Report warns about concentration of power, institutional opacity, and expansion of organized crime
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A recent report presented in Buenos Aires by the Inter-American Institute for Democracy raised a new alert about the political and institutional situation in four provinces in northern Argentina, but two stood out: Formosa and Santiago del Estero.
The document, prepared by journalist and security consultant Douglas Farah, was presented at Universidad Austral before an audience that included academics, former presidents, jurists, and civil society leaders from Latin America.
Under the title "Feudal Argentina: How Provincial Strongmen Undermine Democracy and the Rule of Law", the study examines what it describes as a concentrated governance model, characterized by a lack of institutional checks, dependence on the central government, and ideal conditions for the advance of organized crime.
Gildo Insfrán junto al expresidente Alberto Fernández.
In the case of Formosa, the investigation points directly to the prolonged rule of Peronist governor Gildo Insfrán, in office since 1995, whom it identifies as "the most complete example of a modern feudal government". According to the report, the governor exercises absolute control over the main spheres of the state, including the judiciary, security forces, media, and the provincial economy.
This centralization of power is sustained, to a large extent, by a strong economic dependence on the national government: more than 90% of the provincial budget comes from federal transfers, and 68% of formal employees work for the state.
El autor del informe, periodista y consultor en defensa y seguridad, Douglas Farah.
The report also highlights the vulnerability of Formosa to transnational crime. The province is crossed by drug trafficking, smuggling, arms trafficking, and human trafficking routes. The border with Paraguay is described as "highly porous" and unprotected, which facilitates the expansion of illicit activities with little or no state response.
This combination of concentrated power, lack of oversight, structural poverty, and border geography, according to the author, turns the province into a favorable environment for globalized criminal organizations that operate with a decentralized and adaptable model.
Gerardo Zamora y su esposa, la actual senadora Claudia Ledesma Abdala.
Santiago del Estero, meanwhile, is described as a case of "concentration of political power in a closed family structure", with Kirchnerist Gerardo Zamora and his wife, current senator Claudia Ledesma Abdala, alternating in the main executive positions since 2005.
The document asserts that the provincial judiciary has been used as a tool for political discipline and resource appropriation, with more than 300 documented complaints of rural land usurpation in which state complicity is alleged to have occurred.
Despite high poverty levels, the province features large-scale infrastructure projects—such as airports, stadiums, and cultural centers—that, according to the study, are financed with discretionary national funds and used as instruments of official propaganda.
In terms of organized crime, Santiago del Estero is positioned as a strategic node within the drug trafficking corridor that connects Bolivia with Rosario, via National Route 34.
The report's conclusion is categorical: in these territories, the rule of law is weakened to the point of enabling parallel governance based on clientelist structures, institutional subjugation, and zero risk for criminal organizations. Farah warns that the model no longer fits classic ideological categories, but rather follows a logic of power perpetuation devoid of real political content.
