Daniel Fernandez Canedo
10/17/2020 1:21 PM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 10/17/2020 1:21 PM
If a politician, businessman or analyst had told the Government what the head of the IMF said in the week, he would have been branded, at least, as a
provocative dismissal
.
With the good tone that characterizes her, Kristalina Georgieva
was remarkably harsh when commenting on the Argentine situation: "It faces
dramatic challenges
. The country is in a deep recession,
social conditions are worsening
, economic imbalances are worsening and the divorce between the official exchange rate and the exchange rate change in the shadows is spreading. "
And, behind the scenes, he asked for a
"comprehensive and credible" plan
.
And did the government not retaliate or insult you?
No, and it is obvious why.
First, because he has to ask him about US $ 42,500 million, and second, because Minister Martín Guzmán, among others, knows that Kristalina is right.
Now a concrete answer would be missing, crystallized in a plan that allows it to change expectations, which are reflected in the soaring of free dollars.
This skyrocketing condenses the climate of mistrust in the markets and the business world, which are obviously the ones with the potential to invest.
Georgieva and the need for a lift that sets the course for economic activity contrasts with the patches that the Government is generating in the attempt to contain the exchange pressure in the heat of the promises of Minister Guzmán and the president himself
Alberto Fernandez
that they don't have a
dollar jump in
mind
.
The Minister of Economy Martín Guzmán.
Photo Germán García Adrasti.
The strategy of the last days to support the sayings of the officials is well known by Argentines:
raising the interest rate
so that banks place their surpluses to 34% per year in seven-day repo in the Central Bank and thus encourage the savers to stay at 34% per year in a fixed term of 30 days.
An annualized rate of 34% may at best tie in with an inflation of 40%, but it will have to do with the expectation of devaluation that dominates the market these days.
One dollar "cash settlement" of $ 168 or one
blue
of $ 178, marking a gap of 130% with respect to the official, once again overturned the version of the Argentine economy ministers (Guzmán was no exception) that the "parallel"
is an "insignificant" market
and that it does not represent anything.
On Friday, the Central Bank aspired to turn around the result of the previous days in which it ended with a negative balance in exchange matters.
The union conflict in the oil sector had been overcome and they were waiting for the dollars due to the resumption of exports.
Alberto Fernández in Vaca Muerta.
It also highlighted the
coup de grace to the quota of US $ 200
where they estimate that this month they pruned the demand for the equivalent of about US $ 400 million.
If before, at the beginning of the month, it sold more than US $ 100 million per day, in this October the stocks released an average of
only US $ 6 million a day
.
With the closing of the tap, the parallel dollar was left without supply and the price spike was predictable.
The question that an experienced consultant asks his clients when they ask him what the current price of the dollar should be is a timely one:
At what price would you sell the dollars you have saved today?
Kristalina Georgieva, head of the IMF.
Photo Clarín Archive.
To think about it, but in the meantime, it is important to highlight a statement by President Fernández that the possibility of applying a playpen on
dollar deposits in
banks
"never" crossed his mind
.
It is clear that no President of a country in which the laws and the principle of ownership are respected should come out and clarify that he does not plan to keep the savings of the people.
But here it seems necessary.
There is mistrust and
foreign currency deposits are in decline
, but Argentina already has four governments with respect for these placements.
And the financial system has the reserve requirements to return them in full in the event that depositors request them.
Those dollars are there, but confidence falters and in the next few days it will be seen whether or not Kristalina Georgieva's message catches on in the Government.
LGP
Look also
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