In the opening speech of the ordinary sessions in Congress, President Alberto Fernández
did not include new economic measures
.
But he did stress the importance of
"increasing exports", "caring for foreign exchange" and achieving fiscal balance,
all issues that the government has been discussing with the International Monetary Fund.
In an excerpt from a speech that seemed more to balance his management than proactive towards the coming year, the president stated: "Despite the cataclysms so many times announced, we continue to put our economy in order," and proceeded to thank the former president for his
management
. of the Chamber of Deputies Sergio Massa, in front of the Palacio de Hacienda.
The elephant in the room was rising inflation
, after the failed announcement of a "war" against rising prices a year ago
.
Fernández avoided giving numbers, but acknowledged: "The high inflation that we all suffer is a central factor in the disorganization of our economy."
At the same time, he added:
"We all know that inflation is a structural problem in Argentina
that goes back decades."
"We are committed to reducing it without generating increases in poverty levels or brakes on the growth process that we have been experiencing. It
is not an easy task.
Those who minimized the problem ended up deepening it," said the president.
Fernández dedicated a brief passage of his long speech to giving definitions on the economic course, something key for the last year of his current term.
With the watchful eye of Minister Sergio Massa in the box of the former presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, the president stressed:
"We do not need the IMF to know that we must achieve fiscal balance."
"We cannot persist with policies that generate deficits in our public accounts. Because, although it is not feasible to achieve that objective overnight, fiscal balance must be our horizon," said the president who had previously stated that during 2022 it had managed
to reduce the fiscal deficit to 2.4% of GDP.
In the midst of doubts about the Central Bank's ability to accumulate reserves, Fernández also highlighted:
"We also do not need the IMF to know that Argentina must increase its exports
. If we do not generate foreign currency, we will not be able to sustain our economic activity and that will mean less work and lower wages
. Taking care of the value of the currency is essential to continue on the path of growth."
Without clear definitions of what the measures will be this year to be able to prop up the coffers of the Central, Fernández hinted that the exchange controls will continue:
"We carry out an administration of a scarce asset such as foreign currency so that, as a priority, they are turned to production
", he affirmed and added:" I repeat once again. A central policy of the Government is to
take care of the reserves
and we will continue on that path.
"We often listen to those who announce financial crises and sudden devaluations. They try to sow uncertainty and generate mistrust. Those who blew up the Argentine economy just three years ago are the same ones who now announce that a bomb will explode in the future," said the president. , without seeming to remember that three years ago the person who opened the ordinary sessions of Congress was himself, in the prelude to the pandemic.
NE
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