Promptly, Caputo pointed out that the economic package “is made to stabilize the economy and that people no longer suffer inflation, devaluation and debt”. It is mainly about the adjustment of the State that the Government has been carrying out since December, with the state staff reduction and the sub-execution of games which, by the way, are tied to the 2023 Budget, among them the transfers at Provinces.
Luis Caputo denied that the legislative defeat will affect the economic plan
The head of the Treasury clarified that The goals of the economic plan “do not depend even a little bit on the law” and gave as an example that “there was nothing fiscal in the omnibus law. What little there was had been removed to avoid conflicts.”
As explained Caputo, The law “does not have the same purpose as economic measures,” and for that reason they went their separate ways, taking into account the possibility that it would suffer a setback in the Congress as it finally happened.
“We are not stupid. We know that we are dealing with a lot of people who do not want change. We knew there was going to be resistance. We took it into account in the design,” he said, and that is why they made the decision not to include the bulk of the adjustment. in parliamentary text: “Most of the fiscal package was not in the law. 75% of the fiscal package was not in the law because one of the possibilities was that it would not come out or it would be delayed.
Likewise, he added that if they had made the decision to include the primary fiscal measures and their treatment was delayed or collapsed, “we would put the entire Government at risk.”
When explaining the reasons for sending the law, pointed out that “it had another purpose”. And he went deeper: “Once the economy is stabilized, lay the foundations for the private sector to push the country.
“Does it matter that it has not been approved?” he asked. Caputo and, immediately afterwards, trying to remain calm, he responded: “It does not influence the Government plan that the law has not been approved.”
Regarding the reduction in public spending that they are carrying out, he stressed that they are making “the adjustment and in the areas that we had said.”
Luis Caputo affirmed that in January they reached financial balance
Yes ok Caputo denied that the defeat of the omnibus law will not affect the economic plans, he admitted that within it he proposed to obtain a collection of 1.4 points of GDP to reduce the deficit. “Yes. That 1.4 was in the law that we withdrew,” he said.
When asked about how they adapted the plans, he explained: “Of that 1.4, today we have 0.2 less primary deficit. And the fuel tax replaced what were withholdings in the law. “There are 0.7 left to compensate and we are compensating as in January, looking game by game.”
Following that line, He stated that they are being “harder with our games”that is, those linked to the national government, “and with transfers to the provinces.”
According to the numbers provided by the minister, the adjustment “has already paid off” and announced that “In January we are in financial balance, without law.”
“You can see the deficit as primary or as financial. The primary is before paying interest on the debt. Financial is once you used the money to pay interest. Many look at the first, we with the president went to the goal of financial deficit. Today in January we have zero deficit, without law, because the numbers have been better,” he assured.
Luis Caputo said that the “works” and “kiosks” stopped the omnibus law
During the interview, the minister attacked the “jobs” and “kiosks” of politics and the private sector by holding them responsible for the fall of the omnibus law.
Caputo considered that in Argentina “There are many things to touch” because “everything is a job in this country” and “There are kiosks everywhere”and pointed out these factors when talking about the difficulties of transforming the country.
In any case, he said that “it cannot be generalized,” although he clarified that “The people voted us for this, they voted us for a change.”
“Each one defends his own thing and so do we,” said the minister Caputo tonight during the interview given to the LN+ channel. “We are doing our homework,” she added.
Luis Caputo’s forecast on inflation
The minister gave a optimistic outlook about him inflation index in the coming months, but clarified that in January it will still be a high figure. “January inflation will be around 20%. It is not a responsibility of this government because all the pesos that were overprinted by the silver plan and the frozen prices are taking effect now,” he said.
“Weekly inflation for the last two weeks was 1.5% per week. When we assumed it was 1.5% daily. Clearly we are seeing a inflationary slowdown important,” he noted, despite the fact that, during these last two months, the values registered in all areas of the economy (prepaid, food, transportation, among others) rose to levels that were difficult to sustain for the pockets of the Argentines.
Given that, the minister said that “It was what we had to do”when referring to the unfreezing of prices. “We always told people, that getting out of this was going to be hard because we were addicted to the deficit. Rehabilitation is going to be hard”he affirmed, but said that it was a better option than “keep lying to people.”
Caputo referred to the income of retirees
Caputo He denied that the current government is “liquefying” the income of retirees by not ordering the payment of bonuses for those who earn the minimum salary. “The income of retirees was liquefied in the last government,” he said, adding that “if we did not change the formula and did not give them bonuses, we would directly eliminate them.”
If the government did not change the formula for calculating pension assets, Caputo said that “it would be great” because “retirees are disadvantaged.” “I want to change it, because in situations like the one we are in now, they are disadvantaged,” he added.
Regarding the short term, he said that “they will seek to discuss the fiscal package together” and will try debate the pension formula againabout which he stated that “we all agree” in political spaces related to the ruling party, which is “paying retirees by compensating them against inflation.”
Source: Ambito
