In one of his last decisions at the head of the defense department, the Minister Luis Petri ordered to be carried out an examination by the Institute of Social Work of the Armed Forces and Security Forces (Iosfa), which is facing a serious crisis characterized by cuts in services for affiliates a debt of $200,000 millionaccording to military sources.
Iosfa’s wastewater disposal is one of the biggest challenges awaiting the future minister and Peter’s successor Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto Prestiwho is currently defining his team of collaborators, including the name he will propose for the chair of social work. Some sources believe he will entrust this responsibility to an active officer who did so Director of the military hospital and has experience in healthcare. One of the variants that future management will analyze could be the split of Iosfa so that each troop manages its own social work.
Petri ordered the exam before leaving the Libertador building to take his seat in the nation’s Chamber of Deputies the measure covers the last six yearsby including the period corresponding to the management of the President Alberto Fernándezto “provide members with security and maximum transparency”.
With With 600,000 members, Iosfa is the third largest social organization in the countrybehind PAMI and IOMA.
“You have to know that This social work, as organized by Kirchnerism, is completely unfinanceable and it does not do justice to the quality of services that the military family must have,” Petri said in announcing the decision, after instructing the current head of Iosfa to Bettina Surballeto determine the means of testing Period 2019-2025.
Estimates from military sources suggest that social worker debt is rising at a rate of $20 billion per month and that the benefit cuts lead to extreme situations, particularly affecting patients awaiting transplantation, cancer patients and patients with other serious chronic diseases, as well as insulin-dependent patients and other serious diseases.
For Minister Petri, one of the reasons for the poor management of Iosfa is the government-ordered merger of the armed forces’ three social services, which previously functioned separately Decree 637/2013, signed this year by then President Cristina Kirchner. Beyond institutional change, the Forum of Retired Generals recently blamed the crisis on the successive efforts of the people of Mendoza. Oscar Sagas and Roberto Fiochiappointed by the current Minister of Defense.
“When the La Libertad Avanza government took office, the military’s social work was no longer in full swing positive reserves of more than $25,000 million and an appropriate level of benefits, without cuts to health insurance. In almost two years, after the administrations of Sagás and Fiochi, the deficit amounts to more than 160,000 million dollars, with something to add a chaotic performance situation,” condemned the military forum last May after Fiochi’s resignation. As the months go by, Liabilities increased to approximately $200,000 million. according to the same source.
In ordering an audit, Petri instructed the current head of social work to conduct “an analysis of all…” budgetary, economic, financial, patrimonial, regulatory and management aspects, the evaluation of programs, projects and operations from 2019 to the end of the current year that will allow us to achieve this sufficient data for decision making and conclude with your professional opinion on the state of the organization.”
In January 2025, in the midst of the serious crisis and after Sagás’ resignation, Fiochi’s management took over social work applied for a $40,000 million loan from the Financial Aid Institute for the payment of military pensions and retirement benefits (IAF), which, far from cleaning up the company, contributed to an increase in debt. The loan was managed with a total finance charge of 66.48%, bringing the final repayment amount to $88.4 billion. According to an internal report, only the first three installments totaling $5.9 billion had been paid last March, leaving $82.4 billion outstanding.
About The Author
