MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kirchner celebrates IMF Krueger's departure

Argentine president Nestor Kirchner celebrated Thursday the announced departure from the International Monetary Fund of Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger with whom his administration has had a permanent irritating confrontation.

"We're really happy. We had to wait a long time, today I've read in a morning newspaper that Anne Krueger is leaving the IMF. Too late, she should have left long time ago", said Kirchner during a ceremony in government house, Casa Rosada.

According to press reports from Washington Ms Krueger will be leaving the IMF at the end of August when her five year period is up.

Until last January when Argentina cancelled all its pending debt with the IMF, which ended also close monitoring of the Argentine economy, the Kirchner administration had frequent and harsh confrontations with IMF officials and delegates. And among them Ms Krueger, with her strong orthodox position, played a leading role.

"With all respect and chivalry so they won't claim I'm ill mannered, I'm saying good bye Mrs. Krueger", added the president.

Kirchner has repeatedly argued that the strong steady recovery of the Argentine economy under his administration has been possible because he "left aside the neo-liberal economic recipes" from IMF.

The Argentine president has blamed these orthodox recipes, accepted and put into effect by previous governments, for the worst modern Argentine economic crisis ever which exploded in 2001 with the meltdown of the economy and an unparalleled recession.

"We sincerely hope the IMF reconverts and becomes a useful instrument, an appropriate instrument for the development of our peoples, which is what we Argentines are longing for", concluded Kirchner.