Argentina's Milei Slams Provincial Governor For Threatening To Cut Energy Supply

Argentina's President Javier Milei slammed the Chubut province governor for threatening to cut off energy supplies to the entire country amid a dispute over funding.

Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni told reporters Monday that this threat is "not an attack on the federal government, but on all Argentines."

The dispute began last week when the federal government stopped the transfer of 13,000 million pesos (around $15 million) in federal tax revenues to the Chubut province. In response, the province's governor Ignacio Torres said he would cut off oil and gas supplies Wednesday if the funds are not transferred, AP News reported.

Five other governors in Patagonia - which is a region shared by Argentina and Chile - are also on Torres' side.

The ongoing dispute between the president and provincial governors has been marked by numerous verbal confrontations. However, this was the first time when the governor threatened to cut the electricity supply to the entire nation.

Adorni noted that the Milei-led administration "will not allow any more whims" to provincial governors. He urged all these governors to implement the same adjustments at the provincial level as the federal government, accusing them of seeking to "live off the rest of the Argentinians, because of problems with their public finances."

After Milei took over the office in December, he upset many provincial leaders due to the economic changes he brought into the system. Just two days after taking over the office, he announced a devaluation of the local currency, the peso, and cuts to energy and transportation subsidies, as part of measures to revive a crumbling economy.

The president also suspended many public works and reduced the amount of funds provided to the provincial governments.

Amid an ongoing dispute with Chubut, Milei's administration announced Monday that there will be a reduction in fiscal funds for Buenos Aires province. In response, Governor Axel Kicillof said, "National unity and the Argentine Constitution are at stake."

Kicillof noted that he would appeal to the Supreme Court to get the funds.

Argentina, which is tackling triple-digit inflation, owes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) $45 billion and also has a trade deficit of $43 billion.