MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

IMF says draft of deal with Argentina almost ready

Argentina's proposal was “realistic and reliable,” according to Goldfajn

A high-ranking International Monetary Fund (IMF) official Friday announced a full deal with Argentina “is very close,” as the Government of President Alberto Fernández hopes it will be next week, so that it can be put up for Congressional approval at the start of the new Legislature, March 1.

According to Casa Rosada sources, only the final details were still missing from the agreement. “We do not expect to close the deal this weekend, but in the middle of the next one,” the sources said. “It will surely be in the next fifteen days,” they added.

Rumors mounted after IMF's Western Hemisphere Director Ilan Goldfajn said Friday that the organization was “very close with the Argentine authorities to reach a complete agreement.”

The Brazilian economist made the announcement Friday before businessmen and economists from the region, convened by the Council of the Americas.

The IMF official also said that “we are in close collaboration with the Argentine government to reach an agreement” and explained that meetings between both parties were held constantly to find a program that is “realistic, pragmatic and credible” for the country.

“We have published the understanding of this program, of the social programs, we have seen what the fiscal path is, but we are now very close to reaching a complete agreement with all the details and all the reforms that are in the new program,” Goldfajn maintained.

He added that he has held some “intense meetings, many of them virtual, with Argentine officials, and that takes almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Goldfajn also explained that the final draft will be sent to the IMF Board of Directors “and they will say what they will say and the reality of Argentina must be taken into consideration.”

Argentina's proposal was “a realistic and reliable program that is only for Argentina in the broadest sense, this is a credible program, pragmatically and feasible,” Goldfajn went on.

Regarding Latin America, Goldfajn believed the main risks were the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial hardening in advanced economies such as the US, and also the global geopolitical context.

Resolving inequalities in the region “is more urgent now because societies have demanded that these problems be resolved as soon as possible,” Goldfajn explained.

“The work on social issues is compatible with solving fiscal problems and increasing the growth potential of Latin America,” he stressed.