The Ministry of Human Resources Development on Tuesday won an appeal in Federal Court against a ruling that required the government to resume food distribution to soup kitchens, which has been largely halted since December last year.
The order giving the government 72 hours to draw up a plan to distribute 5,000 tons of food stored in warehouses, and an appeal against it on Tuesday, were both granted by federal Judge Sebastian Casanello.
In February, Juan Grabois, a social leader in Patria Grande and former presidential candidate, complained to Human Resources Minister Sandra Petobello about the lack of food deliveries to soup kitchens and requested an inspection of the warehouse on May 23. The following day, prosecutors Andrés Nazer and MarÃa Paloma Ochoa gave the ministry a five-day deadline to deliver food to registered soup kitchens and demanded precise information about stockpiles. They also ordered police to monitor the warehouse until food deliveries to other soup kitchens had been completed.
Last week, the news site El Destape reported that 5,000 tons of food had been left in government warehouses for six months. Federal Judge Sebastian Casanero accepted the prosecutors' order but on Tuesday also allowed the government's appeal.
Now a federal court in Buenos Aires must make a decision. Some media outlets have reported that this means the Ministry of Human Resources does not have to hand over the food, but Grabois posted on X that this is not the case.
“The injunction remains in force,” Grabois said. “The acceptance of the appeal will not suspend its effect. [of the ruling]They have 36 hours to do so or face being found in contempt of court.”
The Herald contacted the Ministry of Human Resources Development but did not immediately receive a response.
A ministry spokesman said last week that the food in the warehouses was intended for use in disasters and emergencies, a claim echoed by presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni at regular press conferences.
But MartÃn Azcua, mayor of Paso de los Libres, whose town in Corrientes province is being hit by floods, said the government had not sent food despite requests.
Some soup kitchens are run by social movement figures opposed to the Milley government, and social movement leaders say the decision to cut aid is an attack on them. “Some people are upset about the fact that we've eliminated the middleman,” Adorni said at a news conference Tuesday, referring to social organizations.
This week, the Social Debt Observatory at Argentina's Catholic University released a report stating that 55% of Argentines will live in poverty and 18% in extreme poverty in the first quarter of 2024.
