Argentine President on Negotiations with IMF to Refinance Debt

Argentine President Alberto Fernández said Thursday that in the negotiation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to refinance the debt contracted by his country there is no room for economic adjustments.

During his virtual appearance before the Davos World Economic Forum, Fernández said that the dialogue with the IMF that is underway has so far been “very constructive” and Argentina has received “countless support” from the international community.

However, the president added that “there is no more room for irresponsible adjustments, impossible to comply with, that damage the credibility of both us, leaders, and those who grant unrealistic assistance.”

Fernández, who took office just over a year ago, has proposed to renegotiate the payment of 44 billion US dollars owed to the IMF within the framework of a loan for more than 56 billion US dollars granted to the country in 2018.

The coronavirus pandemic has aggravated the economic crisis the country has been going through for more than two years.

An IMF team visited Buenos Aires twice in the last quarter of 2020 to reach a new financing program that replaces the “Stand-By” agreement signed in 2018 with the previous government of Mauricio Macri in the midst of a strong devaluation.

The government hopes that the new agreement, which would be an extended facilities program, does not entail an adjustment that could further aggravate poverty in the country, which affects more than 40 per cent of the population.

Last year, the South American country managed to restructure its debt with private creditors for about 65 billion US dollars.

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