Jorge D’Onofrio, the transport minister for Buenos Aires province in Argentina, has ignited controversy by suggesting that the province could consider seeking independence from the national government.
In a radio interview, D’Onofrio remarked that Buenos Aires province, if independent, would boast the “biggest GDP in Latin America” and accused Argentina’s national leadership under right-wing libertarian President Javier Milei of “madness” and destroying the nation.
D’Onofrio’s comments come amid ongoing tensions between Argentina’s central government and its largest province. Buenos Aires, home to approximately 17.5 million people, represents nearly 40% of the country’s population.
The province is one of the few remaining strongholds of the opposition Peronist party, led by Governor Axel Kicillof, who opposes many of President Milei’s policies, including controversial proposals to deregulate transport services.
D’Onofrio’s remarks highlight growing frustration within Buenos Aires province over economic disparities and political control. “If the province of Buenos Aires were a state today, it would have the richest GDP in Latin America,” D’Onofrio said in an interview on Radio Splendid. While he acknowledged that independence was not the province’s current path, he stressed that it was a debate worth having.
He pointed out that Buenos Aires produces 45% of Argentina’s wealth but only receives 22% of revenue sharing, which he argued effectively subsidizes “the inefficiency of the rest of the national state.”
Buenos Aires province, which does not include the city of Buenos Aires itself, has long been at odds with the central government on various policy issues, most notably in transport. Kicillof, a close ally of ex-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has resisted the Milei administration’s plans to deregulate bus services in the province. D’Onofrio warned that if tensions continue, Buenos Aires province could potentially escalate the conflict by even considering measures like issuing its own currency.
The idea of provincial independence was swiftly criticised by national figures. Luciano Laspina, a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies and a member of ex-President Mauricio Macri’s centre-right party, dismissed the suggestion as “the most ridiculous thing that has been said in years.” Laspina’s rebuke underscored the national government’s stance against such proposals, viewing them as extreme and unhelpful in a period of national political instability.
The transport minister’s comments are the latest in a series of clashes between Buenos Aires province and Argentina’s national government.
While the province remains firmly under Peronist control, the political movement—once dominant under the leadership of Juan Perón—has struggled to regain its footing since losing the presidency to Milei in 2023. As the province’s leaders grapple with a shifting national landscape, calls for greater autonomy from Buenos Aires could further intensify the political divide in Argentina.
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