News of debt

Government to be plaintiff in IMF debt probe against ex-president Macri

11-04-2021 07:58 The State will act as a plaintiff in a case investigating whether former president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) broke the law in securing a record US$57-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) back in 2018.

What we learned this week: April 3rd- April 10th

10-04-2021 09:22 The stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

Kicillof, bondholders’ old foe, plays default hardball

30-03-2021 11:27 Axel Kicillof relished clashing with foreign investors when serving as economy minister. Today, as governor of Buenos Aires Province, he's again locked in a bruising battle with financiers in New York and London.

Method in the madness or madness as method?

27-03-2021 09:01 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner stole the show this week with her explosive dismissal of repaying the International Monetary Fund as “unacceptable” and “impossible” – shooting her mouth again or deliberate sabotage?

Mauricio and Cristina take centre-stage

27-03-2021 07:38 Both former presidents are both playing their games and talking to their people. The problem is we’re stuck in the middle.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

'We can't pay' – CFK puts US$45-billion IMF debt talks into doubt

27-03-2021 07:21 With Economy Minister Martín Guzmán in Washington for meetings with IMF staff members, Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner makes explosive intervention into restructuring talks.

Government wants Macri at forefront of election campaign

20-03-2021 08:07 With polls showing voters have economic crisis fresh in their mind, Peronist leaders give the order to attack former president during campaigning. Criminal complaint against former president over IMF debt deal is first step.

by Rosario Ayerdi

Forecasts and forebodings

13-03-2021 09:21 Improved fiscal solvency meets the dream of every orthodox economist but puffing up an already excessive tax burden would make the cure worse than the disease.

As IMF talks bog down, Argentine bonds plunge toward 30 cents

08-03-2021 13:51 Six months after Argentina exited default, its new bonds have sunk to a mere 30 cents on the dollar.

Fernández conditions IMF talks with lines from Instituto Patria

06-03-2021 09:15 Argentina’s Peronist leader has delivered the International Monetary Fund a clear message, echoing the lines of a Kirchnerite think-tank and modifying Economy Minister Martín Guzmán’s plans to seal a debt restructuring deal by May.

Radicalised

06-03-2021 08:11 It is troubling to see how both President Alberto Fernández and certain leaders in the opposition have given up their “post-grieta” posture all too quickly, proving their political and ideological fragility.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Fernández reiterates call for judicial reform in speech to Congress

01-03-2021 17:15 President Alberto Fernández reiterates his call for broad judicial reform and warns IMF he won't accept a "recessive adjustment" as he delivers speech opening new congressional sessions.

The anchor: Guzmán’s second mistake?

20-02-2021 07:12 The Fernández administration has doubled down on an economic strategy that appears aimed at winning this year’s midterm elections. Whether or not Economy Minister Martín Guzmán agrees with the plan is debatable.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Menem, ex-president who led Argentina for 10 years, dies at 90

14-02-2021 13:17 Former president, whose economic policies quashed hyperinflation during the 1990s but sowed the seeds for what became the largest debt default in history, has died. He was 90.

Guzmán: ‘Austerity is not the way to go’

13-02-2021 09:01 At a talk hosted by Brown University, Argentina’s economy minister says the nation has a “thin corridor through which the economy has to transit,” as speculation grows over debt talks with the International Monetary Fund.

by Jonah Shrock

Guzmán’s first mistake

13-02-2021 08:40 The economy minister’s appeal stems from a technocratic approach to the field of public economics, coupled with a soft but convincing, almost stubborn, conviction in his plan.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Not so much how to win as when?

06-02-2021 10:32 The current combination of capital controls, price freezes, overpriced bonds, etc. might suffice for the next eight months without bursting, but not for a further two years.

Alberto Fernández and Vladimir Putin share call

06-02-2021 10:16 President Alberto Fernández spoke Tuesday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with the latter saying that production of the Sputnik V vaccine had been stepped up in order to meet Argentina’s requirements.

IMF cuts Argentina’s 2021 growth estimate to 4.5%

30-01-2021 08:16 Fund predicts strong economic rebound across the globe, but trims forecast for local economy by 0.4%.

Consumers predict inflation will hit 45% this year

30-01-2021 08:00 New survey reveals consumers expect prices to soar over next year; International Monetary Fund cuts Argentina’s growth forecast for 2021, predicting 4.5% rise in GDP this year.