Córdoba's De la Sota demands debt solution

Córdoba Governor José Manuel de la Sota yesterday fired criticism at the national government over a 1,040 billion-peso debt the federal government owes the province. However, De la Sota said that if he receives a payment offer, he would agree and sign it immediately.

The money claimed by the Córdoba government relates to pension funds that the province claims were borrowed by the national government over two years and have yet to be returned.

In statements yesterday, the Córdoba governor insisted that he would “never put my personal or political interests before those of Córdoba,” and also maintained that the dispute with the government would not hurt the province because his administration has “taken measures so that next year will be better than this one.”

He added that despite not getting government support, Córdoba had been able to fulfill all its election promises, in addition to starting new public works.

De la Sota also assured Córdoba residents that they should “remain calm” because they will not be held hostage to any political fight.

The governor then criticized the President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner administration for the alleged bad relations it has with many provincial officials and mayors, saying that “this government has an anti-federal, autistic and prejudiced attitude.”

De la Sota also requested that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner listen to those sectors that aren’t affiliated with her party.

In terms of Kirchnerite supporters, the governor said that “many national officials call themselves revolutionaries even though they are guarded by the Puerto Madero Border Guards,” although he clarified he was “not an enemy of the Kirchners,” as he had been a friend of former late president Néstor Kirchner.

In an indirect response to a possible presidential candidancy, De la Sota also denied his fight with the government was a ploy to position himself as the most vocal opposing figure of the Kirchnerite political movement, for the 2013 legislative and 2015 presidential elections.

Herald with DyN and Ambito.com