MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Lower House passes IMF deal

Opposition lawmakers supported the bill but “there is no co-government,” Negri stressed

Argentina's House of Deputies greenlighted the deal reached between the administration of President Alberto Fernández and the International Monetary Fund in the wee hours of Friday by 202 votes in favor, 37 against, and 13 abstentions.

Among those opposing the arrangement were a group of lawmakers belonging to the La Cámpora movement, which is headed by Deputy Máximo Kirchner. This issue is said to have led to a breakup within the ruling Frente de Todos coalition, due to which President Fernández is already thinking about running for reelection but without current Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on his ticket.

After almost 14 hours of debate, the Lower House reached its decision by around 4 am.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where debate is expected to start next week.

The ruling FdT was supported on the House by most of the opposition Juntos por el Cambio, except Deputy Ricardo López Murphy, who, as economy minister of then-President Fernando de la Rúa, was among those responsible for the 2001 crisis.

Deputy Juan Carlos Alderete, who was among those casting a negative vote, was very critical of the government of Mauricio Macri for having taken the loan, which he described as “a swindle.”

“We all know that not a single dollar was used to promote the national industry, build roads, hospitals or schools -he said-. The money was used for the flight and a handful of banks, monopolies, and landowners who amassed fortunes,” he said.

“Argentina does not have a public debt crisis. It has an external debt crisis, of debt in dollars, with external creditors and the IMF because the geniuses of finance squandered in two years all the international credit and that is the reason why we are discussing this”, leftwing Deputy Itaí Hagman argued. He also voted “no.”

Deputy Mario Negri of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), which is a part of the Macrist JxC coalition who voted “yes,” insisted their support did not “mean that there is a courtship [with the ruling party].”

“There is no co-government,” Negri stressed.

The debate was opened by FdT Deputy Carlos Heller, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. “We are convinced that a default would be much more serious,” he explained.

He added that despite the improvements agreed upon in this new deal, “we have no reason to celebrate.”