After several months in the shadows, dissident Peronist leader Sergio Massa returned to the public eye on Tuesday to demand that President Mauricio Macri establish a broad political working group to address the country's economic problems.
Massa met with provincial leaders, legislators and Peronist union leaders at the Federal Investment Council (CFI). Peronist mayors and Peronist Majority Leader in the Senate, Miguel Angel Pichetto, also attended.
"The first thing the Government should do is call governors to a political working group to see how we can care for regional economies and achieve fairness in the taxation system", he told reporters. "Otherwise, it is workers, producers and investors who end up paying".
On the topic of the government's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Massa said: "Approaching the Fund was a grave mistake. Now, with this reality, we must work together. But further down the line, we need to resolve it".
Massa has been keeping a low profile after his front's dismal mid-term election results in October last year. At the top of the senatorial ticket for his alliance, he secured just 11-percent of the vote in the key battleground of Buenos Aires province.
It remains to be seen if he intends to run for the presidency in 2019, though many onlookers agree he would fail to secure the political support and votes to reach the Pink House.
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT FRUSTRATION
Tuesday's meeting was an opportunity for governors to vent their frustration about the Macri administration's management of the country's economy.
"We found out through you, the media, on television, about economic measures that will affect regional economies. We would have liked to participate, to be called. If the country is in an emergency, then all parties must be called upon. All of us here today want to help and assure the population", said Tucumán Governor Juan Manzur.
Several provincial governors attended the meeting. They were: Carlos Verna (La Pampa); Juan Manzur (Tucumán); Gildo Insfrán (Formosa); Lucía Corpacci (Catamarca); Mariano Arcioni (Chubut); Gerardo Zamora (Santiago del Estero); Alberto Rodríguez Saá (San Luis) and vice-governor of Chaco, Daniel Capitanich.
Also in attendance were Peronist Senators Miguel Angel Picheto, José Mans and Diego Bossio (PJ-Peronist Party), lawmaker Graciela Camaño (Renewal Front), CGT confederation leader Héctor Daer, unionists Antonio Caló, Omar Maturano and Andrés Rordíguez.
-TIMES
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