In principle, in Economy it is working at full speed to ensure that next week the agreement with the staff can be celebrated and its subsequent sending to the Chamber of Deputies. “We even hope that he can enter Congress before March,” a source pointed out Ambit.
Last Thursday the IMF spokesman, Gerry Rice, He had given some indication of the acceleration in the negotiations by saying: “we are working very hard with the Argentine authorities, and trying to do it as quickly as possible, so stay tuned”, giving the impression that there could be news very soon.
The informal meeting of the Board of Directors of the IMF was, according to reports at the local level, quite extensive and in the presidential environment they confess that “”Although some members complained about the lack of structural reforms, they still approved”. Moreover, they point out that the Board would have told the staff “to move forward anyway, that it was fine.”
As they point out in official dispatches,“the Board approved” and this step is essential so that the Argentine government can finally sign the agreement with the staff that gives rise to the Letter of Intent and the Memorandum of Understanding.
It should be noted that these documents will be entered on March 2 -if signed before- and the Minister of Economy, Martin Guzman will give the explanations of the case to the legislators. Although, the parliamentary procedure is to “closed book” yes or no.
Those who are bound to achieve approval in Parliament are the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Serge Massa, while the chief of staff, Juan Manzur, and the interior minister, Eduardo de Pedro, speak with the governors. In this sense, also in the ruling party there is confidence that it will be approved.
It should be remembered that the understanding contemplates a reduction of 0.6 GDP points in the fiscal imbalance, which should go from 3.1% registered last year to 2.5% in the present. Greater is the reduction contemplated in the monetary financing of the deficit since in 2021 the Central Bank assisted the Treasury with 3.7% of GDP, a proportion that this year should decrease to 1%. This will generate more pressure on the financial market, to which must be added the decision to maintain positive interest rates.
Another of the terms of the agreement contemplates an accumulation of reserves of 5,000 million dollars in 2022. In this sense, the IMF will provide financing for some 4,500 million dollars.
One of the biggest questions that remains to be revealed refers to energy subsidies, an issue on which the Fund’s staff has been insisting that they should be cut.
new stage
President Alberto Fernández hopes that the agreement will be closed sooner so that he can make his opening speech at the 140th Period of Ordinary Sessions in Congress of the Nation on March 1 allows him to focus on his goal for the country for the next two years. The official expectation is that the president can talk about the future, about projects leaving behind the pandemic and the IMF issue.
It is that if the agreement is not signed before March 1st, the presidential speech would necessarily have to spend time on the issue of the debt and the tenor of the commitments based on the negotiations. “It’s that we keep talking about the Fund, it’s like we don’t go out anymore… it’s like groundhog day “… It’s like we don’t go out anymore… It’s groundhog day”, graphed a high official source.
On the other hand, if the agreement is signed beforehand, as is being discussed in the offices of the Ministry of Economy, the explanations and details will not be part of the presidential speech.
Among the issues considered a priority in the next stage of the Government are projects focused on issues such as economic development, Environment, Health, among others.
For the Fernández government, the gender issue is one of the central axes of its administration and, in this sense, they will present an initiative for shared licenses for the birth of a child, in order to generate a greater balance in the tasks of watch out.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
