Argentina: Government concerned about progress of negotiations with IMF

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Alberto Fernández used a quiet Sunday to meet with the Argentine Ambassador to the U.S. Jorge Argüello.

The meeting, described as extensive and fruitful, was focused on Argentina’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which Economy Minister Martín Guzmán intends to expedite in order to prevent the country from defaulting on its payments to the international credit organization.

“In an informal and lengthy meeting, I briefed the president on my tasks in Washington, and together we reviewed the many issues of the diversified and growing bilateral agenda,” Argüello tweeted yesterday, along with a photo of the meeting.

Hours later, the government reported that “bilateral talks with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the IMF and the World Bank” were part of the meeting, as well as the next Summit of the Americas organized by President Biden’s administration in Washington, and the next G20 meeting to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The meeting between the president and Argüello, which occurred at Fernández’s request during the last G20 meeting in Rome, comes at the end of a week in which the government showed signs of advancing a “multi-year development plan,” to be discussed in Congress and also to be presented to the IMF, several members of which also emphasized that “it is important that the plan has broad political and social support” to be later approved by the IMF board.

Despite no specific progress during the negotiations, hours ago the IMF described the dialogue with Argentina as “strong and ongoing,” although stressing through its Director of Communications Gerry Rice that there is still no precise date for an agreement to refinance the country’s debt.

CRITICISM

During the electoral campaign, the president criticized his predecessor, Mauricio Macri, saying that he had agreed “in 5 minutes” on the US$44 billion debt contracted with the IMF during his administration, although he was more determined to explore the possibility of an agreement before the maturity date with that organization and the Paris Club, next March.

However, a proposal for a waiver request to the IMF before Argentina defaults, which had surfaced from within the government, was finally discarded.

During his long weekend in Buenos Aires, and before returning to Washington, Argüello also planned to meet with Minister Guzmán, Cabinet Chief Juan Manzur, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero and Chamber of Deputies president Sergio Massa.

The government reiterates that the goal is “to reach an agreement that will not compromise the future generations,” and that there will be news in the coming weeks.