A summit in full tension | Mauricio Macri …

On his return from his long weekend, President Mauricio Macri will receive his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales. Far from the melody that reigned under the administration of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the visit will be done in a climate of tension with the neighboring country because of the provision of health services to the Argentine citizens and the liaison with the governor According to the National Chancellery, "the border problems, the continuity of gas marketing contracts and the political situation in Venezuela will be tackled". On this last point, the two countries also maintain important divergences since Argentina is aligned with the United States in its policy of confrontation with the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro. The foreign president will participate Sunday in an act with the Bolivian community of the municipality of La Matanza.

The meeting of Presidents will take place Monday at 12.00 at Casa Rosada. The relations between them are so bad that the last visit of Evo Morales to Buenos Aires, in 2018, happened without the two seeing each other. Now, Morales will arrive to conclude a "reciprocity" agreement in the health care of non-residents. The agreement comes as a result of a diplomatic conflict generated earlier this year by the Radical Governor, when a citizen of Jujuy had to pay treatment in a public hospital in Bolivia as a result. a road accident. At that time, the Bolivian Minister of Health, Gabriela Montaño, replied that there was "no discrimination" and that the attention was the same as that of a Bolivian citizen, his country having no system. of universal and free health like ours. According to reports, diplomats from both countries and Argentina's secretary for health, Adolfo Rubinstein, among others, participated in the negotiations. The agreement would provide free healthcare in the event of a health emergency and high-risk health benefits.

Renegotiating gas contracts is another potentially problematic issue. The agreement for the supply until 2026 will be ratified but the Argentine government is seeking to generate a saving of 460 million dollars on the basis of a new pricing and delivery system prepared by the Secretariat to Energy led by former Deputy Chief of Staff Gustavo Lopetegui. As part of these negotiations, Argentina has offered Bolivia a stock of Pampa III aircraft, manufactured at the Fadea plant, which the neighboring country would use to monitor its borders in the face of the threat of smuggling and smuggling. drug. This is why, after the meeting, Macri and Morales plan to settle at El Palomar Air Base to oversee these planes.

With regard to the regional question, the situation in Venezuela will be another point on which both presidents will deal. Macri was one of the first to recognize Juan Guaidó as "president in charge" of this country, while Morales described him as a kind of "viceroy of colonization" and repudiated the American intervention. "In a democracy, the free peoples elect their presidents and not the empire, Latin America is an area of ​​peace and will defend its sovereignty," he said last January, before concluding: "We will not be never the backyard of the United States ".

Finally, Macri will be able to take the opportunity to return to his discussions with the usual soccer carillos, the Bolivian president being an enthusiastic player and a fan of the sport. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the possibility of adding Bolivia to the organization of the 2030 Football World Cup, which Argentina intends to hold with Uruguay, Paraguay and the Chile, will also be discussed.

Evo in La Matanza

According to local media reports, before starting official activities with the Argentine government, Morales will visit the Alberto Balestrini Municipal Sports Center, located in the Monte Dorrego region, in the town of Lanz del Mirador, in Matanzas. "We knew that President Morales would come to the country and we took the opportunity to ask him for an act with the Bolivian community residing in La Matanza and he agreed," said the Undersecretary for Relations with the collectives of La Matanza, Manuel Fresco, on the Matanza Digital website. . According to Fresco, "it will be an important and transcendent party for La Matanza because, for the first time, a Bolivian president comes to greet us". The Bolivian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Diego Pary, confirmed that Mr. Morales will accept the invitation and announced that he would be declared "guest of honor" by the municipality governed by the Peronist leader Verónica Magario .