The Deliberative Council of Bariloche will deal again tomorrow in special meeting of the Legislative Commission the authorization requested by the mayor Gustavo Gennuso to add five days of vacation to the trip he will make to Europe starting Sunday, with the task of defending Bariloche’s bid for the 2027 World Expo.
The request was already rejected yesterday at a regular meeting of that same commission due to the refusal exposed by the blocks of the Frente de Todos, Podemos and Unidad Ciudadada. They did not reach the votes in favor of the Juntos block and the president of the Council Natalia Almonacid.
But Gennuso began to do the math and found that he could not play the luck of his private license, for which he already has tickets, on a close vote and with several absences. This morning he sent a new note to the Council to reinforce his arguments and included a allusion to their “basic labor rights”.
He noted that the Organic Charter in its article 50 provides that the mayor to be absent for more than five days needs “prior authorization of the Municipal Council”. It says nothing about a Legislative Commission, where only the block presidents participate and not the eleven councilors.
He warned that in the vote that was adverse to him Gerardo del Río (Pul block) and Ariel Cárdenas (Bariloche for Change) were absent. The mayor said that his insistence on requesting a review is so that these two blocs “express themselves on this matter of importance.”
Gennuso’s request for absence: five and five
Gennuso will travel for a period of ten days, between June 17 and 27. The first five will be dedicated in Paris to the final conclave of the International Bureau of Exhibitionswhere the headquarters of Expo 2027 will be defined, in which Bariloche competes with four other cities.
From the 22nd to the 27th, his intention is to take a short vacation to meet a family gathering. In his previous note, he had said without further detail that the expenses of that license were his responsibility. For the councilors it was not enough and they rejected it.
Now the mayor noted that, “as appropriate”, he assumes “personally” the expenses incurred during those five extra days. And he added by way of allegation that “political personnel, regardless of the position in which they perform, have basic labor rights such as justified vacation leaveillness, personal reasons, etc.
He then pointed out that for these reasons “the reasons of seriousness and urgency are accredited” to request Almonacid to convene the Council again for tomorrow, Friday, in order to treat his request.
If Gennuso went on vacation without authorization from the Deliberative, he would leave the municipality headless and would be exposed to a possible complaint for breach of his duties as an official.
Almonacid said that the processing of such a request could be signed by herself as president of the Council “ad referendum” for the following session, but at the risk of it being rejected and generating a conflict that is difficult to solve. That is why her position since she is in office is to submit travel requests to the approval of the blocks, which are represented in the Legislature.
He confirmed that this commission will meet again tomorrow to discuss Gennuso’s trip to Europe. This time, if no one is missing, the votes would be assured to say yes.
