The number two of the
International Monetary Fund,
Gita Gopinath
, will arrive this Wednesday in Buenos Aires on a
surprise visit
with the aim of
seeing first-hand the delicate Argentine economic situation
and the evolution of the
reforms
that Javier Milei's government seeks to implement.
The Secretary of Communications of the Fund, Julie Kozack, announced on her X account (ex Twitter) that the first deputy executive director of the organization will travel
to Argentina
tonight on a visit that
had not been
previously announced.
A 52-year-old Indian-American economist and academic, Gopinath is
Kristalina Georgieva's right-hand woman
and is deeply immersed in the Argentine case.
It will be the first time that the official, who took office in 2022, visits Argentina.
Luis Cubeddu,
the deputy director of the Department of the Western Hemisphere and who is at the helm of the negotiations with the Argentine government,
will also travel .
Although the agenda has not been officially confirmed,
Gopinath will meet with Mile
i, with the Minister of Economy
Luis Caputo,
the president of the Central Bank
Santiago Bausili
and also with different civil society groups so it is possible that he will see
businessmen, unionists
and most likely members of the
opposition.
First Deputy Managing Director @GitaGopinath will travel to Argentina this week to meet with government officials & others to hear about Argentina's difficult economic and social challenges as well as its vast potential.
— Julie Kozack (@IMFSpokesperson) February 20, 2024
Gopinath has already met personally with Milei last month in Davos
and the trip to Argentina is understood as a
strong gesture of additional support
for the libertarian president and the reforms he proposes.
The message that Gita will carry is clear:
she wants to highlight the eventual benefits that the reforms
proposed by Milei
would mean for Argentines
and the potential of Argentina in the world if the changes are implemented, at a time when there is
reluctance in Congress to approve them. .
Javier Milei Gita Gopinath, Kristalina Georgieva and Argentine officials in the last meeting.
In that sense, the visit that the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken
, will make, who will arrive on Thursday in Buenos Aires from Brazil, where he will meet with Lula and participate in a G-20 meeting, is
also understood .
The United States is a key actor in the Fund, as the organization's main shareholder, and supports the reforms proposed by the libertarian.
Both the Fund and the US want to support Argentina out of the crisis and understand that Milei reflects a conviction for reforms that they have not seen in any previous government.
They know that the libertarian is very determined to change, but there are doubts both in the Treasury and in the IMF and Wall Street about the
political capacity to implement the reforms.
The first setback of the Omnibus Law in Congress was a sign of the difficulties it faces.
There is also
concern about the social situation,
since they estimate that the adjustment that Milei is implementing is
harsher than what the Fund initially requested
and the lower middle class will suffer a strong impact.
Gopinath will seek first-hand
to feel the social temperature
because what the Fund least wants is an explosion.
After this week of high-voltage visits,
Milei will leave for Washington
to an annual Conservative Conference (CPAC), where he will speak before an audience of representatives of the American right, along with international guests such as the Salvadoran Nayib Bukele and the leader of the Spanish VOX Santiago Abascal.
The top star of the conference will be former President Donald Trump, who will speak on Saturday, the same day as Milei, and they will probably have a photo together.