Lagarde warns the president that it would be foolish not to respect the agreement with the IMF

The government welcomed the broad support given on Tuesday morning by the IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, who, during the traditional press conference at the start of the spring meetings, strongly supported the policy pursued by the Argentine government. The IMF director said it would be "stupid" to change the agreed course with the agency in economic matters, while baderting that the program "works".

"Now that so much effort has been made, in a program in which social protection has always been one of the key priorities, it would be ridiculous for any candidate to turn away from work in progress." considered Lagarde.

When asked domain.com Chief of Staff Marcos Peña responded as follows: "What expresses and appreciates the message of Christine Lagarde, is what virtually all the world's most important leaders have expressed about what is happening in Argentina." The belief that Argentina is on the path towards the normalization and growth of its economy on the path of respect for the rules of the game, its integration into world economies to promote freedoms"Thus, the idea that the" measures "correspond to what had been agreed with the International Monetary Fund has been strengthened.

Peña stressed that the IMF gave Argentina "very important support to achieve it" and, in a renewed courtesy, said: "We understand that the logic of denouncing the problems that are ours did not serve much in Argentina ".

He reiterated that Argentina had a "mature relationship" with the Fund and recalled "We were very emphatic from the first day the program (with the IMF) had been proposed by Argentina to solve the problems of Argentina."

Regarding doubts about the adequacy of the measures with the agency, the official indicated that the Minister of Finance, Nicolás Dujovne and the head of BCRA, Guido Sandleris and they work with the teams (IMF).

Peña admitted that the third review included "warning that we are balancing the budget and we are confident that this will be achieved" and left an open door for any changes to indicate "any novelty regarding this meaning that we will communicate ".

Lagarde's praise goes to the cross of statements of presidential candidates who have been inclined to renegotiate with the Fund the terms of the agreement signed by the administration of Mauricio Macri. Lagarde affirmed that the Argentine economic program "It really works" and "The economy is coming out of the background".

Later, the praise continued, but now through the concepts of David Lipton, first badistant director of the organization. After the meeting held on Thursday with the head of the Central Bank of Argentina, Guido Sandleris, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington DC.

The meeting discussed recent global economic developments and country perspectives. However, for Argentina, one of the central points was the possibility of reducing the exchange rate range in order to bring the points closer to the "no-intervention zone", sources from the Argentine delegation said.

The declaration continued: "Mr Lipton congratulated the authorities for their commitment to the implementation of the ambitious plans of action of the government" Similarly "He highlighted the progress made in addressing the country's fiscal imbalances, reducing vulnerabilities and expanding the social security network to better protect the poorest members of Argentinean society," he said. concludes the official letter of the Fund.

Surprise

According to international sources, some have considered a little "risked the opinions of the head of the body ". It is that they do not remember the context of such explicit support for a given government (and less in the middle of an election process). To the same extent, sectors of the opposition – not without some sarcasm – said that "And now, how will they refute the fact that the IMF is not the one who manages the Argentine economy?

In the immediate, the current adjustment program causes a training effect. The latest report on the Argentine economy released by the IMF reveals that, due to the decline in economic activity and collection difficulties, tax revenues are now just 1.7 GDP points lower than expected at the end of last year.

Like the government, with the Minister Nicolas Dujovne As the principal guardian, he undertakes to scrupulously respect the objective of the reduction of the primary deficit, the diminution of the resources entails the necessity of further reducing the expenses.

Public work is the closest game to the scissors of the Treasury, although it is not easy to make cuts in this area and less in the middle of an election process. But they should also suffer the salaries of public sector employees and retirements, two decisions difficult to digest during these difficult times.

This is why the discussions within the government itself have deepened. On one side, there are those who are in favor of a less rigorous policy and specific mechanisms in the face of urgency, a position in which the Minister of Production and Labor would be Dante Sica, with other political expressions. On the other hand, Dujovne, with the help of Macri, embodies the most difficult position. as stated in Casa Rosada.

In short, we will have to wait until Wednesday to see the fiscal cost of the measures that will be announced to alleviate the difficult economic situation and, secondly, to appease the claims of the radical governors.