Buenos Aires, Nov 28 (NA) -- The approval in the Buenos Aires Provincial Legislature of the law creating a provincial audiovisual promotion body, popularly dubbed the 'Buenos Aires INCAA', left a clear picture of contrast in the early hours of Thursday with the historical rollback and downsizing policy of the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) promoted by Javier Milei. According to official sources, Noticias Argentinas agency learned that the Law for the Promotion and Development of the Audiovisual Industry, pushed by Governor Axel Kicillof, declares audiovisual activity as 'strategic and productive'; creates an initial Promotion Fund of 675 million pesos; establishes a Provincial Audiovisual Service, an advisory council with sectoral representation, and a network of cinemas and professionalization programs. For the provincial government, the objective is clear: to shield a cultural policy considered a productive engine, strengthen audiovisual employment, and compensate for the federal vacuum left by the libertarian administration. Two models on the role of the State in culture The contrast is evident when observing national policy: since the beginning of its term, the Milei administration has applied a combination of budget cuts, administrative reordering, and regulatory changes to INCAA. Among the measures implemented, there has been a practical reduction in funding for projects, the suspension or slowdown of calls for proposals, and adjustments affecting technical and promotion areas. There were also orders to move platforms like CINE.AR out of the agency, later partially reversed, and a structural reduction process that libertarian officials justified as a 'sinceramiento' (truth-tuning) of what they described as an oversized sector. For industry sectors, festivals, and filmmakers' associations, these decisions have configured a defunding process that affects independent production, the federal festival circuit, and the exhibition of national cinema. The ideological difference between the two models is explicit: for Kicillof, audiovisuals are part of the knowledge economy, generates qualified jobs and exports, and needs stable public policy. While for Milei, culture must be sustained by market mechanisms and private contributions. Beyond empty speeches, the differences between the Peronist opposition and the liberal government are beginning to take shape in concrete issues.
