In line with the message sent by the International Monetary Fund, the US government told Javier Milei that “this is “It is vitally important to protect the most vulnerable” during the fiscal “stabilization” process.
“Protect the most vulnerable during this transition it will be a challengebut it is vitally important,” the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during the meeting with Luis Caputo, on the sidelines of the meeting of G20 finance ministers, which will end on Thursday in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.
In his first audience with the Minister of Economy, the senior US official acknowledged that the administration of the libertarian Milei, in power since December 10, 2023, “has inherited a difficult task of economic stabilization”.
But at the same time he admitted that he “has already taken some important steps towards re-establishing fiscal sustainability, adjusting the exchange rate and fighting inflation”, through a broad package of public spending cuts and cuts to liberal reforms. .
“There is no doubt that this has been, and will continue to be, a difficult period of economic transition for Argentines,” he noted, later saying that “protecting the most vulnerable” is “vital.”
For his part, Caputo stressed that the Argentine people are carrying out a “a huge effort” endure an economic situation” which he defined as “very bad.
“The beautiful thing is that we have a president” who “did not lie during the electoral campaign”, “was very open and honest”, they voted for him in the elections and “they gave him the mandate to carry out those reforms”, with which the Government hopes to overcome the inflationary crisis facing the country.
“It will be challenging and tough in the short term,” but “we are convinced that there will be a turning point” from which the situation will improve, Caputo predicts.
“An active and constructive relationship”: the forecast of the Argentina-United States relationship
Yellen, for her part, congratulated the Argentine Economy Minister “for his leadership throughout this period” and said she sees “many areas of collaboration between the United States and Argentina.”
“I expect an active and constructive relationship between the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of the Economy,” said Treasury Secretary of the Joe Biden administration.
Caputo met on Wednesday, also in Sao Paulo, with the director general of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, who also applauded the Argentine government for its “efforts” aimed at restoring economic stability in the country.
The meeting also took place on the sidelines of the meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers, who met on Wednesday and Thursday in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, which this year holds the rotating presidency of the forum, to talk of inequality, growth prospects, international taxation and debt.
“Excellent meeting with Luis Caputo. I welcomed the authorities’ sustained efforts to restore stability, support the most vulnerable and generate support for reforms,” assessed the Fund’s Director General, Kristalina Georgieva.
The IMF had already sent a message along the same lines as the US government. It was when the organisation’s deputy director general, Gita Gopinath, visited Argentina last week.
In a statement, the IMF official advised Milei’s management that “working pragmatically to gain social and political support is also essential to ensure the durability and effectiveness of the reforms.”
Source: Clarin
