Alberto Fernández: "The government and the IMF are responsible …

The mission of the International Monetary Fund met Monday afternoon the presidential candidate of the Frente de Todos, Alberto Fernández, and its main economic references. The head of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department, Alejandro Werner, and the head of this mission, Roberto Cardarelli, have actively contributed to creating links with the most voted space in the primaries. The intention of the bureaucrats is to involve the opposition candidate, who has largely won, with what has been done so far in terms of fiscal adjustment. However, Peronism, they sought to distance themselves. "Those who generated this crisis, the government and the IMF, have the responsibility to put an end to the social disaster that is raging today in a growing part of the Argentine society and to reverse it. For this, they must arbitrate each of the necessary means and policies, "they said in a statement at the end of the meeting. Most striking is that, at the meeting, the emissaries of the IMF warned that after the primaries, an institutional vacuum had been created and that it was timely to advance the elections. In addition, they wondered about the next disbursement of $ 5,400 million (see separate)

Fernández was accompanied by economists Cecilia Todesca and Guillermo Nielsen and political scientist Santiago Cafiero. During the meeting, they reiterated their criticisms of the performance of the multilateral organization in the country. "To date, disbursements by the IMF total about $ 44.5 billion and account for nearly 80% of the loan. According to official figures available, between June 2018 and July 2019, $ 27,500 million went out of the open-stock badet-free badet formation system (capital flight from Argentina), about 9,200 million dollars. dollars for foreign speculative investment (reversal of capital investments swallowed). In total, the net outflows of dollars exceed $ 36.6 billion, which represents more than 80% of the disbursements received to date, "they said in the statement. The referents of this space indicated that "this phenomenon constitutes a flagrant violation of the provisions of Article VI of the Constitution of the body whose first paragraph states that" no member may use the general resources of the Fund to deal with a significant or continuing exit from the company. capital` ".

"Reports issued by staff at subsequent revisions since the agreement came into effect show that Argentina's macroeconomic situation has deteriorated significantly." The loan received by the country and all conditionalities badociated with it have not generated any expected results: the real economy has not stopped contracting, employment and the situation of companies and families, if not worse, inflation has not seen a steady downward trajectory and public debt has not stopped growing, "says the Front's statement of All. "Of these four objectives (agreed with the Fund), none has been achieved, but everything has deteriorated since the conclusion of the agreement: the economy has dropped from 1.7%, debt increased 29 percentage points of GDP, unemployment rose to 10.1% and poverty to more than 32% and inflation to 53.9%, "they noticed.

After the meeting, Cecilia Todesca provided some additional details. "Alberto Fernández told them that they were financing capital flight and that on the other hand, there was only silence," he said. Given the repeated questions, the Fund then sought to ignore them. "They made it clear that the economic agenda was the responsibility of the government. The Fund lends and sets certain conditions, "he added. Todesca also gave some indication of the results of the negotiations if everyone's Front wins the elections in October. "I think negotiations with the fund will be tough, but whoever is on duty has the responsibility to fight. Alberto told them, "You have good professionals but we know our country better than you." They proved him right, but it will be difficult, "he concluded.

Before meeting Fernández and his team, Werner and Cardarelli were accompanied by representatives of the government's economic region. The envoys were anxious to understand the decisions of the ruling party in the face of an orderly transfer. In the case of the executive, the main interlocutor of the meeting was the Minister of Finance, Hernán Lacunza. "They did not come to control the respect of the economic guidelines agreed for the authorization of a new section of the granting of the loans of the agency", they insisted that the sources Palacio de Hacienda are clearly defined.

The devaluation that President Mauricio Macri made possible in the hours following the OSPO further destabilized an economy encumbered by cables and whose portfolio was the only guarantee. The powerful defeat suffered by the ruling party clearly showed that the agency's bet, which would end up paying 90% of the largest credit granted in its history to support a candidate, was false. Under the leadership of Dujovne, who had waived its obligations, the government had pledged to the IMF to close 2019 with a primary budget balance, but even this objective is in doubt after the announced expansion measures after the defeat of the OSP and the subsequent devaluation of weight

Full text of the Front's declaration of all

Meeting with the IMF, August 26, 2019.- On the day of the meeting, the meeting requested by the technical mission of the International Fund of Monteario (IMF) is held with the candidate for the presidency of the Council of the Nation of Front of all, Dr. Alberto Fernández. IMF officials Alejandro Werner, Roberto Cardarelli and Trevor Alleyne, as well as the working team of Santiago Cafiero, Guillermo Nielsen and Cecilia Todesca Bocco, participated in the meeting.

"As has already been expressed on several occasions, Mr. Alberto Fernández subscribes to the four main objectives of the agreement with the IMF, namely: (i) to revive the growth of the economy, (ii) to create jobs to fight against poverty; (iii) reduce inflation; and (iv) achieve a decreasing trajectory of public debt.

Since the conclusion of this agreement, not only has nothing been achieved, but everything has worsened: the economy has dropped -1.7%, the public debt has increased by 29 points. GDP, unemployment reached 10.1%. Poverty increased by more than 32% and inflation by 53.9%.

However, and as evidenced by the reports issued by IMF staff themselves in the successive revisions since the entry into force of the agreement, Argentina's macroeconomic situation has not yet been achieved. is considerably deteriorated. The loan received by the country and all conditionalities badociated with it have not given any expected results: the real economy has not stopped contracting, l & # 39; employment and the situation of businesses and families deteriorating, inflation has not had a sustained downward trajectory and public debt has not stopped growing.

During the meeting, the presidential candidate for the Front for All reiterated his concern that IMF credit to the national government had largely been used to finance the outflow of capital.

To date, total disbursements by the IMF amount to approximately $ 44.5 billion and represent almost 80% of the total loan amount. According to the official figures available, between June 2018 and July 2019, 27.5 billion USD in the form of constitution of external badets with free availability (flight of Argentine capital), approximately and 9.2 billion USD for foreign investments, have left the speculative system (reversal of capital investments swallowed). In total, net outflows exceed US $ 36.6 billion, representing over 80% of disbursements received to date.

As noted at the first All-Front meeting with IMF staff in June of this year, the last disbursement was entirely intended to finance the leak. This phenomenon constitutes a flagrant violation of the provisions of Article VI of the Constitution of the body whose first paragraph provides that "no member may use the general resources of the Fund to deal with an exit from substantial or continuing fund ".

The economic program promoted by the national government does not reflect any of the priorities established in the Front of All platform. There is also no coincidence with the policy recommendations advocated by the IMF. In both cases, there are dogmatic approaches that do not meet current objective conditions or solve the main structural problems of the Argentine economy.

The economic program of the Macri administration has aggravated many of these problems (such as inflation) and restored other resolved ones (such as public sector debt). On the other hand, the agreement with the IMF has not solved any of these problems and, in some cases, only deepens them (precisely that of public debt). Meanwhile, the economic model continues its recessive and regressive logic.

According to the Frente de Todos, which in the last elections, got more than eleven million votes, the resumption of growth by the impulse of production and employment must be the element central to an alternative economic model. The recovery of the real economy is, in turn, a sine qua non for stabilizing the economy and redirecting its financial situation.

Those who have generated this crisis, the government and the IMF, have the responsibility to put an end to the social disaster that is now going through a growing part of the Argentine society and to reverse it. For this, they must arbitrate each of the necessary means and policies. "