ZCZC
BCN-01
IMF-ARGENTINA-ECONOMY-AID
IMF’s Lipton: To continue support for Argentina’s ‘difficult situation’
WASHINGTON, Sept 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – As protesters jammed the streets of
Buenos Aires on Tuesday, acting International Monetary Fund chief David
Lipton said the fund will continue to support Argentina through the
“challenging times” it faces, but he did not specify when the next injection
of funds would be released.
Argentina has seen its currency value plummet as fears over the nation’s
political future have gripped investors. But Lipton said “recent measures by
the authorities have helped calm the markets.”
Lipton said he had “a constructive meeting” with President Mauricio Macri,
Finance Minister Hernan Lacunza and Central Bank Governor Guido Sandleris in
New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The IMF will “help them respond to the difficult situation and the
challenging times ahead,” he said in a statement
However, Macri’s team continues to await the release of the pending $5.4
billion installment from the Washington-based crisis lender’s record $57
billion loan.
“Our dialogue and close collaboration with the Argentine authorities will
continue with technical meetings expected to take place later this week and
before the IMF annual meetings” in October, Lipton said.
Buenos Aires has received about $44 billion so far of the three-year loan
approved in June 2018 but soaring inflation and rising poverty stirred
outrage at the government’s belt-tightening measures.
With 33 days left until presidential elections, protests choked the
streets of Buenos Aires as labor unions and leftist political parties
demanded pay increases to compensate for soaring inflation.
The defeat of business-friendly Macri at the hands of populist challenger
Alberto Fernandez in a primary election last month whipped up market
volatility in the recession-hit nation.
To calm market turbulence, the government in late August asked the IMF to
restructure its repayments.
Lacunza, who has been in his post just over a month, also announced
initiatives to postpone debt payments to institutional investors, relieving
the pressure on international reserves so they can be used to stabilize the
currency which spiraled lower in the wake of the election.
However, Argentina has track record of economic crises, hyperinflation and
debt default. And critics question whether the IMF should continue to lend to
the country.
BSS/AFP/HR/0945