MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine gov't now says it will pay City of Buenos Aires's tax share

Fernández said he will use bonds instead of pesos

The Argentine government announced Monday that it will pay the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) its share of the so-called co-participation funds after saying last week that the Supreme Court ruling ordering the measure was untenable and that further appeals “in extremis” would be filed.

President Alberto Fernández said Monday on social media that his administration would comply with the ruling, albeit through bonds, instead of pesos.

“I instructed the Cabinet Chief to reallocate the only available resources of the fiscal year 2022 and transfer them to an account of Banco Nación in the name of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires,” Fernández posted.

Following this message, presidential hopeful Patricia Bullrich, chairwoman of the opposition PRO party, said the request for Fernández's impeachment was not to be mooted in Congress.

“We won! The Government could not break the rule of law in Argentina. We suspend the sedition complaint as long as they remain within the constitutional state,” Bullrich wrote on her Twitter account.

President Fernández insisted in a thread of tweets that “the bonds consigned [TX31], were already accepted by the CSJN [Supreme Court of Justice] to attend the debt of the National State with the Province of Santa Fe.”

“This being so, there would be no injury to the right granted to the CABA, unless the court believes that there are first-class cities and second-class provinces,” Fernández argued regarding the form of payment.

However, analysts in Buenos Aires underlined that the question with Santa Fe had been agreed upon by the Supreme Court after a deal between then-Economy Minister Martín Guzmán and the provincial government, while CABA Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and his administration have not been consulted this time around.