The Formosa government charges a tax on trucks on a national highway, explicitly violating the Constitution
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A new scandal shakes Formosa. A video that went viral on social media shows a municipal inspector demanding that a truck driver pay more than $23,000 to enter the provincial capital, which has been governed for almost three decades by Kirchnerist Gildo Insfrán.
The incident took place on National Route 11, in the Villa del Carmen area, and once again put the province's control and irregular collection practices under scrutiny.
A charge prohibited by the Constitution
The video was shared by provincial lawmaker Gabriela Neme, who announced that she will file a complaint with the National Road Administration and the national government to stop the measure.
According to the legislator, the municipality of Formosa implemented a "service contribution" for heavy vehicles not registered in the city, a practice expressly prohibited by the National Constitution.
Jofré, responsable de la polémica ordenanza, junto a Gildo Insfrán
Article 9 of the Magna Carta states that "throughout the territory of the Nation there shall be no customs other than national ones", while Article 10 guarantees that "within the Republic, the circulation of goods of national production or manufacture is free of duties". Despite these regulations, municipal inspectors set up checkpoints at the entrances to the city and began charging a local fee to cargo and transport trucks, shamelessly violating the National Constitution.
The local ordinance and the disguised "toll"
The measure is based on Municipal Ordinances No. 7147/17, 7450/20, and 7465/20, according to the official document issued by the Subsecretariat of Transport and Emergency of the Municipality of Formosa, headed by Mayor Jorge Jofré, who is aligned with Insfrán.
The brochure distributed to transporters details the collection of a "service contribution" that ranges from one to three modules depending on the vehicle's weight. Each module is valued at $7,305.14, so the truck driver in the video had to pay $23,426.
La ordenanza que "autoriza" el cobro del impuesto en Formosa
The inspector filmed explained to the driver: "As of today, we are executing the collection of the contribution for road transport. It applies to any vehicle not registered in the city of Formosa."
He added that payment could be made by QR or in cash, and that only after paying would the driver receive a "free transit certificate" valid until midnight of the same day. Otherwise, a contravention report would be issued.
The driver agreed to pay and received a receipt without tax information or tax stamp, just a letterhead from the Municipality of Formosa.
El "comprobante" que le dieron al camionero que tuvo que pagar más del 23mil pesos
Opposition complaint and request for intervention
The opposition emphasized that the charge "is an attack on freedom of transit and a flagrant violation of the National Constitution." Lawmaker Neme stated that she will submit the case to the National Road Administration and the Ministry of the Interior to order the immediate suspension of the charge.
"There can't be internal customs nor municipalities charging for traveling on national routes. It is an abuse that is repeated in Gildo Insfrán's land," she denounced.
The situation rekindles criticism of the province for violating basic constitutional guarantees in a territory where political and administrative power has belonged to the same party for more than thirty years.
