The signal that the Government gave this Monday to approach the governors with more dialogue as a reaction to the resounding defeat in the Buenos Aires legislative election at the hands of Peronism, for now is only an expression of desire or part of a distraction strategy to show President Javier Milei active.

As of noon today, there was no record of any contact from the Casa Rosada with provincial leaders to meet or initiate any type of talks. Despite the initiative to"convene a federal dialogue table with the governors" being floated yesterday, more than one of them recalls the May Pact initiative, which was signed in June and never prospered.

Axel Kicillof awaits Javier Milei's call:"He won't do it because he doesn't dare."

The group targeted by the ruling party is the group of governors who announced the creation of an electoral front, United Provinces, which will debut in the national elections in October. They include Martín Llaryora (Córdoba), Maximiliano Pullaro (Santa Fe), Ignacio Torres (Chubut), Gustavo Valdés (Corrientes), Carlos Sadir (Jujuy), and Claudio Vidal (Santa Cruz). It also includes Peronists Raúl Jalil (Catamarca), Osvaldo Jaldo (Tucumán), and Gustavo Sáenz (Salta); as well as Radicals Alfredo Cornejo (Mendoza) and Leandro Zdero (Chaco).

Between Monday and Tuesday, the provinces began to raise their objections."The government still isn't listening and is paralyzed," Pullaro stated."It's very difficult for the governors to support us when there's no reciprocity. They screwed me over with the works," Sáenz added.

Javier Milei leaves the Casa Rosada on Monday, after two cabinet meetings. Photo: Cristina Sille

However, there could be a possibility of the government reaching out to the provinces: This Friday is the deadline for Milei to veto the law requiring the executive branch to automatically and daily distribute the ATN (National Treasury Contribution Fund).

The law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on August 20th, and if the President does not veto it by Wednesday, it will remain enacted and must be implemented. At that time, the initiative was approved by 143 votes in favor, 90 against, and 12 abstentions. While the vote was overwhelming, it does not guarantee the two-thirds vote necessary should Milei decide to veto it.

But if they make that decision, a large part of the governors will go to the electoral battle against La Libertad Avanza in their provinces - for an election that is still about 50 days away -, in addition to blowing up the announced federal table.

According to provincial calculations, implementing the law would cost approximately $250 billion, although they maintain that it is not an additional expense but rather money that already belongs to the provinces, but is being kept by the nation. The law establishes that the national treasury would receive 41.2% of the money collected by the ATN, while 58.8% would go to the provinces, using the federal revenue sharing coefficients.

Since the 1990s, the ATNs have been used at the discretion of the government in power. There is a long list of cases in which different administrations rewarded sympathetic governors with ATN funds. The Milei administration is no exception.

In keeping with the confrontational climate between Milei and the provincial leaders, the Provincias Unidas faction could attempt a show of power through a photo op next Friday in Río Cuarto. Everything will depend on how much the dispute with the government escalates.

"We'll see how the government plays it and how much truth there is in maintaining a serious relationship with the governors or if it's a declaration of war," said an official from one of the provinces in question.

In recent hours, it has emerged that Milei could decide how she will convene the governors this Tuesday. The truth is that, in addition to the lack of a call so far,"there is no interlocutor and there is a logical lack of trust," they assert.