Exchange: The IMF calls for "prudent" management and that the new measures "do not add vulnerabilities in the future"

The International Monetary Fund is aware of the exchange of bonds from the Anses and other official organizations announced by Economy and warned this Thursday that it must be done "in a way that does not add

while stressing that any measure must be accompanied by

macroeconomic policies .

In her first conference as head of the agency's Communications Secretariat, replacing the retired Gerry Rice,

answered questions from journalists from around the world.

Kozack is familiar with the Argentine case because she closely followed the program's negotiations from her position as undersecretary for the Western Hemisphere of the organization.

The official was consulted about the recent measures taken by the Economy, which forces public entities, such as Anses, to exchange their bonds in dollars for titles in pesos, a measure designed to reduce the gap between the blue dollar and the financial ones and to consolidate the reservations.

This decision was highly criticized by the opposition, which estimated that

In this regard, Kozack said that “regarding the recent government decision on the debt, we are aware of that decision, we are evaluating it according to the objectives of the program.

From our point of view,

to improve the functioning of the domestic bond and foreign exchange markets”.

However, he issued a warning: "But (management)

On March 13, the Fund's staff and the Argentine authorities approved the fourth review of the Extended Facilities program, which made the reserve target more flexible, which was hit hard by the drought and other economic variables.

There was no official word on how much the reserve target would be relaxed, but it is estimated to be around $2 billion in relief by 2023.

The executive board is now analyzing the case so that, once the green light is given,

Kozack did not specify when the board would meet to discuss the issue.

“The executive board meeting will be held

and there is normally a period of time between when we reach an agreement with the technical staff and when it is presented to the board.

That meeting is expected to take place relatively soon and in accordance with the normal quarterly review cycle,” Kozack said.

From Economy they let it be known that the meeting would be on March 31 and that the payments scheduled for this week were postponed until the

released the money.

The official once again highlighted the warnings to the Government that had been expressed in the Fund's statement when the technical agreement was approved, when the reserve goal was analyzed.

“Given a different macroeconomic context, especially due to the recent drought,

.

These stronger actions are also required to deal with recent inflation and policy setbacks and keep the program anchored,” Kozack said.