On Wednesday, the national government formalized the decision to rescind the creation of an Under-Secretariat for Resilience, the launch of which had been announced last Monday.
Through Resolution 124/2022, the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers led by Juan Manzur indicated that “for reasons of opportunity, merit and convenience, it is necessary to repeal Resolution 122/22″, which had formalized the creation of the Temporary Special Executing Unit “Resilience Argentina”.
The resolution in question is dated 10 March but was published in the Official Gazette on Monday 14. After the controversy generated by the decision to enlarge the State in the midst of the discussion over a possible adjustment of public spending following the new agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund, Manzur was forced to reverse the measure.
Late this Monday, Chief of Staff, informed in a statement the decision not to move forward with the new undersecretary. “It has been decided to cease the creation of the Temporary Special Execution Unit 'Resiliencia Argentina',” the Government indicated.
According to the area in charge of Manzur, the functions that this undersecretariat would perform “will be carried out within the scope of the Ministry of Health of the Nation.”
According to what had been reported by the Government, the agency would be in operation for two years to comply with the Permanent Complementary Law on the Budget, which gave the Executive Power to create Temporary Special Executing Units “to manage plans, programs and projects of a transitional nature and exceptional, being able to determine the structure, functioning and allocation of human resources as appropriate”.
The “Resiliar Program” was created on May 13, 2021 by the Head of Ministers “with the aim of achieving community resilience in the different areas of the National State, in its links with civil society and its organizations”. In the case of the Resilience Unit, Fernando Melillo, former leader linked to Elisa “Lilita” Carrió, who presided over the ARI Civic Coalition of the City of Buenos Aires, would be in charge of the Resilience Unit. It was explained that the objectives of the undersecretariat would be:
— Promote the incorporation of the community resilience approach in the different areas of the National State and its links with civil society and its organizations.
— Articulate with the different areas that make up the National Public Administration, Provincial States, Municipalities, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and with civil society organizations for the design and implementation of dissemination and strengthening actions that incorporate a critical, social and community approach to resilience.
— Provide technical assistance to the various agencies of the State, provinces, municipalities and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires for the consideration and incorporation of the community resilience approach, as well as recommendations emanating from international organizations based on the concept of community resilience, in the design and implementation of various sectoral public policies.
— Generate a virtual library that allows the reception, systematization, availability and circulation of experiences and theoretical-practical developments on resilience from the public, private, non-governmental, national and international spheres.
As an argument for creating this new entity with the rank of Undersecretary, the resolution also referred to the “globally catastrophic and subjectively traumatic” impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society: “It aggravated all the indicators of the economic, social, health and educational crisis that previously affected our country and broad sectors of the population”.
“Several international organizations point to the opportunity and relevance of incorporating the Resilience approach in order to strengthen State initiatives and improve their results, together with the different affected population and social groups and their organizations,” he added.
In addition, it was clarified that the expenditure demanded would be “covered by the current appropriations of the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers”. According to what was reported by the Executive Branch, the aforementioned functions will be carried out by the portfolio led by Carla Vizzotti.
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