Pointed “Financial Times” editorial on Argentina: “Financial ruin is lurking close by”
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It called for more harshness from the IMF and cast doubt on the competence of Silvina’s Batakis’ plan: “The political and economic odds are seriously against her.”
The Financial Times portrayed a dark horizon for Argentina, in the midst of the economic and social crisis that afflicts the country. The prestigious British media published a strong editorial on the situation: it said that “financial ruin is on the horizon” and cast doubt on the effectiveness of the plan of the Minister of Economy, Silvina Batakis.
In addition, he demanded a harsher treatment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) : “Tough love, more than Band-Aids, is what Argentina needs.”
“It’s time for the IMF to show Argentina some tough love,” is the title of the journalistic note, which bears the signature of the editorial board of the daily dedicated to finance.
After emphasising that Argentina should be experiencing a boom due to its abundant natural and agricultural resources in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war , warned that Argentina, in fact, “is heading lurching toward one of its periodic crashes”: high inflation, skyrocketing blue dollar, debt pressure and investor distrust.
He also warned about the “copious” taking of local debt and the issuance of pesos in the Central Bank. In this framework, assured the Financial Times, “financial ruin” is “on the prowl” .
“If the economy is bad, you can say that politics is worse,” added the London-based outlet. He drew attention to the internship between Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner . And he asserted that the departure of Martín Guzmán (“Cristina Kirchner and her allies hated him”) removed “its only credible figure” from the national government.
In this sense, he reiterated his doubts when referring to Silvina Batakis . “Her little-known replacement was quick to commit to meeting the IMF’s goals. The odds, both political and financial, are against her,” warned the Financial Times, after the official’s swift rapprochement with Washington .
The Financial Times and the role of the IMF in the Argentine crisis
From there, the editorial jumped to the role that the IMF should fulfill with Argentina, from its point of view. He reviewed the problems of taking debt from the government of Mauricio Macri in 2018, which suffered a deviation just a year later (“Reprofiling”, as then-minister Hernán Lacunza clarified). He added: “History may be about to repeat itself.”
In addition, he launched a subtle questioning of the Monetary Fund. “It seems more and more that the Monetary Fund failed to establish sufficiently strict conditions when it renegotiated the last bailout in March,” he said of the agreement reached by the government with the agency , during Guzmán’s trip to Washington.
Later, it continued to criticise the Fund’s approach: “The usual Argentine politician, the IMF, made an effort to present itself this time as a useful partner for the usual debtor, instead of a priest of austerity “. And he lamented that, as a result, the new program with the IMF “is already in trouble”.
The conclusion came with a strong request to the body headed by Kristalina Georgieva. “Faced with a weak government clinging to Peronist populism and failed economic policies, the Fund would have been better off insisting on tougher targets to inspire business confidence and investment,” assesses the Financial Times.
And he finished: “Tough love, more than band-aids, is what Argentina needs.”
Source: El Clarin
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