In the city of Salta of General Güemes and with Gustavo Saenz As host, the governors of Norte Grande signed a declaration in which they underline “the firm and inalienable commitment to defend federalism”, beyond the electoral scene and any political banner. It was also signed by the Minister of the Economy of the Nation, Sergio Massa.

The signing of the “Güemes Declaration” took place within the framework of the signing of the energy agreements that the head of the Treasury Palace signed with the governors of Noa and Nea.

The text of the declaration states:

In the province of Salta, on the 24th of September two thousand and twenty-three, the governors of the Argentine provinces of the northern region of Greater Argentina met, and

Considering:

That since the 1994 reform, the Argentine legal regime has had the opportunity to make commitments aimed at strengthening the framework of cooperation between the national government and the different provincial states, promoting regional integration and working together to resolve problems common;

That the Interprovincial Treaty for the Creation of the Norte Grande Argentino Region (NOA-NEA), signed in the city of Salta in 1999, aims to promote regional unity and strategic development through a common thematic agenda;

This goes beyond the electoral phase which is in full development, and the different positions that we, governors, can have in this framework; Today, we ratify our inalienable common agenda, above any political banner, to defend federalism, and our aspirations as a region, to defend the interests of our population so often discriminated against by centralist policies.

In this sense, we affirm the need to promote, with greater force, the deepening and concretization of infrastructures and services to the population, the continuity of essential public works in our provinces and the public investments necessary to break the old asymmetries ; which are necessary not only to improve the quality of life of our inhabitants, but also to strengthen our regional productive capacities.

That we have a unique and unbreakable position, with regard to the rights established in the national constitution, which are rooted from the birth of the country to which we gave birth from the provincial autonomy, and that any decrease in income that corresponds to us, affects the very basis of the Nation.

In the same sense, any policy going against public investments always produces serious damage, in regions like ours, to which we are not prepared to consent, especially at this moment in history when the world needs what we have, with all the necessary potential, to meet the challenge of global food security, as well as strategic minerals, renewable energies and the creation of spaces strongly linked to public education and strategic policies to develop the knowledge economy.

As an example, we mention some of the necessary public works, whose investment has a strong impact on the northern region of Argentina, such as the Northeastern Argentina Gas Pipeline – GNEA (3,000 km long ), renovation of roads and general facilities. the Belgrano railway corridor, the construction of a bridge between national roads 11 and 12, among others;

That the Argentine North maintains world leadership in the export of regional agri-food products, such as lemon juice and extracts, wine, yerba mate or honey, and that it has experienced notable growth in the sectors agricultural and mining.

Together, in 2022, exports from the NOA and NEA region totaled $6.355 million and their main destinations were the European Union, China, Mexico, the United States, Canada and Mercosur; Thus, in this context, support from the federal government for the development and maintenance of local infrastructure appears essential;

That it is necessary to inform citizens and all candidates for public office at the national, provincial and municipal levels, that any limitation on the financing of national public works in provincial jurisdictions, as well as co-shareable revenues, will cause a prejudice. of enormous proportions for our inhabitants, generating unemployment, a decline in economic activity, social conflicts, the destruction of small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and suppliers and the loss of collective, social, educational and transport benefits that the aforementioned work brings.

For all these reasons, the Governors present in the city of Güemes declare:

That we assume the firm and inalienable commitment to the defense of federalism, the validity of the institutions and mechanisms that determine the resources that belong to us on the basis of the Constitution and the laws, as well as the necessary investments in the works of public infrastructure with national, provincial and municipal financing, with the aim of reversing the historical asymmetries and injustices to which the northern provinces of Argentina have been subjected, and which today constitute an essential element of social and economic development of our communities, and a substantial improvement in the living conditions of our inhabitants, registered jobs, strengthening territorial anchoring, in the improvement and competitiveness of productive sectors, the development of local suppliers, the added value to origin, the sustainability of the means of production and the promotion of exports of the regions’ economies, which make it possible to strengthen the generation of foreign currencies for the country.

Without federalism, there is no country!