They demand that the IMF suspend interest on the debt of countries like Argentina

The Group of 24 (G24), which includes developing countries, called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to make your over-indebtedness policies more flexible that member countries maintain with the organization, among other measures that allow alleviate the financial situation of these partners in the midst of the crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is the year of the Fund review the Policy on Access Limits and Interest Rate Increases on Lending Programs – We encourage the IMF to continue to consider a significant permanent reduction or elimination of surcharges. In addition to seeking new resources from donors, we encourage the Fund to explore non-traditional and predictable funding options, ”G24 members noted in a statement following the virtual meeting held on Monday.

The Minister of the Economy, Martín Guzmán, who attended the meeting, celebrated this decision, knowing that the policy of limits and surcharges “it is regressive and procyclical What it affects more countries that are in more adverse circumstances and that it is not aligned with the mission of improving global financial stability. In the context of the pandemic, immediate suspension of surcharges, while the policies are being revised, this would help countries to recover and should be considered, ”the official said.

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G24 members, at the same time, demanded a a more equitable distribution of vaccines against COVID-19, so they urged trade regulators to discuss patents in this regard.

the G24 It was born in the early 1970s as a group to position itself in financial development, and is made up of countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Syria and Iran, between other. On Monday, before the start of the Annual Meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, the finance ministers and central bankers of these countries urged international organizations to modernize and make available credit tools more flexible to better respond to “the changing needs of low- and middle-income countries” to enable them to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

They celebrated the expansion of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), amounting to $ 650 billion, which will allow member countries – including Argentina – to access larger funds to deal with the crisis. ” purchase vaccines or pay their debts, including those contracted with the organization.

In this context, they reinforced the need to allow the countries that they will not need to use these funds, like the great developed powers, can resend SDRs to other countries which need it. It was one of the requests he made Guzman, in the various international forums.

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The group stressed that “deeper cooperation is needed to end COVID.19 and the economic legacy,” it said economic recovery has started in central countries, but “many vulnerable countries remain in recession with rising infection rates and shortages of affordable vaccines. The crisis has strained health systems and severely affected the economies of developing countries. ”

“Millions of people have fallen into extreme poverty and food insecurity has increased dramatically, especially in the poorest countries and those living in situations of fragility and conflict,” they warned. For this reason, they stressed that the pandemic can only be overcome if “equitable distribution of vaccines and sustainable support to vulnerable developing countries” are guaranteed.

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“Quick access to affordable vaccines will be critical to recovery in developing countries. This access is very limited by the existing offer, which has mainly been bought by the advanced economies ”. they stressed, so they called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other multilateral organizations to “seek solutions to increase vaccine production, including the treatment of intellectual property rules to develop the manufacture of vaccines and other necessary medical products. those infected with COVID-19.