The pro-Kirchnerist mayor is relaunching his administration with a forced adjustment that contradicts his own political model
Perhaps this forced shift is a lesson the pro-Kirchnerist mayor would prefer not to learn. After years of defending an omnipresent State, he now has to shrink it so it can function. Ultimately, the citizens' message was clear: either he makes adjustments, or the system he built will adjust itself.
It seems Daniel Passerini had no choice but to look at the accounts and accept what he always denied: Córdoba can no longer bear the exorbitant municipal political spending. The mayor, back after his medical leave, is preparing a major cut in the municipal structure. Not out of conviction, but because the message from the polls and the economic reality pushed him toward the adjustment he tried so hard to avoid.
The idea of reducing undersecretariats, directorates, and subdirectorates has been long awaited by residents who demand fiscal responsibility and less politics. However, behind the austerity rhetoric lies an uncomfortable truth: Passerini is making cuts out of obligation, not ideological decision. His administration is suffocated by inherited debts and a state apparatus that he personally made even larger than necessary.
Even before returning to the Palacio 6 de Julio, there were already financial maneuvers to cover immediate gaps. The issuance of bonds for up to 70 billion pesos (154,324,000 pounds) aims to refinance urgent commitments, while leases are suspended and offices are rearranged. Rather than a management relaunch, it seems like a political lifeline.
Within the municipal environment, people speak of "rationalizing expenses," an elegant phrase for a tourniquet that comes too late. The accounts do not balance and the maturities of external debt—about 50 million dollars—have become an impossible obstacle to avoid. Passerini, who always defended and promoted the expansion of the State, now must do exactly the opposite.
The notable lack of national assistance worsens the outlook for Passerini, because help from Buenos Aires is no longer an option. No subsidies, no extraordinary transfers: the municipality will have to manage on its own. Transportation, services, and the drop in revenue leave the mayor facing the reality of an oversized administration.
The plan includes reducing intermediate levels of the structure without touching the top cabinet, where the usual comfort still prevails. There will be no "super-secretaries" or major moves, just a trimming from the bottom up. That is, a surgical cut intended to show austerity without altering the internal balance of municipal power.
From Panal, people are watching closely, although no one believes Passerini has suddenly become an austere administrator. It rather seems like an attempt to survive politically until 2027, without falling out of step with the social mood. Córdoba voters already made it clear in the legislative elections that they do not want more giant structures or useless political spending.
Health and education will remain "untouchable," although the rest of the areas will know that the era of fiscal irresponsibility is over. The mayor promises not to cut essential services, but the priority will be to balance the accounts. If this situation has shown anything, it is that even the most interventionist governments end up doing what they swore not to do: making adjustments.
Córdoba, once again, finds itself facing a mirror that reflects decades of policies that confused size with efficiency. The municipality became a slow, expensive, and bureaucratic giant, sustained at the expense of taxpayers. Passerini will not make cuts (if he finally does) out of ideology or conviction, but because he has no other political or economic way out.
