Argentina will continue to pay the IMF until a definitive agreement is reached

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “For the moment, we are carrying out negotiations, and we do not know when the agreement with the IMF will move forward. We all know that Argentina has decided to pay as long as the agreement is reached”, said at a press conference this Thursday, January 20, the presidential spokeswoman, Gabriela Cerruti, regarding a capital maturity next week of US$751 million.

These statements come two days after the Argentine Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero, traveled to Washington to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Antony Blinken, against the backdrop of the negotiations with the IMF.

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During her appearance, Cerruti underlined the U.S. recognition of the “vigorous growth” that the Argentine economy is going through and denied that Washington asked Argentina for an “economic plan” to agree with the IMF.

“At no time did the United States say what economic plan Argentina had to have, nor did it ask for any adjustment. It was a political conversation,” said the presidential spokeswoman.

Argentina seeks to seal an agreement of extended facilities with the IMF to refinance the debts contracted from the financial aid agreement signed in 2018 between the agency and the then government of the conservative Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), which is currently around US$41 billion.

According to the 2018 agreement, Argentina should pay the agency, between capital and interest, US$19 billion this year, US$19.3 billion in 2023, and US$4.9 billion in 2024, maturities that the government of Peronist Alberto Fernandez has already said that the country, which is going through macroeconomic imbalances, is not in a position to face.

This year’s most significant commitments begin to operate in March, when Argentina should pay US$2.8 billion, putting even more pressure on the country’s low level of net monetary reserves.

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