translated from Spanish: IMF insists it can’t restructure Argentina’s huge debt

As reported by Agence France-Presse, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would have insisted on Thursday that it cannot restructure Argentina’s debt to the agency, this through the words of Gerry Rice, spokesman for the agency, who stated during a press conference that the IMF’s ability to restructure debts is constrained by the regulation and policy of the same institution. In that sense Rice stated that “That’s not news, I think everyone knows, it’s a position we’ve held before and it’s not just about Argentina.” Currently an IMF technical team, led by Julie Kozack and Luis Cubeddu, is in Buenos Aires, and will be present until February 19, in order to dialogue with the new government of President Alberto Fernández, who has been eager to warn that public debt, including the IMF’s, is impossible to repay, so it seeks to defer commitments. Faced with this position, Rice indicated that there is an “active commitment” from the IMF, and that they are seeking to participate in a “constructive” way in this scenario. It should be noted that the anteriro government, of Mauricio Macri, agreed with the IMF in 2018 the largest loan in its history of about $57 billion, of which it received only 44 billion, since the current representative Alberto Fernández resigned following sections. Argentina’s situation is currently critical, with a total debt of $311.251 million (91.6% of GDP), according to figures from the Ministry of Economy at the end of September 2019, with 2015 when Macri took office, the public debt was $240.665 million (52.6% of GDP), or almost 40% lower. Regarding the IMF’s responsibility in the Argentina situation in granting the gigantic loan in a situation of economic instability, Rice noted that “I can assure everyone that there was no violation of IMF rules.”

Original source in Spanish