BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s leftist President Alberto Fernandez has sparked a row with the country’s highest court, nearing an institutional crisis, by saying he would overturn a court ruling to award a higher proportion of public resources to the city of Buenos Aires. .
The country has a system for regulating the distribution of state funds between regions, including the capital, which is controlled by a conservative mayor who demands a larger share.
In a ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court said the level should be raised from 1.4% of total resources to 2.95%, after it was lowered by government decree during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. The city is the richest and most populous district. Country.
Fernandez said in a statement late Thursday that the decision was unjustified and vowed to ignore it.
“It is an unprecedented and contradictory decision and it is impossible to implement it,” he said, describing it as politically motivated before next year’s general elections, adding that it would harm other provinces.
Fernandez, who saw his popularity plummet and his ruling coalition defeated in last year’s parliamentary midterm elections, said the state would “challenge members of the Supreme Court” and seek to overturn the decision.
His comments sparked a backlash on both sides, with some agreeing with the president that the decision was unjustified and others saying rejecting the Supreme Court ruling set a dangerous precedent and undermines the justice system.
“The president decided to break the constitutional order, completely violate the rule of law and attack democracy,” said Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, who is being seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2023.
(Reporting by Adam Jordan and Marta Lopez)
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