Overview
- A cross‑party group of Buenos Aires province mayors, who went to the Ministry of Human Capital on Wednesday, said officials refused to accept their signed petition for school meal funds and posted a notice telling them to go to the proper authority.
- Hours later the mayors met at the Federation of Argentine Municipalities with Governor Axel Kicillof, who put the accumulated gap for the programs at about 220.8 billion pesos and pledged to push the national government to pay.
- The petition asks for inflation updates to the School Food Service and funding for the MESA program, with municipal data saying the nation sent 66% of needed funds in 2024, 59% in 2025, and plans only 46% in 2026.
- For 2026 the mayors say the School Food Service needs 177 billion pesos, while the current national plan sets about 80.9 billion pesos in a high‑inflation year, which they argue squeezes school kitchens that provide breakfast, lunch, and snacks.
- Minister Sandra Pettovello posted that the financing is the province’s responsibility, and no new national transfer has been reported to close the shortfall that local officials say affects roughly 2.5 to 3 million students.