The governor of Santa Fe, Maximiliano Pullaro, spoke this Thursday about the Federal Roundtable announced by the national government and stated that from the United Provinces, a group he belongs to along with five other governors,"we would be willing to dialogue." However, he warned that so far no one has received an official invitation, and indicated that the person who should do so is"the president of the Argentine Republic."

"As a province, we signed an agreement with Guillermo Francos, who is a very decent person, but they haven't fulfilled any of the things we signed. It's very difficult to restore trust when someone puts a lot of good will into it, but doesn't have the power to implement what is proposed in the meetings," Pullaro emphasized during an interview with Cadena 3 Rosario.

In this regard, he added:"If I were in the national executive branch, I would undoubtedly have called on many people who supported many policies."

Pullaro noted that in the provincial elections held this year, the national government"did not exceed 20 points" in any of them, so"I understand that they should have a lot of dialogue with many governors who are not Kirchnerists."

"We understand that Kirchnerism is behind us, that it will never truly return to Argentina, because society will not look back," said the governor of Santa Fe, adding:"We want the government to do well."

Maximiliano Pullaro and Martín Llaryora. Photo by Sebastian Granata.

Along those lines, he said:"We understand that the only way for things to go well is by controlling the macroeconomy, but also by ensuring that money reaches people's pockets. People are having a very hard time today. We need to focus on the countryside and industry, which are also in a very bad situation due to the liberalization of imports. From that perspective, we must generate development and economic growth."

And he recalled that from his province, they supported many government policies:"We opposed, yes, when they wanted to increase withholding taxes in February 2024; we opposed the cuts to retirees, to universities, to the disabled. But in general terms, we supported the Bases Law, we supported the May Pact, because we understood that it was good for the Argentine Republic."

"We could be working together to move the country forward without having to think about the threat of Kirchnerism returning to power," he insisted.

He continued:"We want the country to do well and we would be willing to talk. But there has to be a real counterpart."

"The province of Santa Fe isn't just owed the debt stock from the Pension Fund deficit: it's also owed the cash flow, that is, what they should be paying us every month. Even Kirchnerism paid the cash flow, at least part of it. Milei, by decree, cut it off," he complained.

And he recalled that the province signed an agreement with Guillermo Francos, which has not been fulfilled."That's why it's very difficult to meet again with the Chief of Staff or the Minister of the Interior if they are not authorized," he noted.

"I'm not talking about agreeing to new things, but rather about bringing old things to life. And what's old in Santa Fe isn't new at all: it's finishing projects that the national government had committed to. Of almost 300, they've left them all on hold. The vast majority were taken over by the province," Pullaro clarified.

Therefore, he maintained:"I want to be very respectful in this regard, but I understand that the person who should call the meeting is the President of the Argentine Republic."