The “war” once morest inflation began with two concrete measures and the announcement of a announcement to businessmen, trade unionists and social leaders to reach an agreement on prices and wages that will make it possible to stop the inflationary spiral. In his presentation, the president Alberto Fernandez tied the fate of the economic program for the purposes of the understanding with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which yesterday approved in Congress.
The President signed two decrees that were published in the Official Gazette at dawn: he will increase the withholdings for soybean meal and oil from 31 to 33 percent and will create the wheat fund with the aim of avoiding the transfer of this increase in the international price to the local price, according to official sources. These measures, which Fernández did not advance, will be presented by the Minister of Agriculture, Julian Dominguez, This Saturday at 11.
“We hope to find agreements that help lower inflation and guarantee an increase in the purchasing power of salaries. We are not going to stop controlling and supervising prices, applying the supply law if necessary and using all the instruments available to the state to meet the objective of controlling prices,” said the head of state.
On a speech recorded from the presidential fifth of Olivos and that lasted 18 minutes, Fernández anticipated that he will convene “the representatives of the productive sectors, businessmen, formal workers and the popular economy, representatives of the countryside and commerce, small and medium-sized enterprises and civil society to an agreement table that will allow us to design a tomorrow in the fight once morest inflation”. The meeting, as anticipated by the President, will be on Tuesday.
The President instructed the ministers to “take the necessary measures and they will be in charge of communicating them.”
No cabinet changes or structural reformsthe President asked his economic cabinet, which is made up of Martin Guzman (Economy), Matías Kulfas (Productive Development) and Julian Dominguez (Agriculture), that they take all the measures they deem necessary to face price increases, especially in food. The inflation data for February was 4.7 percent, while the increase in food prices climbed to 7.5%. March, according to private consultants, might rise 6 points.
According to what they trusted from the Casa Rosada, this Saturday morning, the Minister of Agriculture, Julian Dominguez, will give a press conference with announcements for the sector. An increase in retentions for soybean meal and oil is expected, which will go from 31% to 33%, among other measures. In addition, on Monday it will be the turn of the Minister of Productive Development, Matias Kulfas.
“We are in an extraordinary situation that requires extraordinary solutions,” described the president, who blamed the “speculators” and the “greedy” for inflation. And he added´: “I will not get tired of repeating it: nobody is saved alone. I will listen to your proposals and your concerns and I will convey to you the paths we are traveling. It is time for each sector to think regarding its contribution to this crucial moment in the world and in Argentina”.
The President welcomed the approval of the agreement with the Fund, which he described as “a very important step to start solving another of the enormous problems that we had to take on.” As he explained, “for the first time the refinancing of a debt with the IMF is discussed and approved in Congress.” At this point, Fernández thanked the opposition for the enactment of the law.
In the almost 18 minutes that he spoke, the President, who met with Guzmán before recording the message, rehearsed a self-criticism when he said that he realized that “new tensions were added to old challenges that he did not know how to or might not face.” They are already, as detailed, 10 consecutive years with double-digit inflation. Fernández took the opportunity to recall that when he assumed inflation was 54% per year.
“The agreement with the IMF allows us to start ordering the central macroeconomic variables in the fight once morest inflation, which is, as we always say, a multi-causal phenomenon. To attack it we must accumulate reserves, improve public credit, decouple domestic prices from international ones, work on income and price policies at the same time and take a battery of measures in which multiple actors are essential, ”he explained.
With this as a starting point, the President assured that reserves will be strengthened, which will have a direct effect on devaluation expectations, which charged “some generate only by looking at their own benefit.”
He also referred to the inheritance received from the management of Mauricio Macri. “We have had double-digit inflation for ten consecutive years. When I took office in December 2019, Argentina had inflation approaching 54% per year. In 2015, who preceded me in the Presidency, claimed to be able to solve the problem of inflation from one day to the next. He claimed that it was very easy to do. The truth is that he was wrong, he notably deepened the problem and left his post revealing an average annual inflation of almost 41%”, said the President.
The President highlighted the legislative endorsement of the agreement with the IMF and distanced himself from those who rejected it, such as Kirchnerism. “The agreement obtained an overwhelming majority in both chambers of Congress. But we also got here with the consensus and support of governors, businessmen, unions, social organizations and leaders from many sectors who understood the seriousness of the moment and joined their efforts to make it possible. To all of them, my sincere appreciation”, Fernández said. And he added: “Once once more, conviction and responsible work have served to overcome challenges imposed on us.”
