The International Monetary Fund said this Thursday that there is
“good progress
” on the path to lowering inflation in Argentina and demanded that the weight of the adjustment that Javier Milei's government is carrying out “
does not fall disproportionately on poor and working families
,” that “the
real value of retirements”
be preserved
and that additional help be allocated for the most vulnerable sectors.
At a press conference in Washington, Communications Director
Julie Kozack
answered some questions about the program with Argentina, whose last revision was approved in January.
“An ambitious stabilization plan is being implemented to correct serious policy delays in the final quarters of 2023,” Kozack said.
“To get the program back on track, the plan focuses on
establishing a strong fiscal anchor
, along with policies to lastingly reduce inflation, rebuild reserves and address distortions as well as long-standing impediments to growth. ”he added.
“
Good progress is being made,
but of course the path to stabilization will be difficult and that requires strong policy implementation, agile policy and agile policy formulation.
Efforts to support the most vulnerable segments
of the population are a fundamental pillar of the program.
And
it is important that the burden of adjustment does not fall disproportionately on poor and working families
,” she said.
“This involves addressing the challenges of inflation and high poverty,” the official added.
“Strong fiscal consolidation, the elimination of monetary financing, together with improvements in the monetary and exchange rate policy frameworks are expected to provoke
a gradual process of disinflation”
“We are seeing some results in this area with inflation starting to decline.
And why is it so important to reduce inflation?
It is about protecting the most vulnerable, because we all know that
inflation is a tax on the poor
.
Given the delicate social situation, together with the
already very high poverty rates
in Argentina, it will be important to ensure additional social assistance and preserve the real value of pensions.”
“Sustained efforts are also needed to support vulnerable segments of the population.
It is very important to us that, under the program, the burden of adjustment does not fall on working families.
And the most vulnerable segments of the population,” she added.
Regarding the possibility of a
new program
with the Fund, which involves a disbursement of fresh money, something that Economy Minister Luis Caputo had mentioned after meeting with IMF authorities in Brazil, Kozack did not offer too many details.
“Right now, our focus remains on supporting policies.
That aim to restore macroeconomic stability in Argentina, protecting the most vulnerable,” he said.
And he added:
“It is premature to discuss the exact and precise modalities of the program
.”
He was also asked about a tweet from former Minister
Martín Guzmán
, who noted that he had met in Argentina with a mission from the Fund's Independent Evaluation Office, which had arrived in the country to “audit whether the exceptional access criteria” had been met. for the loan that was granted in 2018.
Kozack noted that “the Independent Evaluation Office conducts objective and independent evaluations on issues that are relevant to the IMF's mandate.
The IEO's current work program includes an evaluation of the IMF's Exceptional Access Policy.
The evaluation is specifically
examining
the application of the policy in previous Exceptional Access programs.
The 2018 Standby Agreement with Argentina is one such program, but not the only one that will be examined as part of this review.
Therefore, I want to clarify that this refers to the exceptional access policy itself.”