MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentina calls IMF a “non prestigious, absolutely inefficient institution”
Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman, no pity for IMF While the International Monetary Fund said it hopes Argentina will normalize relations with the multilateral institution, the Argentine Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman described the IMF as “non prestigious organization”.
“We are all hoping that Argentina will once again take its place among the countries that have normalized relations and regular consultations with the Fund. We're very hopeful that we're moving in that direction,” IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky told reporters in Washington.
In its annual World Economic Outlook the IMF warned of considerably high price index inflation and seemed sceptic of official GDP growth reports in Argentina, but nevertheless forecast a 7.5% growth this year.
“It is no news” that the organization questions Argentina's official inflationary data and GDP figures. “This is a non-prestigious organization; the IMF should help countries instead of monitoring banking institutions,” Timerman sentenced.
The IMF on several occasions has criticized Argentina's measuring instruments, as well as the inflation data and the GDP official figures, drawn by the country’s statistics office INDEC.
“I'm not surprised that they acted this way,” he went deeper in the matter. “I believed the IMF has proved inefficient for it was unable to predict the economic crisis the world was hit by in these previous years,” Timerman continued.
The Foreign Affairs Minister dragged on and assured that the IMF goal should be that of “sending aid to the countries and not acting as banking institutions police officers.”
Timerman finally stated that the IMF is an organization that records no reform during the past years and is absolutely inefficiently. I'm not concerned abut their figures”.
IMF said that inflation was 6.3% in 2009 and is estimated at a 10.6% for 2010 and 2011. It also warned that according to private analysts, the consumer price index has been “considerably higher”, and adds that they also believe “the real GDP growth has been significantly lower than the official reports since the last quarter of 2008”.
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Read all comments“This is a non-prestigious organization; the IMF should help countries instead of monitoring banking institutions,” Timerman sentenced ... ”
Oct 08th, 2010 - 12:29 am 0In other words the IMF should hand over cash but then believe whatever the country that has borrowed says about their creditworthiness.
Well, it looks as though the IMF is about to get a GREATER role in investigating the worth of countries ...... and it looks like Argentina fears that! Why? Something to hide ??
“IMF said that inflation was 6.3% in 2009 and is estimated at a 10.6% for 2010 and 2011”
Oct 08th, 2010 - 03:47 am 0Is that a projection by the IMF, or is the IMF relying on government estimates? As the article itself points out, the number estimated by private institutions has been significantly lower - two times lower - than that divulged by the government.
“In other words the IMF should hand over cash but then believe whatever the country that has borrowed says about their creditworthiness”
Well, I think both - the IMF and the Argentine government - can be correct. Truth doesn't of necessity belongs to only one party. One can argue that the Argentine government is not trustworthy when it comes to paying off debts in time. But one can also argue that the IMF should pass more time trying to sort out policies that can actually bring economic recovery to a country, instead of forcing it to take the “inefficient” - and infamous - reforms the IMF tends to advise in such situations.
“I'm not surprised that they acted this way,” he went deeper in the matter. “I believed the IMF has proved inefficient for it was unable to predict the economic crisis the world was hit by in these previous years,” Timerman continued.
Oct 08th, 2010 - 09:03 am 0The Foreign Affairs Minister dragged on and assured that the IMF goal should be that of “sending aid to the countries and not acting as banking institutions police officers.”
If the IMF shoudln't be policing banks, why is he blaming them for not predicting the economic crisis?
Surely if he wants them to be able to predict these kinds of economic crisis then they HAVE to police the banks?
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