03/02/2021 12:27
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 03/02/2021 12:27 PM
Alberto Fernández's speech at the opening of the 139th sessions of the Legislative Assembly left cloth to cut.
Among the strongest things he said, the President announced that he will promote a criminal complaint to identify the authors and participants in the debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) contracted by the government of Mauricio Macri.
After his accusations, former officials of the economic area of the previous government came to the crossroads of the complaint.
The first to pick up the glove via Twitter was Guido Sandleris, the last Central Bank president of the Let's Change era.
But he was not the only one, two other former officials also joined: the then Minister of Finance, Alfonso Prat-Gay, who was in the first two years of government, and Hernán Lacunza, who led the portfolio in recent months.
But beyond the defenses over the previous management, the counterpoint came 10 hours later, when the current Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas, went out to the Sandleris junction and responded to his tweets one by one.
Sandleris replied via Twitter to Alberto Fernández's questions with a series of 13 tweets.
There, the former official said that "
the debt does not come out of a cabbage
" and that "
when a government increases its debt it is because it has a fiscal deficit
(its expenses exceed its income) and it needs to borrow to finance it. mystery".
This morning, Kulfas also used the same route to replicate Sandleris.
"I would like to make some reflections on this thread
since it repeats arguments that are usually heard in opposition economists", was the kickoff.
What did sandleris say
Here is an excerpt from some of his 13 tweets:
"Governments that reduce the fiscal deficit first reduce the speed at which they get into debt (each year the debt grows less) and then, when they have a surplus, their debt begins to fall. There is no genuine debt reduction without a fiscal surplus. ".
"The Macri government received a large primary fiscal deficit (-3.8% of GDP in 2015). As of 2018, the strong correction of the fiscal deficit made it possible to reduce the speed of indebtedness and deliver a government with an almost balanced budget (- 0.4% of GDP) ".
"Two of every 3 dollars of debt that were taken during the Macri government were used to pay inherited debts (the public debt at the beginning of the Macri government already amounted to US $ 241 billion".
"The comparison with the CFK governments and with the current government in terms of fiscal responsibility is conclusive. During the CFK governments the fiscal result worsened every year (it received a surplus close to + 3% of GDP and delivered a deficit of -3.8%) ".
"The President also emphasized the role of the IMF loan in increasing debt. This is incorrect. The loan almost did not increase public debt."
"How do you explain that the loan with the IMF has not increased public debt? Very simple, the loan was used almost everything to pay maturities of other debts. That is, the loan with the IMF basically replaced one source of financing with another. ".
What Kulfas replied
Extract from the responses of the Minister of Development:
"It is not the same to borrow in dollars as in pesos. In local currency, the risk of default is very low. In contemporary world economic history, very few countries in their history defaulted their debt in local currency. One was the government. of Macri ".
Some say that borrowing in dollars was inevitable since the country could not borrow in local currency.
However, the growth in the stock of LEBACs during 2017 is one of several elements that contradict this argument.
It is not the same to borrow from other public sector agencies as it is from the private sector or the IMF.
The “public intrasector” debt is more likely to roll over and to achieve better refinancing conditions.
The IMF credit granted to Argentina during 2018 and 2019 largely cancels “intra-public” debt.
More replicas
On the side of the Macri administration, Sandleris was not the only one to defend himself against criticism.
Another who did not take long to answer, was the former Minister of Finance, Hernán Lacunza, who replaced Nicolás Dujovne after the defeat in the PASO 2019 and the strong economic crisis that led to a strong rise in the dollar.
"In 2020, debt increased more than the 2016-19 average: US $ 21,000 million (6.75% year-on-year as of September, latest official data), versus US $ 17.800 million average in the previous four-year period (6.72% annual average September- 19 vs Sept-15) ", was also expressed through the little bird's network.
And he issued a warning:
"Beware that it has inertia (future debt)
.
"
1. In 2020, debt increased more than the 2016-19 average: USD 21,000 million (6.75% year-on-year as of September, latest official data), versus USD 17,800 average in the previous four-year period (6.72% annual average September-19 vs Sept-15).
pic.twitter.com/Y3JyHPLydK
- Hernán Lacunza (@hernanlacunza) March 1, 2021
For his part, Alfonso Prat-Gay, spoke with TN on Monday night, and there he stated that
"it is extraordinary that Alberto has spoken of the indebted government of Macri alongside Cristina Kirchner
.
"
"This complaint must be put in terms of what is happening now. The Central Bank's debt increased by US $ 17,000 million, it
could start at home
. The debt rate is higher than the previous one," he said.
"Today, I heard blaming someone else, the previous management and the judges. I did not listen to a program on how we are going to get out of this," he said visibly confused.
YN