The Minister of Economy and presidential candidate, Sergio Massa, assured that the recently inaugurated pipeline means a “change in the economic and energy matrix” of the country.
The President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez; the vice president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner; and the Minister of Economy and presidential candidate, Sergio Massa, celebrated this Sunday the inauguration of the first section of the Nestor Kirchner gas pipeline in the city of Salliquelo (Buenos Aires province).
Before their respective speeches, the three senior officials starred in the first photo of the unit when it was time to open the valve as a symbol of the start-up of the gas pipeline.
During his speech, the president expressed “very great personal satisfaction” for carrying out this project during his administration and called “preserve unity” of those who want “Argentina to grow and advance”.
“[Juan Domingo] Peron warned us that it was convenient to achieve economic independence to favor the development of the country. Ironically, fate has allowed that today we are somehow beginning to declare the energy independence on July 9, here in Salliquelo,” said the president.
“General, I have complied”
Fernandez stressed that the decision to build this gas pipeline was taken by everyone in his government, “with Argentine resources, with Argentine companies and workers.” He assured that he “put his chest” to each problem that arose and they managed to get ahead to “face” and “solve” them. Likewise, he emphasized that during his management “more than 1,100,000 jobs were created“.
In reference to the largest public works in the country, he maintained that it is the industry “that allows the development of nations.” “There is no chance for a country to develop if the State is not present” to “carry out the works that are needed and promote the necessary policies where the market is not a profitable business,” he explained.
Alberto Fernandez indicated that the gas from Vaca Muerta will cross all of Greater Buenos Aires and in 15 days the tender will be made to make the reversal gas pipeline and “expand the gas throughout the country.” “We are recovering energy sovereignty which I was talking about before. I have great personal satisfaction because I promised that we were going to do it and we did it. I did not do it alone, we did it, “he stressed. “We are not a country without a destiny, we have a formidable destiny, we need to unite to achieve it as we unite in this feat to achieve this gas pipeline,” he said.
“If to govern is to work, as the general said [Peron]I say: ‘General, I have complied'”, summarized the head of state.
“This that happened was not magic”
“The first thing that occurs to me is to say something that is deep inside of us, and to say that what happened was not magic. These 573 kilometers that come to crown the recovery of our flagship oil company, in 2012, and the agreements that we were able to celebrate with Chevron,” said Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
The former president pointed out that, although the Nestor Kirchner gas pipeline seeks to export gas, the other objective is guarantee “gas and oil” for the local industry to make it “more competitive” and also for Argentine households. “It is not fair that if we have the second unconventional gas reserves in the world and the fourth in oil, they want to charge us for things at dollar prices and international prices,” he denounced.
In addition, Fernandez de Kirchner questioned the opposition for stalling the gas pipeline project during the administration of Together for Change.
“This pipeline, which It was planned in the year 2015, and that was just executed during our government. For 4 years that followed that 2015 there was no planning. Do you know how many kilometers of gas pipeline trunk network were built between 2016 and 2019? 53 kilometers. Do you know how many were built between 2003 and 2015? 3,211″, he remarked.
On the other hand, he warned that the “negative balance” in energy “was not caused by any politician or state company” but by a “multinational that, by increasing fuel prices for Argentines, obtained extraordinary profits.”
Finally, Massa thanked him for “taking charge of the transport problem” when companies in the sector demanded to increase the price of the ticket. “The truth, you took charge, you didn’t wrinkle, you go forward and that’s always good,” she concluded.
“Build sovereignty, homeland and the future of the nation”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Economy and presidential candidate, Sergio Massa, assured that the recently inaugurated gas pipeline means a “change in the economic and energy matrix” from the country.
“Faced with all those who argue that Argentina is a country of frustration, failure, without destiny or future, today is a day that clearly appears in the soul and heart of the proud to be argentinian. Even if they put up obstacles and want to condemn us to being a dependent country, we have to build sovereignty, homeland and the future of the nation,” Massa said at the beginning of his speech.
In parallel, thanking the leadership of Cristina Kirchner to recover YPF, and the current president for “the decision to go ahead with this gas pipeline”, despite the requests of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop.
The minister indicated that Argentina will not only stop importing gas, but will begin to export it to Bolivia, Chile and Brazil. In this sense, he announced that in September the call for bids for the second section of the gas pipeline will be launched, which will allow “supply the Argentine coast“and start exporting to other nations.
He also assured that “Argentina is going to go from being a country with a deficit in dollars to being a country with a surplus of dollars” for the start of exports and celebrated that Vaca Muerta gas will allow “electricity to be cheaper, industries to have more energy and SMEs to compete better.”
Source: RT
