- A Buenos Aires minister said that the State could become independent
- Transportation Minister Jorge D’Onofrio said the region could survive on its own
- He also fell out with right-wing libertarian president Javier Milei.
An Argentine regional minister has sparked controversy by claiming his region could become independent, raising fears it could become a new Malvinas.
Jorge D’Onofrio, transportation minister of Buenos Aires province, led by the country’s left-wing Peronist administration, said that if the region were its own country it would have the “largest GDP in Latin America.”
D’Onofrio, 61, has fallen out with Argentina’s president, right-wing libertarian Javier Milei, describing his policies as “insanity” and accusing him of destroying the nation.
D’Onofrio said in an interview with Radio Splendid: ‘I could be proposing today as a Buenos Aires leader that we go for a constitutional reform to see if we get out of the national State.’
And he added: ‘If the province of Buenos Aires were a state today, it would have the richest GDP in Latin America.’
He was quick to add that while he did not believe independence was the right way forward, he said a serious debate was needed about the role the region should play.
Jorge D’Onofrio (in the photo) said: ‘I could be proposing today as a Buenos Aires leader that we go for a constitutional reform to see if we get out of the national State’
The Buenos Aires region, which excludes the capital city, is home to almost 40% of Argentina’s population (File image)
Argentina promised to obtain ‘full sovereignty’ of the Malvinas Islands (File image)
‘We produce 45% of Argentine wealth and collect 22% of the co-participation, subsidizing the inefficiency of the rest of the national State and the provinces.’
The Buenos Aires region, which excludes the capital city, is home to almost 40% of Argentina’s population.
Its largest city, La Plata, is home to almost a million people and is one of five regions still governed by the Peronists, who lost the election to Millei almost a year ago.
It comes as Argentina vowed to gain “full sovereignty” over the Falkland Islands following the UK’s decision to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino has promised “concrete measures” to ensure that the Falklands, which have long been at the center of a territorial dispute with the United Kingdom, are returned to her country’s control.
Mondino said: “The long dispute between Britain and Mauritius came to an end today, and the Mauritians successfully recovered their Chagos territory.
‘We welcome this step in the right direction and an end to outdated practices. Following the path we have already taken, with concrete actions and not with empty rhetoric, we will recover full sovereignty over our Malvinas Islands.
‘The Malvinas were, are and will always be Argentine.’