May 10th, 1937

BUENOS AIRES - General Oscar Escudero, military governor of Argentina, announced today 5 reforms and new policies in Syndicalist Argentina. "These reforms put Argentina on the path back to self-sufficiency," Escudero stated.

Reform One - Nationalization of the Railways

Reform One nationalizes twenty railways in Argentina, including several of foreign ownership. "We are assured that the French and British will not protest our quest for worker's freedom through this act," Escudero noted. A new national rail network, Ferrocarriles Argentinos (FA), headed by the surviving senior members of the seven Argentinian rail networks, was created with its headquarters in Retiro Railway Station in Buenos Aires.

"Argentina has an extensive rail network, which, while damaged by the war, is an extremely valuable asset to her expansion and stabilization," Escudero stated. He also authorized the mobilization of Chilean Military Engineers to repair damaged track in the north of the country.

Argentina's new national rail network has sections of track in four different gauges, but Escudero stated that the priority was repairing meter gauge track of the General Belgrano Railway and standard gauge track of the General Urquiza railway. In particular, the provinces of Buenos Aires, Chaco, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Entre Rios and Corrientes received the majority of funding and allocation for this effort.

"Repairing these railways will allow farmers to ship their goods to international buyers, and allow free movement of people through the country - something not allowed in the harsh junta," Chilean head of railways Javier Esposo noted when questioned about the Argentinian effort. "Re-connecting with the northern region of the country will also help the Chilean-Argentinian partnership to end the insurgency of the defeated juntaist, General Ramirez."

Reform Two - Revitalization of YPF and Claiming of Foreign Oil Reserves

YPF, the Argentine state-owned oil company, was re-staffed with a number of lower managers who survived the conflict and did not flee or were imprisoned like the wealthy owners of the company.

"YPF is another valuable resource to the Argentinian economy. It is vital that its production resume as soon as possible," Escudero stated. "For that reason, the Chilean Minister for Industry, my comrade Gabriel Sotomayor, declared the Chilean government's dedication to buy YPF oil products at above market price for five years to provide for our growing economy. In particular, this fuel will be valuable to our growing armed forces and our increasingly mechanized industry."

Escudero also directed detachment of the Chilean army's 3rd Division to seize Esso and Royal Dutch Shell assets in Chubut Province. He noted that, due to wars in America and Insulindia, the considerable assets of these companies had lain dormant for the duration of the Argentine conflict. "We rectify this shortcoming by reclaiming our natural resources, in the name of the self-sufficiency of the Argentine people," Escudero said.

Reform Three - Nationalization of Electrical Infrastructure

Argentina's electrical infrastructure companies were also nationalized into a single national grid, the Red Eléctrica Nacional de Argentina (RENdA). A Chilean envoy for the Minister of Interior, who advised on the project, stated: "Integration of electrical power is vital to service across a country. Our recent experiences with expanding our power grid show that a nationalized company, rather than one owned locally and chiefly by foreign interests, is the way to achieve maximum efficiency."

Power plants, most of which are owned by foreign companies in Argentina, were seized early on during the reoccupation by Chilean troops. After the creation of RENdA, these were handed over to the Argentine Secretary for Infrastructure for manning by Argentine workers.

Reform Four - Cooperation in Intelligence between Argentina and Chile

The fourth reform announced today by Escudero was the cooperation between DINA, the Chilean intelligence service, and the fledgling intelligence services of Syndicalist Argentina. Escudero recently welcomed General Merino, head of DINA, to Buenos Aires. Merino stated: "We plan to root out the last vestiges of the juntaists, especially the toxic influences of General Ramirez, the coward who hides behind the shield of revanchist Brazil to prevent persecution by his countrymen for his crimes."

DINA agents have been authorized to perform counter-intelligence operations throughout the occupied territories, especially in the north and in Buenos Aires. These include infiltration and monitoring of local worker's unions for signs of unrest, as well as watching the border, particularly of the occupied Missiones, disguised as local farmers. These operatives, equipped with secret radios, report on Paraguayan and Brazilian troop movements on a daily basis.

Reform Five - Raising People's Defense Militias

Escudero, in his role as chief military officer of occupied Argentina, ordered the creation in the north of the country of local Milicias de Defensa del Pueblo (People's Defense Militias) or MDPs. These MDPs, composed of local farmers with intimate knowledge of north Argentinian terrain, are intended to provide a base level of training and a reserve capability for the new Syndicalist Argentinian army. These MDPs, while overseen (as all military forces are) by Escudero, are "led by Argentinians and composed of Argentinians solely, with Chilean advising."

Escudero went on to say: "Let us be clear; we have no wish to occupy Argentina out of aggression. Instead, our mission here is one of fraternity and industriousness in the face of a common revanchist threat." His comments come as a response to accusations from some members of the provincial Argentinian government of aggression on the part of the Chileans. "We have nothing to gain, militarily, by occupying Argentina," Escudero stated.

Additional Points

Besides these major reforms, Escudero also approved various minor points.

The Argentine-Chilean Whale Cooperation Association

Escudero approved a request by Chilean Minister of Industry Gabriel Sotomayor for the creation of an Argentine-Chile Whale Cooperation Association (Asociación Cooperacion de Ballenas de Chile-Argentina) or ACBCA, in order to centralize and harmonize whale hunting and processing around the tip of South America. To that end, Elías Gutierrez, the head of the primary Argentinian whaling firm, was appointed head of ACBCA.

The ACBCA will be in charge of coordinating whaling activities between the fleets of the two nations. Gutierrez noted that "Argentina and Chile, compared to some of the countries of Europe, have a relatively small combined fleet. We hope to rectify this through close cooperation and pooling of funding to build a new fleet of modern ships."

To that end, the Chilean Ministry of Industry offered a grant to build ten new whalecatchers and two large whaling factory ships, split evenly between Chile and Argentina.

Asphalt Production

As part of an upcoming effort to increase the amount of paved roads in Argentina, the military government directed YPF to increasingly divert bitumen produced as a byproduct in the refining process towards use by the Argentine Secretary of the Interior, who is assisting in the upcoming roadbuilding scheme.