President
Alberto Fernández
spoke this Wednesday about the criticism of Pope Francis regarding the high inflation registered in Argentina and the levels of poverty.
In this sense, the president assured:
"While Perón governed, another was the Argentine reality."
The head of state made brief statements to
Radio La Red
about the statements of the Supreme Pontiff that were released this Wednesday.
"What I must say is that while Perón ruled, another was the Argentine reality," Fernández said when asked about it.
And he added: "When dictatorial governments began to follow one another, always
governed by liberal and conservative logic,
they generated what they generated."
It is not usual for Pope Francis to express an open opinion on the political and economic situation in Argentina.
For this reason, this Wednesday his statements about the
increase in poverty and inflation
in the country resounded, which he attributed to "bad administration and bad policies."
“In the year 55, when I finished my secondary school, the poverty level was 5%, today poverty is at 52%. What happened? Bad administration, bad policies”
, she pointed out in an extensive interview with the Associated Press news agency.
In turn, the Supreme Pontiff warned about the sharp rise in prices in the country, which in 2022 closed with
an inflation of 94.8%,
and described it as "impressive".
Alberto Fernández in one of the meetings he had with Francisco in the Vatican.
Clarín file photo.
"Argentina at the moment, and I don't do politics, I read the data, it has an impressive level of inflation,"
Francisco emphasized.
Gabriela Cerruti, the first to respond
From the Government, the first to come to the crossroads of the Pope's sayings was the presidential spokesperson,
Gabriela Cerruti.
The official disassociated the Fernández administration from the matter and pointed against Mauricio Macri.
“When the Pope says that politics made this economy the way it is, we all know that
this is the product of four years of macrismo
.
We are still tracing what happened in those four years of macrismo," said Alberto Fernández's spokesperson.
Although it is true that, due to her career as a leader, doubts often arise as to whether Cerruti makes statements in a personal capacity or if she speaks for the entire Government, in Balcarce 50 this Wednesday they endorsed her statements.
"The Pope made a general analysis, he speaks from the year 1955 onwards," explained a senior official when asked by
Clarín
.
The presidential spokesperson Gabriela Cerruti.
Clarin Archive.
"It was not at all a criticism of this government, it was a general balance that we all share,"
justified a member of the Cabinet who remains close to the President despite the reordering for the campaign.
But Cerruti went further.
He alluded to the issue without being asked about it in the interview with
Radio Perfil,
which
feeds the theory that the government sought to establish a position in the face of criticism
.
The Pope's statements were mentioned when he was asked about the statements of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, who in a press conference claimed that "the extreme right should not win the elections" this year.
Alberto Fernández with his partner, Fabiola Yañez, on one of the visits made to Francisco.
Clarín file photo.
The relationship between the Government and the Vatican is not going through its best moment
The Government's response is noted in a context in which the relationship with the Vatican is not good.
The Pope has been marking distance with the Fernández administration since the approval of the law of voluntary interruption of pregnancy.
After the
icy meeting of just 25 minutes
that they held in 2021, last year, on at least two occasions, when he traveled to Europe,
Fernández tried unsuccessfully to get an audience with the Pope
, amid the tussles with Cristina.
Despite the good harmony and long friendship he has with the Deputy Chief of Staff,
Juan Manuel Olmos,
one of the President's stalwarts, Francisco avoided receiving him and only agreed to meet the First Lady Fabiola Yáñez at an activity against bullying in the framework of Scholas Occurentes.
DB
look also
Why Pope Francis decided now to deal his worst challenge to the Government of Alberto, Cristina and Massa
The Government responded to the criticism of Pope Francis for inflation and poverty and blamed Mauricio Macri: "It is the product of those four years"
