Martín Guzmán, former Minister of Economy that negotiated the last agreement between Argentina and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)warned that the eventual new indebtedness managed by the administration of President Javier Milei could be considered “illegitimate” If the Government avoids the approval of the Congress and access the funds through a Decree of necessity and urgency (DNU). According to the economist, this maneuver would violate both national legislation and the rules of the international body themselves.
Guzmán recalled that Argentina still drags the consequences of credit for 45,000 million dollars taken in 2018 under the management of Mauricio Macri. According to their analysis, the funds of that loan were used to intervene in the exchange market and facilitate the exit of speculative capital, which had obtained great profits through the policy of high interest rates implemented during the administration of Federico Sturzenegger in the Central Bank.
Martín Guzmán’s criticism for the agreement with the IMF via Javier Milei DNU
The former official stressed the importance of Any indebtedness with the IMF has the approval of Congressas established by the Law 27,612.
This regulation forces the legislative power to evaluate the conditions and fate of the funds before the Executive can advance with a new financing agreement. In this sense, Guzmán questioned the government’s attempt to avoid this instance through a DNU.
“The real reason why Caputo and Milei want to skip Congress is not the urgency,” Guzmán said, arguing that the administrative times of the IMF denies this justification. “Since there is an agreement with the IMF staff until the board’s approval, they spend about three weeks. If to avoid Congress, it were for a matter of urgency, it should also be for the IMF directory, and that does not happen,” he said.
For the former minister, the underlying reason is political: the government does not have sufficient support in the Senate to approve the taking of new external debt. This lack of support is key, since the IMF demands political consensus as a condition to grant large loans, within the framework of its exceptional access criteria. In this way, if the body advanced with the loan without the parliamentary guarantee, it would be breaking its own regulations.
Guzmán warned that, if this indebtedness in these conditions, The debt could be repudiated in the future because it is considered “illegitimate”. In addition, he said that the government’s strategy benefited speculative sectors that accumulated assets in pesos and now expect the injection of dollars to specify their profits. “In 2024 the account was mainly paid by retirees, and in the coming years they will be their children and grandchildren,” he concluded.
Source: Ambito
