MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cristina Fernandez flies to G-20 in Russia on Tango 01, but changes aircraft in Morocco

The Argentine president can be expected ‘to lecture’ Europe how to put the economy on track and create jobs

Argentine President Cristina Fernández left on Tuesday for Russia to attend the G20 summit to begin next Thursday at the Constantine Palace in Saint Petersburg. The president flew on her office’s Tango 01 to Morocco where she changed aircraft to avoid any possible injunction from hedge funds on the presidential transport.

Foreign Minister, Héctor Timerman; Ministers of Economy and Labour, Hernán Lorenzino and Carlos Tomada; Secretary of Public Communications, Alfredo Scoccimarro and the Argentine Ambassador to the United States, Cecilia Nahón, are part of the Argentine delegation.

Although host President Vladimir Putin has insisted that the G20 summit will concentrate on economic issues it is understood that the Syrian situation will be on the table. Since both Russia and Argentina, that during August chaired the UN Security Council, oppose any military intervention in the civil-war-torn country, Cristina Fernandez can be expected to address the issue both in informal and formal discussions.

Among the economic issues shared by several G20 members particularly emerging economies, Argentina and Brazil, is the “volatility of financial markets and the dollar evolution” following on the Federal Reserve growing consensus that the time has come to stop with the liquidity stimuli of the US economy thus threatening a massive outflow of capital from emerging economies looking for more profitable investments.

In effect the ‘dollar flood’ looked for higher yields in countries such as Brazil, India, Indonesia and East Europe, but the mere announcement that the US will be limiting stimuli has made currencies such as the Brazilian Real to weaken and capitals have started to move out.

The G-20 played a key role in the 2008/09 crisis and has as its mandate to establish a mechanism for international economic coordination. The official agenda for this coming meeting is the recovery of employment and growth, which are of special interest for the European Union. It would come as no surprise if Cristina Fernandez lectures the EU on the ‘Kirchnerite model’ and her ‘industrialization policy’, which could help explain why the delegation includes besides the Economy minister, Labour Minister Carlos Tomada.

Informally Cristina Fernandez could be asked by her colleagues from Australia and Canada to explain her recent statements underlining that the macroeconomic data of Argentina was sounder and more impressive than that of precisely Australia and Canada, two countries where per capita income is several times higher, inflation is below 3% and crime and corruption are but a mere breeze compared to the South American blizzard.

The Argentine presidential office did not inform of any scheduled bilateral meeting with any of the heads of state attending St Petersburg, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if there is some reproach attitude towards UK PM David Cameron referred to the lack of dialogue on the Falklands/Malvinas dispute. This could be consistent with her recent presentation at the Security Council when Argentina took the chair and the current mid-term elections campaign that is not showing positive for Cristina Fernandez. The latest attack on Lan Chile and Chilean president Sebastian Piñera is a clear example.