For the IMF, inflation is "much more rooted" than expected

WASHINGTON.-

l & # 39; inflation

in Argentina "proves to be much more ingrained" than expected, said the Western Hemisphere director

International Monetary Fund

Alejandro Werner.

"I think the fact that our expectations in the inflationary process have been overlooked is that inflation is proving much stronger than we thought," said Werner. "It takes time, and you have windows in which inflation is rising again," he added, citing the slowdown in price increases.

Inflation is one of the main concerns of the Argentine economy after the 2.9% rise that generated the price index in January, a figure that surprised. Analysts expect an even higher figure for February. Given this panorama, the

central bank

decided
Adjust its monetary policy, with the aim of forcing a more marked fall in inflation in an election year.

Presenting his latest insights into the economies of Latin America and the United States in a presentation to the Council of the Americas in New York, Werner spoke of Argentina more than any other country in the region. He approved the monetary policy of Guido Sandleris, president of Central, and said that the government seemed about to comply with the

fiscal objectives

provided in the agreement with the Fund, keys to guarantee disbursements of more than $ 21 billion before

elections

.

"They have met the budget targets for 2018. They are on track to continue to meet the fiscal targets for 2019," he said.

The director of the Western Hemisphere said the Central Bank should continue to apply a very "clear and transparent" policy to strengthen the fight against inflation, in addition to strengthening its independence. The agreement with the Fund includes a reform of the Central Charter, which is to be sent to Congress this month.

"At this point, you will not build monetary independence overnight, so you have to combine a very clear and transparent monetary policy to reduce inflation and, at the same time, start creating an institution." for the next few years, stages of stabilization policies, "said Werner.

The economist has criticized both the government and the investors who financed gradualism, the mantra that guided economic policy until the exchange rate triggered in late April of the previous year. Werner said that the government of

Mauricio Macri

He could have "oversold" what he was going to achieve, a scenario that investors accepted "very naively". Now, he continued, investors "penalized" the government for their mistakes and for the mistakes themselves in thinking that it would be possible to leave Argentina left by the Kirchner "at the same time. where we see Chile or Mexico today.

"It has taken a long time for Mexico to build this, and I think Argentina will be too, but we are looking at these steps, we are trying to be as helpful as possible and Argentina moving in the right direction, both in fiscal targets, structural reforms and monetary policy, but the legacy was very heavy, "said Werner.