Guzmán promised that after a 17% increase in electricity and 20% in gas for June, there will be no more rate increases in 2022

After the announcement of the increase in the Income Tax floor for employees in a dependency relationship from $ 225,937 per month to $ 280,792, the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, promised that the rate increase announced for June will “the last of the year” and is confident that inflation will continue to decline.

“The June one is the last rate increase of the year,” Guzmán said in statements to AM750 and argued: “If there were doubts about the economic program, now there is none. We keep everything we promised: the issue of tariffs has been resolved and most joints are closed“.

In this framework, the national official defined: “In terms of tariffs, exactly what is announced in the economic program is produced, which is the existence of a procedure by which updates are segmented“.

In addition, he considered that “inflation has been the most complex problem in Argentina in the long run“, and ensured that the rise in price indices is the main problem in the world, but in Argentina it is” stronger because it has been dealing with that problem for many years. “

“The economy solves problems very seriously and that it is very important to resolve so that we can continue on the path of recovery by job creation and also to attack the problem of inflation in a global situation that is complex, first the pandemic and then the war situation in Ukraine, which it has consequences for everyone, ”he studied.

At that point, he thought “a lot tendency to the inflationary process that the economic dynamics itself gives persistence to this phenomenon, that the first to be destroyed. “

“That’s broken by having a consistent macroeconomic policy. What does that mean? That what we’re doing from fiscal and monetary policy has to be help the country gather reservesto collect dollars. When the dollar is deficient, inflation increases and the recovery of economic activity cannot be sustained. When there is a dollar the country can prosper and exchange can be ensured and when exchange rate stability is higher, inflation decreases, “the national official explained.

Also, he stressed an “absolute commitment” of the national Executive with “a economic program which, among the purposes for which it is intended, include accumulate reserves in the Central Bank“, provided this will allow” expectations to calm down and inflation to come down “.

As for the possibility of increasing withholdings in the agricultural sector or setting export quotas, the national official ruled out the possibility: “In no way will we join the lines of banning or affecting exports. On the contrary, Argentina needs exports to increase to experience continued growth. “

Guzmán: “Inflation will come down in May”

The Minister of Economy predicted that inflation in May would be “lower than in April” and explained that the index for March was the “most difficult” because “the war in Ukraine was combined with doubts that arose about whether the program the economy is going to be enforceable or not. “

“Now we are in a situation that is still complicated, but that’s very different over the past two months. We are developing the conditions so that the monthly inflation rate continues to fall. Is this something that can be solved in minutes? Not in any way. Argentina makes the conditions for scontinue in line with the declining monthly inflation rate “where he is.

For national officials, you need “work by connecting the very short term to the less urgent“, because” it is useless to do something that yields improvement in a month in exchange for all that is destroyed in three months “.

Asked about Roberto Feletti’s resignation as Secretary of Domestic Trade, he stressed: “His job was so important, I suggested he continue in the position during the transition of the Secretariat to the Economy. His decision was set aside and with the new secretary, Guillermo Hang, we will continue to pursue a pricing policy along the same lines as we do. “

“With Roberto, we’ve talked a lot The most important thing for price policy is macroeconomic policy, ” He added.

Guzmán expects that inflation goals have changed because of the war between Russia and Ukraine: “When we update the 2023 Budget, we will review inflation projections. Work continues on the central goal, to regain the purchasing power of wages, so that wages beat inflation. “

Regarding the joint negotiations, he acknowledged that “there is clearly not enough” and justified: “The purchasing power of wages has dropped by 20 points since 2015, to which then added the pandemic, with the product of the economy falling. of 9, 9% in 2020. That’s where wages are starting to recover now. “

LGP