With only two complaints, dollar back and sales on the floor, the businessmen arrived early this afternoon at the Hilton. There was anxiety in that environment. They were waiting for Luis Caputo who was received in VIP by the presidents of the Chambers (UIA, Commerce, Rural, Stock Exchange, Banks and Construction) which bring together Cicyp.
Caputo must have guessed something. They say that in that intimacy the Minister of Economy was precise. “Don’t be anxious, but we won’t devalue. We need to stabilize, then we will grow and that will be the time to lower taxes,” he summarized what he would later say in front of the 303 business owners and CEOs who filled one of the hotel’s largest rooms.
In his thesis Caputo repeated again: don’t be anxious. And he received applause and enthusiastic comments from the same people who shortly before had commented that they were in a game of tweezers, between an official dollar that “In real terms it is equivalent to 350 Massa dollars and consumption which, in the case of beef, has fallen to 42 kilos per inhabitant per year. We cannot export or sell here”, the owners of the refrigerators complained.
The oil companies represented by Gustavo Idígoras would later propose something similar to the minister. Sebastián Planas of Colonia Express also commented on the collapse in ticket sales from Uruguay which reached 36%. “ “Change no longer works for Uruguayans” slipped. But Jorge Ortiz, lawyer and of the Tapiz winery, with high-end wine, This dollar is enough.
Caputo told him legacy and achievements in terms of cost reduction. And he indulged in infidelity. You said that in the last cabinet meeting, Patricia Bullrich spoke about the new governance. And given the widespread enthusiasm for her definition, the President asked him to write the concept and send it via WhatsApp to his colleagues.
Caputo read it: “Governance was tied to agreements, the new governance is based on the people who voted for change, in that support,” he said and called for trust. “We will not deviate. It’s not that we don’t understand politics, we don’t want to play”.
And this is how he marked the field: “First of all we will stabilize, we will lower inflation, we will rebuild the balance of the Central Bank, we will get out of the trap and start the growth path and when we grow, taxes will be lowered”.
Entrepreneurs’ questions focused on the backwardness of the dollar, the advent ofdollarization and labor reform.
Caputo said that this dollar andIt’s competitive, that beforedollarization there will be currency competition, meaning that the dollar will fluctuate but in a controlled manner. And he assured that labor reform is a priority and even invited us to start recycling employees.
Those comments sparked excitement. Klaus Bonnemann, of the German Knauf, leader in the gypsum sector with a factory in Mendoza, declared that he had summoned the entire regional management to Buenos Aires to try the experience “Milei’s pro-business environment”. Alberto Grimoldi commented that thanks to one of the brands of his chain of shoe stores, sales, which had fallen by 14% in January and 11% in February, have stopped and dropped by just 2% this month.
For Adela Nores Martínez, a producer from the south of Buenos Aires, the problems were different. You anticipated that the Rural does not join the tax rebellion but they will appeal in court against Axel Kicillof’s fare increase.
In what was the entrance to the room where lunch was served amid applause and supportive hugs, Caputo sat down and suddenly got up to greet Adrián Meszaros, especially at another table, the financial director of CGC, the oil company of the Eurnekian group.
The minister was received with compliments from Marcos Pereda, president of Cicyp and vice-president of Rural. And he was surrounded at the main table by Eduardo and Hugo Eurnekian, as well as the presidents of the different chambers: Daniel Funes de Rioja, Mario Grinman, Adelmo Gabbi, Gustavo Weiss and Nicolás Pino.
After listening to the speech, economists like Fausto Spotorno read that the adjustment will continue, albeit to a lesser extent.
Weiss, from the Chamber of Construction on fire for paralyzed public works, reproaches: “I agree with the correction of the macro, I disagree about the speed.” Funes de Rioja, of the UIA, spoke of favorable expectations regarding the macro situation, “but there are many SMEs that will suffer, we will have to think about some rescue mechanism. “We need to prepare for winter.”
For Adrián Werthein we must”believing is seeing, we can no longer continue to be observers. “We must support,” he stressed, while Alfredo Guzmán, owner of Celusal and Gabbi, agreed.
According to Jamie Campos (president of the Argentine Business Association), the minister underlined the key role of the private sector. “We have always considered fiscal balance, macroregulation, the fight against inflation and the reduction of the tax burden as priorities.” David Lacroze, a major producer, was concerned about changes in the basic law, ““as if they had canceled the Basic Livestock Law.”
As per tradition at Cicyp, the final toast was offered to Eduardo Eurnekian. “Businessmen have no choice but to do this “no other remedy than to cooperate”.
Caputo was able to repay him: “You are heroes and we need you be more heroes than ever It won’t happen many times that you have honest people willing to do what needs to be done. The vote is important but it is not enough if we do not accompany it with facts.”
Source: Clarin
