MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina blames IMF for poor supervision in rich countries

Argentina's Economy Minister Carlos Fernández, not known for his loquacity, spoke at large about the international financial market meltdown during the IMF and World Bank annual assemblies in Washington.

Developing countries, in his words "are far better equipped to face the current international crisis than they were during previous financial and economic meltdowns". In spite of his apparent optimism, the minister also requested that the World Bank set up a special fund to help the poorest countries deal with the financial storm that has lashed international markets in recent weeks. He also attacked the IMF for "Its failure to guarantee stability in the international economy and for its lack of effective supervision of the economic management of rich countries". During his trip to Washington the Argentine minister also met with Benoît Couere, head of the Paris Group of lender nations. According to a spokesperson, "(Fernández) confirmed the Argentine government's decision to cancel the country's debt" with the international creditor group. The spokesperson added that the exact amount of Argentina's debt with the Paris Club, over which there have been several versions, will soon be released. In related news, Cabinet Chief Sergio Massa stated on Sunday that the government would not modify its "floating exchange rate" and denied any possibility of the peso-dollar parity running out of control. "We are following the same strategy of the last few years. The current exchange rate makes the country competitive in certain areas, something that we have to keep an eye on, as well as bearing in mind the necessity to protect the (nation's foreign exchange) reserves". The Argentine peso has fallen sharply against the US dollar in recent days, and Central Bank market intervention (in the range of two billion US dollars) was needed to prevent it from sliding further.