The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, cited his ministers to the Casa Rosada from 5:00 pm to wait for the decision of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, on the formalization of a loan of US $ 20,000 million for Argentina.
Guillermo Francos, Chief of Cabinet will be gathered; Luis Caputo (Economy); Federico Sturzenegger (State Transformation); Sandra Pettovello (human capital); Patricia Bullrich (security); Luis Petri (Defense); Mariano Cúneo Libarona (Justice); Mario Lugones (health); and Gerardo Werthein (Foreign Relations).
The IMF announced the milestone on Tuesday, without providing details, such as the first turn that Argentina would receive or how President Javier Milei plans to lift the exchange controls. Both parties previously revealed the amount of the program, which would be the third in Argentina since 2018.
The 48 -month program, of being approved by the Board of Directors, will provide the Argentine authorities with the necessary funds to underpin the weight and start lifting the exchange and capital controls. The first design should give Milei a respite for the possible elimination of restrictions before the self -imposed term of the end of the year.
Officially, Argentina plans to use the IMF funds to pay debts that the country’s treasure maintains with the Central Bank. It will also allocate them to capital maturities that the Government must reimburse the IMF during the next four years of the previous program that began in 2022, according to a decree published on March 10.
Milei’s negotiators say they want an initial turn of at least 40%, US $ 8,000 million, while the first disbursement is being closely observed by investors. The Board of Directors has held informal meetings to discuss the details of the loan key, including the amount of the initial payment.
The so -called Expanded Fund Service will be a key step in Milei’s efforts so that Argentina returns to international capital markets after a sovereign default by its predecessors in 2020, when the pandemic aggravated an ongoing economic crisis. It will also validate the strategy of the libertarian to align with President Donald Trump, given that the United States is the greatest shareholder of the IMF.
A new agreement will be the twenty -third IMF program for Argentina in a disturbed relationship that extends for decades. The two previous programs failed to stabilize Argentina due to political errors, poor communication and presidential elections that made the country pass from right to left and back to the right. Its economy collapsed sadly in 2001 when the IMF decided not to continue giving more money to the country in the midst of a financial crisis, which caused violent protests in Buenos Aires and a bank run nationwide.
Under the mandate of Milei, the negotiations tensed during their first year in office, even when senior IMF officials praised the expenses of their government expenses that controlled chronic deficits, the root of the numerous crises of Argentina. The president publicly criticized the director of the Department of the Western Hemisphere of the IMF, Rodrigo Valdés, who decided to retire from the negotiations last year.
