MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
IMF warn Argentina on ‘lack of progress’ in addressing inflation data
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Argentina about its “lack of progress” in addressing inflation data and called on the country to implement “specific measures” within the next six months to improve it. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesIt would be the height of arrogance to impose “sanctions”. The IMF has no sovereignty over Argentina (even if they concerns are well founded regarding inflation figures).
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 05:27 am - Link - Report abuse 0Given their past track record, anything and everything the IMF says should be ignored. Given that past track record, they have no authority to give any advice. If they were just the smallest bit sensible, they would acknowledge that, and have someone else give the advice they want to give out themselves.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 07:03 am - Link - Report abuse 0I can see that the CFKC supporters follow her line that the IMF were solely to blame for the collapse of the Argentine economy 10 years ago. This is not true. Argentina borrowed more and more money but refused to comply with the terms of the loan and eventually the IMF refused any more money. Was it the right thing to do? I don't think so. Was there blame on both sides? Yes. But who is most to blame? The over-indulgent IMF who were not tough enough on the reckless over-spending Argentina and allowed the crisis to escalate? Or the feckless Argentine government that believed it could walk on water and the IMF would never refuse its requests for more, more, more. I say it was about 50/50.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 10:38 am - Link - Report abuse 0Argentina does not need to listen to the IMF if it wants to remain a financial pariah. However, your government does want to be part of the financial community again and it has to play by the rules to do so. They know that.
Who is to blame you ask Elaine? Well, let me put it to you this way. A lender will never lend to someone who cannot repay. IMF lent and lent despite knowing Argentina could not repay. So, to your question who is to blame, well both TBH, but I place more of it on the IMF.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 10:45 am - Link - Report abuse 0And just for the record, Argentina has been refusing to do what the IMF recommends (policy-wise) since 2003 and it's actually gone pretty well.
So I say why change what is working.
Oh, and no! I, personally, would rather Argentina continue OUTSIDE the int'l financial community as it has done so since 2003.
my two cents
Eventually Argentina will have to comply with the IMF recommendations. There will be an audit, all the stats will be restated since 2003. There will be massive litigation for the under payment of CER bonds. The bondholders will win and the damages will be more than the RGs current reserves.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 11:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0CFK is trying to hold this off as long as possible.
But as I have been saying the wheels are flying off and the only response they have now is PANIC.
Gee *roll eyes* if this is PANIC I wonder what the USA with is economic crisis is? *facepalm*
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 11:59 am - Link - Report abuse 0@4 It is slightly more complex in that each time Argentina borrowed it promised to comply with the terms of the loan but did not do so. So, the government lied repeatedly believing the benevolent IMF would continue to lend. Eventually, the IMF ran out of patience. A study was carried out that suggested allowing Argentina to default would have little impact on the wider world and they stopped lending. So, to say Argentina was not culpable is wrong IMO but I suggest that the IMF should have been a much tougher 'parent' with the errant 'child' before the matter reached crisis point.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 12:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Your country has debts and bond holders it has to repay so it cannot continue to lie about the inflation and growth figures. People in Argentina know their government is lying and factor it in but it does not wear well with the world community. Like it or not, your country wants to be part of the larger community and it has to comply. If you want to play the game you have to play by the rules.
I want to add that I have criticised the IMF many times for pulling the rug on an entire country. It was terrible to punish the population for having a feckless government. But Argentina was not an innocent victim.
6. If you aren't seeing the panic you are either dumb, blind or psychotic and I feel sorry for you.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 12:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Why don't you do a little research on failing economies. Every failing economy in recent history has done what CFK is doing now, depreciating the currency, import restrictions, massive tax increases all to the eventual demise of the country. You may not be feeling it personally yet but give it a month or two and you will.
I heard they are now estimating a 4.5B positive trade balance this year, they need a minimum of 10B to make everything work. It may be a very cold winter for you.
Comment removed by the editor.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 12:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Try not to use foul language it only shows your lack of intelligence and poor breeding.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 12:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0BTW how much did your nat gas/electric/Subte, Bus, water, taxes etc etc etc go up this month? I hope you don't work for a provincial gov't and got your paycheck. I heard a lot of them can't pay their salaries this month. Do you think this is a sign of a country doing well?
The important thing to remember is that Argentina asked the IMF to help it set up a new system only last year. It seems a bit stupid to invite an international organisation to assist you and then not follow its recommendations. Wait a minute, we're talking about Argentina!
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 01:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They really do want to be part of the global economic community and if CFKC could, she would be borrowing now. I think the US have used the the velvet glove, iron fist approach to try to get Argentina back on track so they can put the past behind them. Unfortunately CFKC is way out of her depth. She can tell the people what they want to hear and she has surrounded herself with eager puppets but run a country with a long-term strategy, she cannot. Remember she had never run the country before Nestor dropped dead, she was just very good at doing what she was told. The problem now is she is taking daily phone calls from Chavez - how could she refuse when Argentina is so indebted to Venezuela - and he is bonkers. His hatred of the people CFKC wants to do business with means she is constantly flip-flopping and getting nowhere fast.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 01:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That was a delaying tactic they had no intention of implementing the new GDP and Inflation calculations.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 01:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0In the past few weeks there has been a lot of chatter about the GDP # being grossly inaccurate no one was talking about that before. I am not sure who is driving it though. It may be CFK since they don't have the U$ to pay the interest payment this year. I am pretty sure that is why they are driving the economy into recession also.
The problem is they can't bring the 25-30% inflation down to match the 3-4% growth this year. Stagflation could drive them into full blown depression shortly. I think a massive devaluation is right around the corner which will be the final step before total collapse.
Argentina should not comply with the IMF. I don't want Argentina's government to be able to borrow for a long time to come. I would rather remain a pariah but live within our means.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 02:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I for one while understanding it was severely trying for everyone, am glad Argentina was not bailed out like Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Korea, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia, in crises prior to 2001, and how European countries have been bailed out since (or the USA itself via China). At least we go back up on our feet and owe that to no one.
14. That would be fine IF you actually lived within your means but in what time in last 60+ years have you done that? Over the last 8 years, the Ks have defaulted on 100+B, depreciated the peso, stolen all the hard currency out of the country AND on top of all of that ran a HUGE deficit this year. They have replaced U$ in Banco Nacion and Anses with worthless RG bonds and nationalized key companies.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 02:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It is all collapsing right now.
They can't withdraw the gov't spending all at once without driving the economy into a depression. This year is all about the Soy crop, if it is as bad as everyone thinks you are in for a HUGE downturn in the 3rd quarter, possibly another default and a huge devaluation.
I hope you are having a nice summer because winter is coming.
I detect a patina of vaunted exhultation in your writing as you await the southern winter. Evidence of a small man behind the facade of a scholarly statesman.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 02:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Sadly, in times of difficulty, the people that suffer are the chronically poor 30-35% that are inveigled into voting again and again for such populists, and are beholden to government assistance. The other 70% enjoys in the winter, either the nice weather in the north or the snow in the west and south... which I'm sure will sorely dissapoint you.
ElainB and yankeeboy, just because the thieves from the IMF have been anointed by New Your and London City, doesn't make then any less thieves. They just do it with more arrogance. The whole purpose of the IMF (and UN for that matter) is to enslave the entire world, so every country will be forced to give up its own currency and buy into a one world currency. Seems to be working well for Europe, don't you think?
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 03:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I'm not that enthused with the “social direction” of Argentina, but I certainly support them, if they thumb their noses at the IMF.
17. That's funny, I have found people who use big words and words that are not commonly spoken are hiding a poor thought/logic/debate process and are usually embarrassed of their upbringing. They're usually overly educated but really stupid.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 03:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Instead of critiquing me do you care to answer any of my questions? Or do my statements stand on their own? I know they are factually correct.
17. How can they be thumbing their nose at the IMF AND asking them in the country? IMF wouldn't be there without the express permission/invitation from CFK.
And I answered your question, twice. They should not have invited the IMF. But it proves they are just rank amatteurs in just about everything involving international relations. I have always said that much.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 04:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@16 & 17. I don't think anyone is happy to see the ordinary people of any country suffer the sins of their government. I have talked to many Argentines that suffered during the last collapse and their stories are truly shocking. I think what is frustrating to watch, as I genuinely enjoy the time I spend in Argentina, is the blatant mismanagement of the country and the constant lies your government tells you. Their plans to stifle the press and make the right to protest the government an illegal act is worrying in the extreme.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 04:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0There are a few CFKC posters on this blog that would swear the sky was purple with pink spots if CFKC said it was. Many of the stronger comments are aimed directly at them.
I am well aware of the agenda of the IMF but it is a reality of life that Argentina needs them on their side. They will borrow again if they can and desperately need to improve their credit rating if the country is ever to enjoy wealth and improved lives for the poorest. Argentina has the capability and the resources but is hopelessly managed at the top.
Nestor was forever demonising the IMF because it suited his agenda to have a common enemy to play the victim in the financial crisis. Argentina was as much to blame in their downfall as anyone else. They were happy to buy the snakeoil when yet another bond trader walzed in with a quick fix solution. (The traders made a mint and Argentina slid further into crisis). A little humility and a small attempt to implement some of the terms of their loans may have stopped the crisis from ever happening.
You may think your country does not need to be part of the world economic community but it does.
No, Elaine, I said it didn't need to again become a hostage of the banking cabal, which let's be honest, has not just gotten Argentina within its paws and claws, it has entangled even “well-managed” countries like the USA and UK.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 04:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0How will your countries pay their debts? It's a lot of money and the current austerity is a fraction of what will be required to bring these arrears down in any meaningful measure, so that you do not fall back to the same pecuniary predicament in five years because of high GDP-to-debt fears.
Countries should live within their means. Ideally, they would only borrow occasionally for very strategic infrastructure purposes (those that can pay for themselves), and the rest left to the private sector (though zealously regulated).
It is a fallacy that countries need to have “debt”. The only issuable notion is that perhaps countries do best when they run slight deficits, but I do stress slight. And they should repay the accumulated debt from such deficits periodically to become debt-free again.
Argentina should be part of a global MARKET-economy of free trade and movement of capital and people. It should not be part of an unelected, officialist dreanought that has proven to bring both poor, emerging and now even rich nations to the brink of ruin.
I'm still trying to figure out what “inveigled” means. WTF?
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 06:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0How will the UK pay its debt? It will. It will be tough because New Labour was a populist government and spent far too much money buying votes. Sound familiar? But the debt will be paid and that is key.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 06:22 pm - Link - Report abuse 0All countries operate on debt and much as I agree with you that too much power is in the hands of unelected financial houses, it is the reality. If I had any say I would curb the activities of the bond traders who are motivated only by profit and have no moral conscience regarding the effect their activities have on entire countries. They should be heavily regulated and they are not.
But in the case of Argentina, they have considerable debts and they must repay them. Instead of thinking of the debts solely in terms of 'the big bad banks', that money Argentina defaulted on was the money of hardworking people invested for their retirements. They suffered, not the banks, when Argentina decided not to pay up.
Instead of being idealistic, the reality is that you have to play the game by the rules if you want to be a player. And CFKC wants to be a player.
The problem is, many countries (maybe even most countries) are so far under water, they will likely never recover. My point is, this is exactly the objective of the IMF, UN, New York, and London City. It would be far better for those countries, including Argentina, to simply go bankrupt and force the bankers to take the hair cut, before they're able to slough even more of it off onto unwilling taxpayers.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 06:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I am not disputing your point that Argentina has and continues to mismanage its affairs. It is certainly a fact. My point is, the people of Argentina have allowed themselves to become slaves to the bankers and I would certainly hope they will have the nerve to spit in the bankers' eyes. Of course, that means they need to dump their “party ideology”, sort of like Americans need to dump their two party system, before they can begin to recover.
Seems like all politicians, the world over, have discovered the art of campaigning on the idea of giving out more and more freebies. That's what the voters need to learn how to resist in order to get themselves out from under the thumbs of the bankers.
Specifically, what I mean by that is, all peoples of the world, Argentinians included, need to fully embrace true capitalism, and discover just how much more productive they can be, when the actually receive the rewards for their work. When you spread the wealth at the point of a gun, you will achieve a goal to level the playing field, but it will be at a level of destitution.
Well CFK is delusional. Argentina will not be a player in the world. It should be humble and live within it's means and stay away from conflicts, like it did in the first half of the 20th century.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 06:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Though I have to disagree with you, Argentina's debt load is much lower than the UK's. The defaulted debt is gone, it will never be repaid. Time to move on (as you would surely suggest Argentina do with the Falklands... lead by example?) :)
I feel bad for the small investors, but they should direct their anger at the truant entities that purchased the bonds, as it has been proven beyond any possible doubt since the Argentine crisis that these financial companies have been utterly worthless (pun really intended), in picking wise investments, and in fact connived or colluded in the skullduggery.
I understand your averring that the UK will pay its debts. I am not doubting it will. However, you seem to not grasp the sacrifice that will entail. We are not talking about mere hebdomadal or month long austerity to bring reassurance to the markets and start the cycle of cheap borrowing again (the scenario across the first world in the last 60 years), this will not work anymore. You will rally need to make a great dent on that debt.
It will be excruciatingly painful for the poor, and the young people, for years and years.
It is clear to me that the honest and practical views of yankeeboy and ElaineB in saying how it really was and currently is with regard to fiscal honesty is just too much for the likes of tobias (who is usually very eloquent) and the others to accept.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 06:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Pity really, the train wreck is almost here (again).
And how exactly am I showing to be against fiscal “honesty”_?
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 06:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The reality is that people in the UK tend to look long-term and understand that it will be decades to put the economy in better shape. The orgy of waste, deregulation and over-spending by the last government was criminal. Remember they inherited an economy in good shape.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 08:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It might interest you that by and large people are not complaining. They know what has to be done. I am sure it will wear thin over the coming years but it is also worth remembering that tough times in the UK is a standard of living only dreamed of by a large proportion of the world.
In reference to a comment I saw in the newspaper today by an Argentine minister claiming that the Falklands issue was being used by the UK government to distract the people from proposed welfare cuts..... In fact the majority of people in the UK welcome the reforms. It is right and proper that a civilised country provides such support but for too long a minority have abused the system. It is right that the changes be fully debated so that people who deserve help are not penalised by the changes but ultimately the bill will divert the money where it should be going.
Like yankeeboy and others in this thread, the journal the economist has been unsuccessfully forecasting economic problems since 2005. However, the Argentine economy has been growing at a steady rate year after year, unemployment has decreased, migrants, even from European countries, have come to settle in Argentina. So I for one would hope that they continue as is. In other words, cut off all dealings or advice from the IMF.
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 09:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0IMF advice has been found to be ill informed not only for Argentina but for others who followed their recipes. They only understand economics from as adjustments.
Now, what I don't understand is why are we talking about a potential crisis in Argentina (which the journal the economist has been now forecasting for 6 or 7 years) rather than talk about the ACTUAL crisis in the USA and other European countries. They don't have potential crisis; they actually have the real thing.
It would be the height of arrogance to impose “sanctions”. The IMF has no sovereignty over Argentina //////////////
Feb 02nd, 2012 - 11:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0.............................
And Argentina has no sovereignty over the falklands,
so It would be the height of arrogance to impose a blockade,
but you did,,and you still are .
20 Helber Galarge... BINGO!
Feb 03rd, 2012 - 12:15 am - Link - Report abuse 0Life must be so nice in la la land. Please if you are from Argentina answer me this one question. Are any of you aware of the rules/laws surrounding what economists and newspapers can say about your economy? In real terms your economy is contracting by over 10% a year! Why do you think your minimum wage was raised so much? Please consider why so many companies don’t invest in your country-I know you think a lot do but they don’t. Please just Google about your inflation rate and stop living in the dark just because the light reflects a horrible truth-its getting embarrassing. I can’t believe you borrow all that money from the IMF to save you and this is how you react.
Feb 03rd, 2012 - 01:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Argentina has always lived in the ages,
Feb 03rd, 2012 - 09:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Especially the dark .
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