In line with the message left by the International Monetary Fund, the United States Government told Javier Milei that "it is vitally
important to protect the most vulnerable"
during the fiscal "stabilization" process.
"Protecting the most vulnerable during this transition
will be a challenge
, but it is vitally important," said the
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Janet Yellen,
during the meeting she held with Luis Caputo, on the sidelines of the meeting of finance ministers. of the G20, which concludes this Thursday in the Brazilian city of São Paulo.
In her first audience with the Minister of Economy, the senior US official acknowledged that the administration of the libertarian Milei, in power since December 10, 2023, "has inherited an arduous task of economic stabilization."
But at the same time he admitted that "he has already taken some important steps towards reestablishing fiscal sustainability, adjusting the exchange rate and fighting inflation," through a broad package of public spending cuts and cutting reforms. liberal.
"There is no doubt that this has been, and will continue to be, a difficult period of economic transition for Argentines," he noted, later stating that "protecting the most vulnerable" is "of vital importance."
For his part, Caputo stressed that the Argentine people are making a
"tremendous effort"
to endure an economic situation" that he described as "very bad."
"The good thing is that we have a president" who "did not lie during the campaign", "was very open and honest", they voted for him in the elections and "they gave him the mandate to go ahead with those reforms", with which the Government hopes to overcome the inflation crisis in which the country is mired.
"It will be challenging and hard in the short term," but "we are convinced that there will be a turning point" from which the situation will improve, Caputo predicted.
"An active and constructive relationship": the forecast of the Argentina-United States relationship
Yellen, for her part, congratulated the Argentine Minister of Economy "for his leadership throughout this period" and stated that she sees "many areas of collaboration between the United States and Argentina."
"
I anticipate an active and constructive relationship
between the United States Department of the Treasury and the Ministry of the Economy," said the Secretary of the Treasury of the Joe Biden Administration.
Caputo met on Wednesday, also in São Paulo, with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, who also applauded the Argentine government for its "efforts" to restore economic stability in the country.
That meeting was also on the sidelines of the meeting of G20 finance ministers, who met between this Wednesday and Thursday in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, which this year holds the rotating presidency of the forum, to talk about inequality, perspectives growth, international taxation and debt.
"Excellent meeting with Luis Caputo. I welcomed the authorities' sustained efforts to restore stability, support the most vulnerable and generate support for the reforms," assessed the Managing Director of the Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.
The IMF had already left a message in the same sense as the United States Government.
It was when the organization's deputy managing director, Gita Gopinath, visited Argentina last week.
In a statement, the IMF official recommended to Milei's management "working pragmatically to obtain social and political support is also essential to guarantee the durability and effectiveness of the reforms."
With information from EFE