"We have the highways, the roads, the infrastructure that depends on the national government in an absolutely deteriorated state and that brings major problems," he said in a critical tone. But those public works used to cost inflated fortunes and were poorly executed. Now resources are not wasted and are allocated with sound judgment, efficiency, and responsibility, following the national government's guidelines.
Many municipalities became accustomed to living off the permanent aid of the central government. However, the context has changed for the better and now, decentralization forces each mayor to put their accounts in order. If Villa María can do it, so can the rest: now is the time to govern with austerity, not to demand lost privileges.
Eduardo Accastello joined the line of mayors who criticize the adjustment, although he acknowledged that his municipality achieved a surplus with its own resources. Despite the drop in national transfers, Villa María balanced its accounts and reduced debts. The mayor has now called for fixed expenses to be reduced "to the bare minimum," admitting that extraordinary income will no longer return.
"I'm very concerned, I must say; the situation is very, very complicated from an economic point of view," Accastello stated with an alarmed tone. The municipal leader announced a meeting with his economic team to define the next cuts. However, his approach confirms that it is possible to govern without waste if one manages with sound judgment and fiscal responsibility.
Accastello himself admitted that, despite the context, Villa María managed to maintain public works and make progress in LED lighting and paving, which disproves the claim that cuts prevent effective management. The new normal demands efficiency and an end to the squandering of public funds. The surplus shows that the problem was never a lack of money, but rather its misuse.
El superávit de la ciudad evidencia que el problema nunca fue la falta de dinero, sino su mal uso.
Accastello makes adjustments, but still complains because the national government doesn't pay for the municipality's luxuries
The mayor described that the crisis began to be felt in small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure, and employment, which forces a reduction in expenses. The national government no longer finances other people's deficits. Accastello announced that he will adjust current spending and seek to generate his own resources, as the new fiscal stage requires.
Accastello apuntó contra el Ejecutivo Nacional
The mayor complains while spending, and only now begins to do the math
Accastello targeted the executive branch: "They speak from Buenos Aires as if to say that they carried out the transformation, and it turns out that they did so while completely neglecting the highways, the roads, the schools, health, everything."
However, that "neglect" is part of the state's redesign that avoids supporting failed structures. The provinces must assume their own responsibilities and manage their income and expenses better. The national government is no longer there to pay for campaigns or superfluous expenses in municipalities with inefficient or oversized administrations.
During the July 9 event, the mayor had also denounced an alleged abandonment of the interior. But it was the interior that benefited the most from various public works carried out with greater audits and transparency. If the national government cuts privileges, it is not abandonment: it is putting an end to a patronage model that failed.
