Buenos Aires Mayor Ready to Resume Talks Over Subte Dispute

The city of Buenos Aires council went into reverse gear today and announced that it is ready to start a new round of negotiations with the government to resolve the dispute over the hand-over of the subte system from the federal to the city government.

Just two days ago, Mayor Mauricio Macri announced that the city of Buenos Aires would not assume management of the system.

Yesterday, in response to the sudden security vacuum following the withdrew of federal police from the underground network, the transport union (UTA) called for a strike that left more than one million commuters stranded. Referring to the episode as shameful, President Fernández announced yesterday that the subte transfer window would be extended for 30 more days, in order for the city to put together a subte security force of 240 officers.

Macri is scheduled to hold a press conference to discuss the issue at 5pm today.

The Cabinet chief of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, reiterated this morning that the hand-over of the underground service to the local authority “is suspended”.

He added that a special commission has been set in place, over a 90 days period, to decide how to best carry out the subte transfer.

“Macri decided to suspend the works of the commission because it had not progressed a single centimeter. The commission was rightly set up to make sure the job got done properly, and also to ensure the security service in the subway,” Larreta argued. “What is now suspended is the work of this commission.”