04/04/2021 12:56 AM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 04/04/2021 12:56 AM
The Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, warned that the Argentine economy
"could not withstand a total shutdown"
like the one that was applied during the quarantine in March last year when the coronavirus pandemic broke out.
Guzmán argued that there was "a lot of learning during 2020 and there was a preparation of the health system to deal with the pandemic."
That is why he considered that
"what is known today is not the same, even though much remains to be known about what this pandemic means, than in March 2020 when it began
.
"
"Therefore today we have different capacities to deal with the pure health situation. Of course, from the economic point of view, a good part of that margin has already been used," explained the head of the Palacio de Hacienda.
"Today the economy could not support a total closure, a strict Phase 1 quarantine like the one that was implemented in March 2020, but that is not the idea," he added.
In an interview broadcast on the Conecta2 program that aired this Saturday on the CNN En Español signal, with the leadership of María O'Donnell and Ernesto Tenembaum, Guzmán explained the alternatives that the Government is analyzing to face the effects of the pandemic.
“From the point of view of traffic restrictions, it will be another story than it was in March 2020
.
Let's think that the economy is designed, prepared, works with circulation.
So even though there is a pandemic, the effect on the economy is less, "he said.
In this context, the minister pointed out that Argentina has been "nine consecutive months of growing economic activity" despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Guzmán stressed that the Argentine economy "has improved in most of the indicators."
"There are sectors that of course are suffering the effects of the pandemic but have been recovering very strongly," according to data managed by the minister.
On this point, Guzmán commented that he has revised upward the growth forecasts for 2020, which was 5.5% in the September 2020 projection and today it stands at 7%.
According to the official, this projection "is also a prudent forecast, because it is convenient to be prudent."
"The reality is that the pandemic is there,
the pandemic hits the whole world, but the policies that were adopted in 2020 allowed us to be in a better situation than other countries in the region
, having protected work and capital in the economy. Argentina is the economy that is recovering the most, ”said Guzmán.
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