El control público sobre las empresas prestadoras de servicios públicos privatizadas en Argentinael sector de las telecomunicaciones (1991/2003)

Abstract

The process of privatization of public enterprises developed in Argentina in the decade of the '90s produced profound political, economic and social transformations. As a consequence of these changes, the role of the State changed, from being the producer of goods and manager of public services, to regulator of the same. However, these modifications did not alter the public character of privatized goods and services, so that it did not deprive the State of its responsibility to control the process, being one of the most significant functions. In order to accomplish this task, regulatory bodies with a structure separate from the Central Administration were created, in order to control compliance with the regulatory frameworks for privatized activities, with regulatory powers, and for conflict resolution. Among the privatizations of public companies carried out, the National Telecommunications Company (ENTEL) stood out, being one of the first carried out in Argentina, where the State prioritized fiscal urgencies and the need to show clear signals to the national business community And international, and became a paradigmatic case attending to the speed and modalities, unprecedented in the international order, considering the characteristics and scope of the service to be privatized and the potential of the business to be transferred. Considering the characteristics and size of the service to be privatized and the potential of the business to be transferred. The process developed in an environment of institutional disorder, resulting in the sanction by Decree of the regulatory framework of the sector and the creation of the respective regulatory body: the National Communications Commission: CNC (former CNT). The CNC underwent significant cuts in its functions, which were transferred to the Secretariat of Communications under the National Executive Branch, and was also practiced during almost the entire post-privatization period. Consequently, the weakness of the regulatory entity and the lack of public control allowed the companies awarded the basic telephony service to become corporations that favored their sectoral interests over general interests, in a monopoly market leaving the citizen defenseless against Its superior economicfinancial power. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to carry out an economic and financial analysis on the Financial Statements of the companies awarded the basic telephony service in Argentina during the post privatization period to evaluate the control performed by the State and the performance of the regulatory entity, With special emphasis on the profit margins obtained by them