Pinedo: In Cambiemos, it is possible that Cristina is a candidate at your leisure; in Argentina, not

During his visit to Ámbito Financiero, Pinedo said that currently, "we are giving rise to runoff against the peso" last year. Convinced of the course, he stressed that Argentina "has stagnated for seven years and we are trying to lay a solid foundation for it to begin to grow steadily."

As for the upcoming elections, he felt that with a possible candidacy of Cristina, the chances of Cambiemos would increase, but he stressed that if the former president "decided not to compete, the Argentine economy would better. "

JOURNALIST: How do you see the economy now that the campaign begins?

Federico Pinedo: In 2015, the president knew that he had to seek stability in Argentina economically and that all the numbers were reversed. For that, he tried to go a long way, which is easier, but he has to do well all the time because it's going bad for you, at some point on the long road you can fall to the ground. And this happened last year, when credit was cut to one hundred percent, when credit to emerging countries went from $ 100 billion to $ 7 billion, and Argentina had 25%. Hit was great. Then the president had to accelerate in the search for balances at very high social and economic cost, but he chose not to demagoguery and do what he had to do and face the costs. He therefore decided to put an end to the major sources of inflation and the recurrent crisis in Argentina, namely the budget deficit, whereby we had to take the drugs in one go and do in six months what we had to do in three months. years. the monetary question, which has opted for a gravity mechanism that will bear fruit, even if it still needs to be reflected on a day-to-day basis. We combine the result of this race against the peso and the exit from inflation which is the main objective of the government, in the balance between growth and inflation always difficult to find and we are now in the worst of times, with a Argentina It's been seven years since he stagnated and we are trying to lay a solid foundation for him to start having steady growth.

Q: At some point before the elections, good news should come. Where do you see it can be?

F.P .: When you do things well, in the end you do well; and when you do everything wrong, in the end you hurt. We do a lot of things that are good. The principle of not spending more than what you have is a sound principle of administration. Reducing inflation with monetary seriousness also seems relevant to us. From there, Argentina has a dynamism and a reaction capacity far superior to those of other countries. This has already allowed Argentina to get out of very bad times, reacting very strongly. And when things are ordered, it will happen again.

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Pinedo during his visit to Ambito Financiero.

Photo: Mariano Fuchila.

Q. With respect to inflation, do you think the problem has been underestimated?

F.P .: I think there was a decoupling between the goal of reducing inflation that we had and the need to raise certain prices, such as the dollar and customs duties, which were absolutely late and, when they increased, would result in a change in the operation of the price system. In a monopolized economy like that of Argentina, there is what is called structural inflation, as old professor Julio H. G. Olivera would say, making it difficult to exit faster. The objectives of reducing inflation were dissociated and Argentina did not lose the energy it had to cope with the rise in the exchange rate, which decoupled the exchange rate, which was considerably strengthened. 'last year. a one-cent devaluation which obviously generated high inflation reaching 47%. These differences have generated a worse than expected result in the beginning, then the crisis that is not part of an economic program but which is an external phenomenon, very dramatic and you have to face it even if you have to deal with costs.

Q: Is it a mistake if Aranguren had the autonomy needed to establish pricing policy without coordination with the rest of the economic team?

F.P .: I do not think it was a mistake, it was something that had to be done. It was something that Kirchner wanted to do two years before 2015, but they did not respect it and they said, "Let the next be repaired", which finally happened. Argentina was struck by a dramatic situation: charging energy at a cost equivalent to 10% of the cost of producing energy, which would finally explode in the air. And what Macri did in the first two years was trying to avoid the explosion and he succeeded. As far as coordination is concerned, there was presidential coordination, which did not delegate the management of the economy to one person. The coordination was done every day, the Central Bank did not go because she was working on her side to respect its independence. the management of the economy and energy was done daily. There may have been a difference in speed between the plant and those managing energy prices or the deficit issue, but the president defends the independence of the Central Bank.

Q: In change, do all think the same about these big problems?

F.P .: The independence of the Central Bank is very important and the government has launched a project to strengthen this independence. As long as there is no institution that takes care of Argentine pesos, we have no destination. The big challenge of the Argentineans of this time is to reconstitute a coin, to have a coin. It requires seriousness and trust, and it is a multi-stakeholder task. The role of the plant in this regard is vital.

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Federico Pinedo.

Photo: Mariano Fuchila.

P .: Thinking of the greatest possibilities for change in the elections, do you prefer that the opposition candidate be Cristina or someone else?

F.P .: I think that to change, it is possible that it suits him to be Cristina; in Argentina, no. It seems to me that there is a curious phenomenon, that all crises generate positive expectations and that it is difficult to generate them with uncertainty about the return of Kirchnerism. So, curiously, if Cristina decided not to compete, the Argentine economy would do better.

Q: Is there self-criticism in the change before the possibility that Cristina becomes an election option with chances?

F.P .: Argentina was a disaster. If she had followed and Macri was not in the center, she would have flown through the air in 2016, as in 1989 with hyperinflation almost certainly, which constitutes a phenomenal destruction of the country's social base. . So, to avoid that, I do not think we should be self-critical.

Q: The question is in the sense that Cristina appears in the polls with great intention to vote …

F.P .: Yes, there may be self-criticism, especially if you compare yourself to perfection, you will always make self-criticism. If we had been perfect, we would have done better, but I think we did what we had to do to have a viable country, we need to stabilize it. You have to be able to produce in Argentina and you need conditions for predictability and institutions, and that's what we have to do to the government. Could we have done something thinking of the elections leaving Argentina without a destination? Surely, yes. In addition, the president could start donating money now to win the election, but Argentina would have no destination.

Q: Radicals demand to suspend rate hikes …

F.P .: The rise in gasoline rates has flattened out over time, which means it will stay in your pockets and inflict less inflation. Then you have to follow the price increase, which, to the extent that it decreases, rates will also increase less.

Q: Suppose Macri wins the elections, how do you see him entering a new presidency?

F.P .: I think the next four years should be years of growth. Moreover, what will end up balancing Argentina is growth. I think it will be an Argentina with a lot more infrastructure, a lot more markets, I want monetary stability, Argentina without a budget deficit, Argentina exporting a lot more. I see a much more productive Argentina, and I see other fundamental changes with fewer gangsters, a stronger security base, less monopolistic gangsters, guys who have their kiosks in ports, in transport, in the unions, in the construction and prevent that Argentina grows up. I see that Argentina is more productive and more attached to the law. With money and without inflation, growth must be strong and steady.

Q: In view of the elections, should we rethink in political terms?

F.P .: At the time of the elections, there is an election campaign. This is essentially the time when different candidates are talking to people who are not interested in politics. That's what we have to do, apart from governing. Now, Cambiemos must think about the national project of the country and, in this sense, seek an agreement with democratic forces alternative to ours to build the bases of growth.

Q: How was the work you did in the Senate?

F.P .: When we came to the government, we were 15 out of 72 senators. We had a lot of conventions and laws. I think the Argentine political system has shown that he is able to do a good job together. I have a lot of respect and gratitude for our constructive opposition, we then have another destructive opposition. We show that the political system can work beyond where it is located, and it's good news for Argentina not to know whether the markets, as the Liberals say it is , have it sufficiently valued. For example, the agreement between the president and the governors of the tax pact providing for a five-year tax reduction, or zero deficit, is very relevant.

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Federico Pinedo.

Photo: Mariano Fuchila.

Q: What is the destructive opposition?

F.P .: They are the ones who want the government to go wrong. They are happy when Argentina gets badly wrong We had never been like that, when Cristina opened the sittings of Congress, we got her standing up and when she said something that seemed fine in the country, we applauded it, not like this year some characters who insulted the president, something I have never seen. This destructive opposition is bad for the country.

Q: Are you worried about divided Argentina?

F.P .: When Argentina was divided, it devoted more energy to destruction than to construction. Moreover, everyone knows that it is much easier to destroy than to build. And there have been several moments of a divided Argentina, intolerant towards the opponent, disqualifying the opponent to a point that does not deserve rights, or winning an election but do not recognize him as a democratic leader, this disqualifying and destructive Argentina while there was this was destruction and misery. We went from a socially integrated country to a horror. It does not make much sense to insist on this path, even if it suits some politically. There are people who have an ideology of destruction, there are theorists who believe that there is more to divide, I know of two, the one who is Kirchner's advisor (Ernesto) Laclau (died April 13, 2014) and the other Steve Bannon, who is Trump's advisor, says you have to divide and destroy, and I believe that democracy is the building system.

P .: The Senate has the project of political financing, but it continues with a lot of discussions …

F.P .: It shows that 35 changes were made to the project and that some things were introduced at the last minute and were very conflictual and there was no agreement. Finally, the discussion took place and there is now a minority opinion that brings together all the majority positions and will be debated on April 16. Follow the difference with regard to only one point, namely whether or not unions can contribute, so that another notice was signed.

Q: Is funding for digital media left behind?

F.P .: We've had a lot of discussion and we've seen that the state funding for digital advertising will be defined in the law, as well as how it's distributed.