Argentina’s new economy minister told Reuters at a meeting with investors in the US on Tuesday that he has begun an adjustment in government spending, supported by all factions of the ruling party.
Less than a month in office, Economy Minister Silvina Batakis met with investors in Washington a day after meeting with international creditors and US economic officials, and aimed to allay concerns about short-term prospects for Latin America’s third-largest economy.
While an economy minister seeking to reassure investors is unlikely to mention increased spending, Tuesday’s meeting report did not confirm that the minister was referring to a downward adjustment.
Argentina is struggling with rising inflation, debt obligations and a currency that has weakened to new record lows against the dollar last week.
The participant, Javier Timerman, managing partner of Adcap Grupo Financiero, said that Batakis emphasized that left and centre-left groups of the ruling coalition agree on the implementation of spending adjustment.
“Batakis was very clear,” Timerman said. “He said he wanted to reestablish his relationship with Wall Street. He admitted the previous relationship wasn’t good and was open to hearing from (investment) funds.”
He gave no further details about Batakis’ engagement.
The Ministry of Economy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the representatives of international investment funds, the leaders of the US banking sector also attended the investor meeting where Batakis took the floor.
source: Noticias
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