Rebound effect at the IMF: vote for Nicaragua, the “disappointment” of the United States and Massa’s trip – Economic, financial and economic news

In a new zigzag of its foreign policy Alberto Fernndez has just left Argentina in a difficult position in the face of negotiations with the IMF for the debt, aroused the “disappointment” of the United States and strengthened its alliance with the countries of the new Bolivarian axis aligned with Russia, Cuba, Iran and China.

Just hours after Argentina refrained at the OAS from condemning the systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the dictatorship of Daniel ortega in Nicaragua, from Washington they expressed their discomfort.

Before a one-off consultation with The chronicler Through Alberto Fernández’s government vote in the OAS, a spokesperson for the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires expressed: “We were disappointed that Argentina did not accompany the 26 countries that voted for the OAS resolution on Nicaragua, but we appreciate their efforts to urge Nicaragua to release political prisoners and promote elections. free and fair.“.

Washington’s malaise could not have come at a worse time: there are only a few days left before the due payment of the debt with the Paris Club of $ 2.5 billion. Not just this. The expression of the “disappointment” of the United States vis-à-vis the government comes in the middle of the tour of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Sergio Massa, who has met these days with referents from the government of Joe biden in Washington and had already gathered good impressions around Argentina’s negotiations with the IMF.

The OAS yesterday condemned the violation of human rights in Nicaragua and called for the “immediate release” of political prisoners. The United States, along with Canada, Brazil and 23 other countries voted against Ortega’s dictatorship. But Argentina abstained strongly oppose Nicaragua and allied with Honduras, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic.

The Foreign Ministry tried to justify the abstention at the OAS by saying in a statement that both Argentina and Mexico are “committed to respecting and promoting human rights based on an integral concept. within which civil, political and electoral political rights are contained “. And they expressed their concern about the recent events in Nicaragua. But there has been no strong condemnation of the Nicaraguan regime.

The abstention vote at the OAS would not have bothered the United States and its allies who carry weight on the IMF board if it had not been a mediator a prior commitment by Alberto Fernández to the Biden administration that Argentina would condemn Nicaragua emphatically.

Less than 10 days ago, the US Secretary of State, Anthony blinken, he contacted the chancellor Felipe Sol By videoconference and according to Washington, the American official “underlined the desire to continue to consolidate the history of cooperation between the United States and Argentina in the promotion of human rights and democracy”, in a attempt to bring the government closer to the American position in the case of Nicaragua.

In fact, Blinken said on his Twitter account that “Argentina’s Foreign Minister Felipe Sol and I we had an important conversation about bilateral, regional and international efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Nicaragua“.

Alberto Fernandez’s zigzags in the Nicaraguan case added to the UN condemnation vote of Israel and the Hamas group after the cross attacks in Gaza.

Both in Washington and in the European Union, they claim that to have equated a terrorist group like Hamas with Israel was a serious mistake in Argentinian foreign policy. Jerusalem has already expressed its unease with Argentina over this situation. He also said he would stop buying Argentine meat due to the government-imposed export shutdown.

Yesterday Alberto Fernández himself sent a letter to Israel congratulating the new Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Benet, which was ratified on Sunday as a successor to Benjamin Netanyahu. Thus, the Argentine president called on Israel to “renew links” between governments and sought to get out of the malaise of Israeli diplomacy.

Casa Rosada’s decision to withdraw the international lawsuit against Venezuela before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity that occurred in recent years in Venezuela was another move that recently aligned Argentina with the new Bolivarian Axis which has the approval of Iran, Russia, China and Cuba.

How much will all these diplomatic setbacks of Argentina weigh in negotiations with the IMF? Nobody knows. Or no one dares to answer.

Japan, which also has a strong weight in the IMF, has already slipped its discomfort with Argentina over the fact that it pays its debts to the Chinese government on time and without any qualms but postpones payments to the Paris Club . The Japanese ambassador in Buenos Aires did so in a veiled manner.

Until yesterday, Sergio Massa had received praise and good understanding from Washington during his meetings with the Secretary of State, Juan Gonzlez and with the Chairman of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Relations, Gregory Meeks. As he may have known The chronicler, the president of the Chamber of Deputies received a good hug from those close to Biden for Argentina’s negotiations within the Fund.

The president of the deputies also praised the Fernndez administration during the meeting he had with the director of the Institute of Latin American Affairs, Dina Siegel Vann, and with lawmakers in the Latin American Congressmen and Judo Caucuss of the House of Representatives. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menndez, also sent good signals to Argentina. All this before the abstention vote to condemn Nicaragua to the OAS.

Massa will meet this Thursday with businessmen summoned by Susan Segal to the Council of the Americas in New York and the final touch of the trip awaits him, which will be a meeting with former President Bill Clinton.

No one can even predict what message American businessmen will bring to Massa and how much the vote in the OAS could weigh on the IMF board. But the truth is that behind the word “deception” that the American administration launched yesterday because of the lightness of Alberto Fernández towards the Ortega regime, other discomforts which have just been brought about by the zigzagging foreign policy of Argentina seem to be hiding.