Argentina’s government decreed a 180-day intervention in the electricity company Edesur.
After several power cuts in the Buenos Aires capital region, Economy Minister Sergio Massa appointed Jorge Ferraresi as the company’s controller for six months.
The current mayor of Avellaneda is a politician linked to Alberto Fernández’s government, having served as Minister of Territorial Development from 2020 to 2022.
The Economy Minister said criminal complaints were filed against Edesur’s directors for fraudulent management.
“The situations that thousands of Argentines have experienced in recent days cannot be repeated,” Sergio Massa said.
According to him, the executives running the power company have been banned from leaving the country.
The intervention, according to Massa, was made to “guarantee the rights of consumers.
Massa affirms that the intervention in Edesur aims to ” supervise and control the services” but will not affect the company’s assets.
Government reports have mentioned the company’s operational failures and low level of investment since it was put up for sale in February of this year.
The company is owned by Italian conglomerate Enel.
“It is not justified that there are so many people without electricity while the company is going ahead with the sale,” the minister said.
With information from Brasil Sem Medo