Christine Lagarde supported the government and stressed that "the goal of inflation should be achieved"

This was the first act of the meeting of world finance ministers from


G-20
in Buenos Aires. The Minister of Finance,


Nicolás Dujovne
and the Director of the International Monetary Fund (


IMF
),


Christine Lagarde
offered a brief press conference
lift the curtain. From the beginning, the holder of the Fund has been energetic and has demonstrated a
Strong support for the policies promoted by the government to fulfill the commitments established by the country-confirmed confirmation loan, and stressed that it expects that the targets set – both budgetary and financial the inflation plan – are achieved.

Agree, the director of the IMF said that she believes that the economy will improve early next year, an election year, and that the government will not be able to do so. inflation will fall in the same amount of time. On the other hand, Lagarde highlighted the government's progress in fiscal matters and its monetary policy.

"Inflation [meta de] should be reached, this was said by the authorities and that is what we discussed and agreed upon". Lagarde in response to a question from
THE NACION on the high consumer price index for June, the highest of the last two years. "The policies decided upon are implemented as planned, the goals are achievable, [La inflación] has reached a peak, there have been consultations, a lot of talk, the necessary steps have been taken and we are on the right track", added the director of the Fund. The Fund clarified that Lagarde 's comment on the inflation target had more to do with the likelihood that this goal would be achieved and not with the IMF' s requirement set in the so – called protocol. agreement. Rectification was necessary after a few shorts in simultaneous translation during the press conference.

At the opening of the press conference, Dujovne gave the floor to the French lawyer who was trying to deconstruct her speech in a half-full auditorium. . "Thanks to the Argentine presidency of the G-20, we had the pleasure of coming to Buenos Aires three times," said Lagarde, who also pointed out that he had had very productive meetings with Dujovne yesterday; the President of the Central Bank (BCRA),


Luis Caputo
then – at a dinner – with the president


Mauricio Macri
. "We had an excellent dialogue on various issues and on Argentina," he said.

The IMF director felt that the meetings with the president and Argentine officials were for her and her team the opportunity to "know first-hand" how the current economy is perceived, evaluate the progress of Argentina and achieve goals "19659010" "It was an opportunity to express my respect and give great encouragement, it did not last long the point IMF's view is that the program is only one month away, but there has been clear progress in the tax system. " Lagarde with Dujovne at his side. The Minister of Finance and Finance is primarily responsible for meeting the budget targets, which implies a deficit of 2.7% of GDP for this year and 1.3% for 2019.

"There are also a lot of progress In terms of monetary policy, the measures taken by the Central Bank have restored a less volatile and more transparent situation, "he said about Caputo's work. Lagarde then pointed out that he believes that the Argentine economy will "improve by the beginning of 2019" and that "inflation will also drop" in this period. "The authorities are on the right track," said the French lawyer

. Although it has not been mentioned, since yesterday reports indicate that the IMF would open an office in Argentina (there are more than 80 in the world). The last was closed during the government of Néstor Kirchner. Government sources entrusted
THE NATION That would happen. "We encourage the policies developed by the Argentine authorities," he concluded at the opening of the conference Lagarde, before saying that he wanted to improve his Spanish. His presentation was in English.

"I start by saying that compliance with the inflation target is a policy of the BCRA and we respect their autonomy, and we have all our support in the deployment of monetary policy," said Dujovne . , who asked the same question about the high inflation that affects the country after the devaluation and in the midst of tariff adjustments. "The main contribution is that we do not require more transfers of funds from the BCRA to the Treasury," he said.

"What is important is the consistency of the program and program compliance, my area of ​​responsibility is the budget goal, but both must be achieved," Dujovne said. Commitments signed with the Fund. "I have no doubt that the goals will be achieved," said Lagarde, who stressed that the achievements Prosecutors are "extremely positive" and added: "It is a determination of authorities and we will provide any necessary badistance ". At the beginning and end of the conference, Mr. Lagarde stressed that the agreement between Argentina and the Fund included items that provide fiscal space to protect vulnerable people. "It's something we have not seen in previous programs, we support that," said the lawyer at the opening of the G-20.