the what, the discussion today is the how.
