12/03/2020 10:52 PM
Clarín.com
Opinion
Updated 12/03/2020 10:52 PM
Alberto Fernández
was irritated.
The anger was creeping up his office in the Casa Rosada.
His inner circle listened with bewilderment.
The President repeated, harshly: "The statement is
deeply reckless
."
Alberto –first– did not want to talk to Felipe.
His environment sought the resignation and there were skirmishes between the Chancellor, the Minister of Economy and the Chief of Staff.
Felipe Solá repeated his defense: “
I did not invent anything.
But I eat the toad.
My mistake was mentioning Mark Rosen. "
The chancellor did not resign, but this Thursday night he commented to his team of advisers:
this will not be free.
It happened after he finished doing his controversial radio interview and explained in detail the -his version- conversation between Alberto and Joe Biden.
But - true or not his version - Solá
had violated a central point
of the conditions imposed to carry out the bilateral conversation.
In Washington they were explicit with Jorge Argüello: Alberto could not address current problems with the White House.
Alberto spoke a lot about Francisco.
Biden confessed that the Pope - when he traveled to the United States - had reunited his entire family and privately
gave them personal comfort
for the death of his son.
Alberto later linked the Pope with the IMF negotiation.
Biden stopped him:
“In America, presidents go one at a time.
I am not the current President ”.
It was a central condition for organizing the phone conversation: not talking about the end of the Trump administration.
Alberto accepted because the dialogue was an –important–
political signal of support for the Casa Rosada
in the midst of the economic tsunami and political wear and tear.
Alberto Fernández did not hide his anger with Felipe Solá for a "profoundly reckless" statement.
On that day, the President did what he did not accomplish in a year: he spoke with his colleague from Brazil and the US elect. Thus, Alberto made a difference with Kirchnerism.
Now he is excited:
since he did not speak to Cristina, he stopped the fall and rose a bit in the polls.
Nobody in politics created the official story: that Solá was not in the talk because he was in the wrong place and went to Olivos.
They insist on something else: that Alberto's environment preferred that he not be in the conversation and they sent him to Olivos.
They seek their position and want to deflect it.
In fact, it was the spokespersons of the Casa Rosada who aired the scandal starkly 48 hours after it occurred.
It was after a tense meeting between Felipe and Minister Martín Guzmán.
They said everything.
Guzmán accused Solá of being a
provocateur
and the chancellor of Guzmán of
ungrateful.
Guzmán was honest: “We didn't have to talk about Rosen.
He will continue at the IMF ”.
Solá retorted: "And why don't they warn and
you will operate against me
."
Guzmán counterattacked: "I do not operate against anyone."
The minister is restless, because the United States delegate made a complaint: he filled Sergio Chodos's head with reproaches.
Solá discussed the issue again with the Chief of Staff.
It was Wednesday night.
Solá wanted to speak with the President, but so far they have only exchanged chat.
There is anger.
Santiago Cafiero reassured him: "No one is going to ask you to resign."
The Chancellor stressed: "I am a mouth, but I am not an invention."
Although the question with the Fund was not mentioned in the conversation with Biden, Felipe committed
a sincericide
and put his finger on the wound.
Solá publicly whitewashed a serious problem: that - for now -
US officials do not support a soft deal
between Argentina and the IMF.
Minister Martín Guzmán also confronted Foreign Minister Felipe Solá.
Trump is complicating things and nothing solves in his last days in office.
That is why Kristalina Georgieva does not want to sign until she leaves the White House.
Mark Rosen, the questioned US representative at the IMF, has
an intransigent position
with Argentina.
He is the most powerful director and is dedicated
to putting "sticks in the wheel"
: he is one of those who ask Minister Guzmán for a greater adjustment.
Rosen - like other "tough" directors - is now hiding behind technical papers: the duo Luis Cubeddu and Julia Kozak did not return to Washington sufficiently satisfied with the proposals of the Palacio de Hacienda.
IMF bureaucrats have doubts on several central issues.
The first is about the consistency of monetary policy and how much issuance the Treasury financing supports.
The BCRA transferred to the Treasury - last Thursday -
another 90,000 million pesos
as "profits."
The pair recognizes that the current exchange rate
is above the historical series.
But both point out that even so,
dollars do not enter
Argentina.
In the past month, reserves
fell $ 1.2 billion.
That is why the negotiation deadlines were extended: Georgieva's strategy is to
close in February
and audit the economic "rationality" of the Government in these three months.
Cristina put doubts on Thursday about that prudence promised to the IMF.
He annulled with a stroke of the pen the decision to make a payment on account - and not additional - to retirees.
Cristina commented on this at the Instituto Patria: "I in the Senate will
not endorse unpopular adjustment measures
."
He also repeated it to Martín Redrado in the reunion between the two.
At a dinner of influential businessmen and trade unionists, it was learned
who was the manager of that meeting: Javier Timerman
, the Argentine financier from Manhattan.
The diplomatic "paper" also reflected the
"amateurism" and improvisation
with which the Government handles hot topics.
In the Casa Rosada they fantasize and believe the following: that access to Biden can replace the need for a macroeconomic program.
There is also euphoria because Minister Guzmán has a link with Janet Yellen, the future Secretary of the Treasury. Yellen - like Guzmán - was a disciple of Joseph Stiglitz.
Her husband, George Akerlof, won the Nobel Prize in economics with Stiglitz.
Linking - undoubtedly - facilitates dialogue.
Now Guzmán only has formal access to Steven Mnuchin, the current US Treasury secretary. But some officials dream that this better harmony will prevent the IMF from
demanding an anti-inflationary economic plan and growth
.
That doesn't exist in the real world.
Biden's presence is good news for Latin America.
He also hits Jair Bolsonaro.
The main contribution would be the following: Biden will weaken the dollar and will sustain international commodity prices.
US President-elect Joe Biden had his first talk with Alberto Fernández.
Reuters photo
In other words: international conditions could be better for Argentina.
Also the appearance of vaccines has a "wealth effect".
The Pfizer laboratory
has not yet signed a contract with Argentina
and requires that it have Alberto's own signature.
But that breeze - it will not be an international wind - the Casa Rosada will only be able to use it if the Argentine economy is in order.
And that does not happen:
the 100% gap and rising inflation
are thermometers of the strong imbalance in Argentina.
Alberto - pushed by Cristina - got into an unnecessary fight with Horacio Rodríguez Larreta.
They no longer speak.
The offensive has a cost for the City, but it consolidates the presidential image of the head of government.
Larreta got his hands on the Leliq tax.
Miguel Pesce
came out with the end caps.
He had a tough dialogue with Martín Mura.
The Buenos Aires minister defended the legality of the tribute and countered: "Miguel, they cannot blame us for
the disaster of the
BCRA's
monetary policy
."
Look also
Controversy Solá-IMF: the Monetary Fund avoided responding to the foreign minister and there is still no date for an agreement
After the anger in the Economy, President Alberto Fernández supported Felipe Solá although he considered some statements he made as "very reckless"
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/GAQNQ47F3RDG3CXD5ORXNLIX7M)
