MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
IMF calls on Argentina to implement measures on the quality of official data
The International Monetary Fund announced on Tuesday that it “regretted the lack of sufficient progress” with Argentina to address the quality of the official data reported by the country and urged it to come up with a response to the organization’s concerns by December 17th. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesMalvinista Response:
Sep 19th, 2012 - 07:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0We don't need the IMF. They only exist to prop up the West and to politically and socially repress Argentina. Pigs! Dirty European pigs! It's nothing to do with Argentina. The sooner we cut off all ties the better.
Who cares of this woman and what she has to say.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 09:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0So many years before saying nonsense to our country, that never helped us.
the people need to get rid of CFK,
Sep 19th, 2012 - 09:50 am - Link - Report abuse 0and get a decent leader, one who cares for the people, rather than their own vanity.
@2 Your President cares very much.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 10:49 am - Link - Report abuse 0Three months to yet another deadline.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 11:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0Will the IMF EVER do something about the unruly child of the financial world?
I honestly think the IMF are doing everything possible to give CFKC a chance to get her books in order. Sanctions will be catastrophic in the long-term for the people of Argentina.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 12:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Also, there is a lot of public unrest against the government in Argentina. The IMF may not want to be accused of tipping things against the government when, given a little more time, the cart is going over with no outside interference.
Elaine, I think you are right. Taking Arg out of the world financial market will destroy their economy. I am not sure but I doubt most of the Int'l companies could continue to function in the country. Which mean they would lose their industrial base shortly thereafter. With no WB IDB loans they couldn't build any more Infrastructure nor afford any poverty subsidies.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 12:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I wonder if she has thought this through or even realize this?
Honestly, I doubt she has the intelligence to think through the consequences. She is pretty low-level when it comes to political acumen; she relies on other people to do the thinking - her late husband - her son - Chavez. She is adept at manipulation and that has got her through so far.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 12:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I suspect a negotiations are on-going but this is the last chance saloon for Argentina.
More so than her poilitical acumen, she is far from financial savvy aw well. But surely she must have advisors that will point blankedly tell her that“this is what will happen” if we do not comply. They all can't be yes men.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 12:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Off topic a little:
Looks like there are having their 1 hour debate to allow kids and forieners to vote today.
And Garre' says there is no increase in croime.....as the hospitals want to strike over the recent violence and a cop was killed the other day.
Let's just remember that, when the axe finally falls, no-one starts feeling sorry for the argies. They have brought it all on themselves and have no-one else to blame. Perhaps we might send a (small) bag of rice when they start admitting all their faults!
Sep 19th, 2012 - 12:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I do not believe that all the Argentines can be lumped into that category.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 12:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What she needs to be worrying about is all of her cronies that steal huge sums of U$ from loans/grants etc from the Int'l banks. It all dries up right at Christmas. I think she needs to fear for her and her family's lives. It is not like these people are going to just let it happen with out a fight.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 01:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@2 You think ' Argentina uber alles', a doctrine borrowed in the 1940s from your countries Nazi mates, so therefore the IMF is wrong, as well as the UN to condemn Argentina for stealing lands from its indigenous peoples (that's the people that were there before you europeans usurped them).
Sep 19th, 2012 - 01:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Using the '54% voted for her' means that 46% DID NOT.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 02:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0We should not lump all Argentineans together for that fact alone.
AND, consider this: ONLY 5% of the voting public need to change their vote (in a two candidate race) to the other candidate and TMBOA has lost.
But I have little doubt she will stand again, her ego will not let her stand down.
It does not matter as long as she loses.
A lot of the Argentine people are really good people. I feel bad for those who got suckered into CFK's nonsense and voted for her. I feel worse for those who are enterprising, simply want to do business, etc. but have been screwed because of her dogshit policies. For those who voted for her, continue to support her and her policies, and want the constitution to be altered so she can be re-elected.... they're nuts.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 02:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0#1 What has the IMF and its many discontents got to do with “malvinism”?
Sep 19th, 2012 - 02:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Guys you’ve got to remember that of the 54% who voted, they voted positively for her. The rest effectively were voting for an anti-K representative. The pots and pans banging showed us that the anti-K agree on the fact that they don’t like CFK but they do not always agree not much else, this can be evidenced by the fact that there was a very disparate group of people outside the Casa Rosada. Some complaining about the Dollar, some about security, some about inflation but they were not all complaining about all of these things together. The opposition are far from being a united front at the moment and a change of 4% is going to be harder to get as at least the floating voters know what the CFK government stands for (whether you like it or not). They do not know what the anti-Ks stand for apart from the fact that they are anti-K. Supporters of CFK are treating this as a war on a political agenda and they are well mobilised and willing to shout people down. Until the opposition take this seriously they will find it an uphill struggle. Of course, an economic downturn may change this but will that come in time to make a dramatic difference in the mid terms? I am not so sure.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 02:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0P.S. Got back from Argentina on Monday after a week staying with the family, any questions anyone wants to ask?
188 countries reside as a member of the IMF.....roughly 200 hundred countries in the world. That's a lot of discontents. What will you say when Argentina is outside that club?
Sep 19th, 2012 - 03:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@18
Sep 19th, 2012 - 03:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I would say it is their own fault for wanting to be part of the club but refusing to play by its rules.
No question about it Welsh W
Sep 19th, 2012 - 03:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@20
Sep 19th, 2012 - 03:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They, of course, won't see it this way
I find that the older generations in Argentina are good people. But the youth is really anti-USA/UK, and secretly believe they're the best and that USA/UK should suffer/die.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 03:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They're about to get a major wakeup call, and the majority of the youth deserve what's coming. Just because the West is rich, doesn't mean you can blame it for your own problems.
I really think they will change the numbers. Reports will slowly rise the inflation % and the peso will drop quicker than the current 2 cents a week. They have to, becuase not even they can be that arrogant, stupid and spiteful. Out of IMF will be an exodus of international business, even less imports leading to even less exports and no money at all. Even some south american countires already refuse the argentine peso as it is.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 03:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@23
Sep 19th, 2012 - 03:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They can't change them too much. The reason why they have been manipulating the inflation figures is so that they won't have to pay out under their inflation-linked bonds. I won't be surprised if they decided that they would prefer to annoy the IMF as they will feel that they are still keeping in control of their cash-flow. They obviously won't think through what censure by the IMF will mean...
The impact of real numbers can be incredibly.....but the reality of censure and it's ramifications will be catastrophic. Even they know that. I don't think they will do that, she is too arrogant to (in her own warped mind) ruin her legacy that she believes she built.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 04:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It is not just the numbers going forward IMF is requiring Argentina to RESTATE back to 2007.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 04:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So we are talking Kirchner Pride, suddenly the poverty rate is 50%, there was a recession in 2009, GDP growth has been good but not great, unemployment is ok not good, etc etc. Do you see what this does her beloved Nestor's legacy? I guess all countries shouldn't follow the K way. It is an International embarrassment and a huge blow to the “dear leader's” legacy.
She leaves in shame and dragging Nestor with her.
So I don't see them doing anything, I think she thinks they can some get out of this diplomatically and it will all go away.
I think she is going to un-pleasantly surprised in Dec.
Merry Christmas.
@26
Sep 19th, 2012 - 05:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That is sort of my take on it too, I think she feels that the IMF is all gong and no dinner. You can't ask for extra time indefinitely...
I am not so so sure. I think IMF will cut the slack on the retro-active numbers. But regardless of which way the cheese is sliced, it's not good for the kirchnerites.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 06:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0IMF gave argentina, in my opinion too much praise, which is why I think they will make the changes forthwith and not retro-active.
Google “four steps to damnation” by Gregory pallast.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 07:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Stiglitz helped translate one from bureaucratise, a “Country Assistance Strategy.” There's an Assistance Strategy for every poorer nation, designed, says the World Bank, after careful in-country investigation. But according to insider Stiglitz, the Bank's staff 'investigation' consists of close inspection of a nation's 5-star hotels. It concludes with the Bank staff meeting some begging, busted finance minister who is handed a 'restructuring agreement' pre-drafted for his 'voluntary' signature (I have a selection of these).
Each nation's economy is individually analyzed, then, says Stiglitz, the Bank hands every minister the same exact four-step program.
Step One is Privatization - which Stiglitz said could more accurately be called, 'Briberization.' Rather than object to the sell-offs of state industries, he said national leaders - using the World Bank's demands to silence local critics - happily flogged their electricity and water companies. “You could see their eyes widen” at the prospect of 10% commissions paid to Swiss bank accounts for simply shaving a few billion off the sale price of national assets.
And the US government knew it, charges Stiglitz, at least in the case of the biggest 'briberization' of all, the 1995 Russian sell-off. “The US Treasury view was this was great as we wanted Yeltsin re-elected. We don't care if it's a corrupt election. We want the money to go to Yeltzin” via kick-backs for his campaign.
Stiglitz is no conspiracy nutter ranting about Black Helicopters. The man was inside the game, a member of Bill Clinton's cabinet as Chairman of the President's council of economic advisors.
Most ill-making for Stiglitz is that the US-backed oligarchs stripped Russia's industrial assets, with the effect that the corruption scheme cut national output nearly in half causing depression and starvation.
After briberization, Step Two of the IMF/World Bank one-size-fits-all rescue-your-economy pl
Seems the BCRA reserves are a lot less then lead to believe. There was a total of just 500 billion in reserves (pesos) of which 16% was foreign funds......roughly 80 billion pesos or 17.4 billion DOLLARS. unfortunately 14%, 70 billion pesos...15.2 billion dollars were pegged as credit deposits.....not their money. Reality is that they only had 2.2 billion in December 2011. while they made some money in surplus, they also paid those bonds. They really have no international funds in reserves.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 07:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Who is saying this? The IMF? Who are they?
Sep 19th, 2012 - 08:27 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Cap, I hav been saying for a long time that the U$ 45 B is a fantasy number. You can figure that out just by the news articles of how many times they've had to dip in to pay the bills.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 08:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The peso has no backing...
Thats from numbers the the RGs submitted to IMF and signed off on. They are beyond desperate at this point. They are like a cornered animal. The think at the close of September.....something significant is going to happen because they cannot contimue like this.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 08:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Each nation's economy is individually analyzed, then, says Stiglitz, the Bank hands every minister the same exact four-step program.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 09:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Step One is Privatization - which Stiglitz said could more accurately be called, 'Briberization.' Rather than object to the sell-offs of state industries, he said national leaders - using the World Bank's demands to silence local critics - happily flogged their electricity and water companies. “You could see their eyes widen” at the prospect of 10% commissions paid to Swiss bank accounts for simply shaving a few billion off the sale price of national assets.
After briberization, Step Two of the IMF/World Bank one-size-fits-all rescue-your-economy plan is 'Capital Market Liberalization.' In theory, capital market deregulation allows investment capital to flow in and out. Unfortunately, as in Indonesia and Brazil, the money simply flowed out and out. Stiglitz calls this the “Hot Money” cycle. Cash comes in for speculation in real estate and currency, then flees at the first whiff of trouble. A nation's reserves can drain in days, hours. And when that happens, to seduce speculators into returning a nation's own capital funds, the IMF demands these nations raise interest rates to 30%, 50% and 80%.
At this point, the IMF drags the gasping nation to Step Three: Market-Based Pricing, a fancy term for raising prices on food, water and cooking gas. This leads, predictably, to Step-Three-and-a-Half: what Stiglitz calls, “The IMF riot.”
The IMF riot is painfully predictable. When a nation is, “down and out, [the IMF] takes advantage and squeezes the last pound of blood out of them. They turn up the heat until, finally, the whole cauldron blows up,” as when the IMF eliminated food and fuel subsidies for the poor in Indonesia in 1998. Indonesia exploded into riots, but there are other examples - the Bolivian riots over water prices last year and this February, the riots in Ecuador over the rise in cooking gas prices imposed by the World Bank. Yo
33. Yikes, do they think no one reads those reports!
Sep 19th, 2012 - 09:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Last time I ended up having to buy food for my friends/family from discovirtual though...
The sad part is 10 yrs and they accomplished nothing. Nothing. The streets are in ruins, electrical grid is on the verge of collapse, driven out all FDI, Farming is in ruins, Cattle gone and now heading into a generational depression.
My Rg friend is very scared he may lose his visa and have to go back. I think he will become illegal here rather than risk it back in BA.
It was quite a country......BA has nice architecture, was rish in culture. Ass lips wants to turn it into cuba or venezuela. cuba they still drive cars (American) from the 50s and not because they are collectibles.
Sep 19th, 2012 - 11:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yeah at one point I had a fansy of going ot Cuba and buying all of those gorgeous cars until I heard that they have been using Russian engine parts to keep them going!
Sep 19th, 2012 - 11:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Her plan was Venezuela with out the oil so let's say Zimbabwe...
I wonder if she is too stupid to feel stressed out?
Sep 20th, 2012 - 12:09 am - Link - Report abuse 0Make sure the whole world sees this video exposed CFK - the turkey scrotum neck president for what she is!.......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyPC0SD0PGw
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:33 am - Link - Report abuse 0@38 She is heavily medicated but that doesn't seem to stop her temper. She admitted she has an uncontrollable temper.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:12 am - Link - Report abuse 0She has been in hiding for a week but emerged yesterday and made absolutely no comment on the massive protest against her government. I guess they decided on the 'pretend it didn't happen' method of dealing with the problem.
These next few months will certainly be interesting to follow.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 10:22 am - Link - Report abuse 0Breaking News:
Sep 20th, 2012 - 02:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0(Reuters) - Argentina's government will use up to $7.97 billion of the central bank's foreign reserves to pay debt next year, the government's 2013 budget bill showed on Thursday.
In the 2012 budget, the government earmarked $5.67 billion in reserves to repay private creditors
They must be pretty confident they can grow soy beans underwater because that is their only export.
Sep 20th, 2012 - 04:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@ 9 Captain Poppy who writes: “ surely she must have advisors that will point blankedly tell her that“this is what will happen” if we do not comply. They all can't be yes men.”
Sep 21st, 2012 - 05:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Point out 1 (one) single of her advisors, who is NOT a 'Yes! Mam' man.
Anyone contradicting her whims is thrown out and can expect a visit from AFIP (the Argentine IRS) acting as a proxy for Gestapo.
Well I've seen the end result in business with leaders who need to be right all the time.
Sep 21st, 2012 - 09:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Me too!
Sep 22nd, 2012 - 05:13 am - Link - Report abuse 0#45 Who, like Romney?
Sep 24th, 2012 - 01:33 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Now bk, I know you do not work very hard at.....well work for one, but thinking, what does a successful businessman have to do with this? Romney has to be right all the time? Show me that?
Sep 24th, 2012 - 04:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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