President Alberto Fernández will travel next Friday to the province of Corrientes to visit the regions affected by the forest fires, which have already destroyed almost 800,000 hectares, informed sources from Casa Rosada and Governor Gustavo Valdés.
“The President of the Nation, Alberto Fernández, confirmed to me that he will be in Corrientes on Friday, February 25. Together we visit different areas affected by the fires,” the provincial president wrote on his Twitter account.
The President of the Nation, @alferdezconfirmed to me that on Friday, February 25, he will be in #Currents. Together we go through different areas affected by the fires.
– Gustavo Valdés (@gustavovaldesok) February 23, 2022
Those affected areas are the departments of Concepción III, San Miguel, Curuzú Cuatiá, Ituzaingó, Santo Tomé, Loreto, Virasoro, Alvear, Carlos Pellegrini and in Corrientes capitalwhere there are 10 fire sourcesaccording to the latest daily report from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.
In this way, Fernández’s visit will join that of other national officials who have toured the area in recent days, such as the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Juan Cabandié; that of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Julián Domínguez, and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Jorge Neme.
the national governmentin coordination with provincial authorities, plans “a series of measures to respond to the emergency caused by the advance of the fire in the province, by sending brigade members, heavy machinery, helicopters and hydrant planes”, spokespersons added.
For its part, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development will allocate 300 million pesos to Corrientes to strengthen the acquisition of equipment for the provincial brigades and meet the logistical demands of the ongoing firefighting operation in the province.
This was agreed on Tuesday by Cabandié during a meeting with Valdés at the Government House in Corrientes.
As well the President met with the national senator from Corrientes for the Front of All (FdT) Carlos “Camau” Espínola, who assured this Wednesday -in statements to Télam Radio- that the head of state is “committed to providing solutions” to the forest fires that affect that province, and affirmed that citizens “want solutions and not political discussions” in the face of the situation that affects that jurisdiction.
In addition, he said that at the meeting Fernández asked him to convey to the people of Corrientes “that here it is not about seeing if it is one political sector or the other” that benefits from bringing solutions, and assured that from the Government “we want to give answers and work efficiently.
In that sense, 500 million pesos will be allocated in credits from the National Productive Development Fund (Fondep) at zero rate the first year, to assist producers of Corrientes affected by the fires. The agricultural portfolio will contribute another 200 million pesos for the same purpose.
As well the national government works with multilateral financial organizations for activate hotlines for disaster situations, that allow to collaborate in an agile way with the committed regions.
In tax matters, the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) announced that it will implement a set of fiscal relief measures for taxpayers that have been affected by the fires in Corrientes, while heThe General Directorate of Customs expedited the entry into the country of fire trucks shipped from Brazil.
At the same time, The Foreign Ministry requested, through the Argentine Embassy to the European Union (EU), the activation of the European civil protection mechanisml, which will coordinate the voluntary contributions that the members of the block make to help control the fires registered in Corrientes.
Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development faced international aid efforts before the official representations of Russia, the United States, France and Chile, according to what the deputy minister of the environmental portfolio, Sergio Federovisky, told Télam.
Losses in the production system
In areas of environmental disaster 170 brigade members workeds, with the support of five fire hydrant planes, another observer plane and four helicopters belonging to the National Fire Management Service (SNMF), the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Police, in addition to eight fire engines, among other equipment.
Rural fires in that northern province have already caused losses of more than 26,000 million pesos in the productive system of the province, which includes the livestock, forestry, citrus, yerba mate and rice sectors.
According to the Association of Rural Societies of Corrientes, most of the affected producers will need between five and ten years to begin to recover from the environmental disaster.
Corrientes received the weekend collaboration of brigade members from southern Brazil, who were located in the eastern fringe of the province, on the coast of the Uruguay River, where the emergency hits the town of Santo Tomé with greater force.
