The vice president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, following meeting on Monday night with the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, published a letter once more in which she spoke of the negotiation that the Government is carrying out with the International Monetary Fund. In the brief, CFK compared what the coronavirus pandemic cost the country and what “the macrista pandemic” cost. In conclusion, he indicated: “It can be easily noted that, in 2021, the macrista pandemic was more expensive for the National State than the COVID-19 pandemic: the macrista pandemic cost 1.1 percent of GDP and that of COVID, 0.9 percent. With a small yapa: the macrista pandemic takes away the foreign currency that we need so much as a country because the IMF must be paid completely and exclusively in dollars, because as much as we insist, it does not accept pesos from us. “
On Monday night, the vice president received Guzmán in her apartment in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Recoleta. The content of that meeting, as he learned Page 12, discussed the news of the negotiation with the IMF and also discussed the false news spread by the opposition that the Front of All, since it took office, has taken on a debt of 50 billion dollars. It was for this reason that, following the meeting, in the letter CFK emphasized the difference between the indebtedness in dollars that the macrismo took and the spending in pesos that the FdT made to face the pandemic. Minutes following the letter was known, the Ministry of Economy published a series of tweets, in which they explained why it is not the same to take debt in dollars than in pesos.
From the environment of the vice president they clarified that the meetings between her and Guzmán “are habitual”. On this occasion, the minister updated the vice president on the latest details of the negotiation, which, as he explained, “is a little better than a week ago, but there is a long way to go.” In Balcarce 50 they added that the meeting was “very good”. As confirmed to this newspaper, the vice president, who returned from her break in Patagonia this weekend, has not yet met in person with the President.
“Not a few scientists say that the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end. Hopefully! In Argentina, what will never end is what happened to us -and happens to us- due to the macrista pandemic”, highlighted the vice president in the letter and recapitulated that “when in 2018 Macri brought the IMF back to Argentina. They gave him an exceptional loan of 57,000 million dollars to save his government and help him win the elections. Not only did he not win the elections, but he Besides, it is not known where those dollars are”. CFK then divided the text into three parts. In the first, “the macrista pandemic”, he wrote: “In the year 2021 Argentina paid – between capital and interest – 5,160 million dollars to the IMF for the maturities of that year corresponding to the loan Stand By that the agency granted to Macri in 2018. That amount represents nothing more and nothing less than 1.1 percent of GDP, but in dollars!
In the second section, entitled “the COVID-19 pandemic”, CFK stressed that “in 2021 Argentina paid 420,000 million pesos that were strictly allocated to measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the pandemic. Covid vaccines are included there — $124,000 M–; Rerpo II –$90,000 M–; assistance to tourism – Pre-travel –$31,000 M– and reduction of employer contributions to employers of Repro II and the Health Sector –$51,000 M–, in addition to the Expansion of Social Policies.That amount represents 0.9 percent of GDP, but in pesos.Finally, in conclusion, he said that “the macrista pandemic was even more expensive for the National State than the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In the publication published minutes later by the portfolio led by Guzmán, they explained that “questioning indebtedness in pesos -with an economic crisis and without access to international markets- is asking for a fiscal adjustment in the midst of a double crisis, that of debt and the coronavirus, which in the vision of the current economic leadership would be recessive and harmful to economic activity”. Then, they stressed that “the current government did not borrow dollars. On the contrary, in 2020 two foreign debt restructuring operations were carried out that generated savings for Argentina of USD34.8 billion for the 2020-2030 period.”
The meeting between Guzmán and CFK, and the subsequent letter, can be read as a new sign of support from the Vice President for the work being carried out by the Minister and the President. In November, the vice president had published another letter in which she pointed out that “from the IMF and the brokers from Wall Street, there is speculation regarding “the silence of the vice president” and her position regarding a possible agreement. Cristina does not have the pen, she always had it, she has it and the President of the Nation will have it”. On that occasion she also stressed that the agreement should be carried out without endangering the country’s growth. In this sense, the President and Guzmán expressed themselves During the meeting they had with governors, in fact, the head of the portfolio clarified that there was still no agreement with the IMF because they are asking for a fiscal adjustment that the Government is not willing to carry out.
While the opposition maintains a confrontational stance with the government instead of accompanying the negotiations, discreet work is being done within the ruling party to achieve progress. The meeting between CFK and Guzmán should be read along these lines, as well as the trip to the United States by the Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero, who yesterday met with the Secretary of the Department of State, Antony Blinken.
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