Argentina Vice President Cristina Fernandez and political allies are trying to delay a $ 44 billion debt deal between Argentina and the International Monetary Fund, until the coronavirus pandemic subsides, instead of the current date set for that by next May.
The British “Financial Times” newspaper revealed Fernandes’ efforts, citing officials – unspecified – close to Fernandez, who also holds the presidency of the Senate. According to the newspaper, Bloomberg reported that Fernandez and her allies consider the country to be in a “state of emergency” and do not want to “rush” to conclude the agreement.
Officials have not provided an expected new date for the deal, as it is unlikely to know when the pandemic will abate or end.
And last week, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said that the International Monetary Fund should give Argentina more “flexible” payment terms, and warned that rising inflation could push his government again to increase taxes on exports.
In an interview with the Spanish-language newspaper Pagina 12, President Fernandez said that for months, Argentina has been in talks with the International Monetary Fund to restructure the terms of a $ 57.1 billion loan in 2018, which former President Mauricio Macri, Fernandez’s predecessor, sought to confront the economic crisis that has passed. Argentina and its poverty rates have increased dramatically.
The Argentine president declared that Economy Minister Martin Guzman will travel to Washington at the end of February. With the aim of delaying maturity dates to give the country more flexibility and funds to deal with domestic problems. He warned that he might have to raise taxes on agricultural exports or impose new quotas on exporters to cope with rising inflation.
In his speech to the newspaper, the Argentine President stated that the country cannot deal with the accumulated debt in light of the spread of the epidemic and its negative repercussions on the economy, and with the continued increase in product prices, as Argentina suffers from unprecedented inflation rates that may reach 50 percent in 2021. Compared to the rate of It was 36.1 percent last year.
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