BUENOS AIRES – Argentina President Alberto Fernandez said yesterday that the crisis-hit country’s debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is “unpayable” in its original form.
Fernandez has been looking to renegotiate several multi-billion dollar debts ever since he took office in December 2019.
The South American country of 45 million people has been in recession since mid-2018.
“The debt we inherited with the current terms is unpayable, and what we’re looking at is how to negotiate with the (IMF) to obtain the best advantages,” Fernandez told Del Plata radio station.
Last week, Economy Minister Martin Guzman traveled to Washington to meet IMF chiefs.
At the end of the meeting, the IMF said the two sides had reached “a common understanding of the need for macroeconomic sustainability and for safeguarding the post-pandemic recovery underway.”
Fernandez said Argentina must pay US$3.5 billion (RM14.5 billion) this year, US$18 billion in 2022 and US$19 billion in 2023.
“What chance do we have of paying US$18 billion next year? None,” he said.
“It’s already hard to see us paying US$3.5 billion this year, and another US$2.5 billion to the Paris Club,” he added referring to a debt with the group of creditor countries that tries to find sustainable solutions for struggling debtor nations.
Argentina has received US$44 billion of a US$57 billion loan from the IMF arranged under Fernandez’s pro-austerity predecessor Mauricio Macri.
After taking office, Fernandez refused to accept the rest of the loan.
Last year, Fernandez managed to renegotiate another US$66 billion loan that was worth 54.8 cents on the dollar.
“The idea is not to not pay but rather to obtain an agreement that will allow us to sustain our economic plan of development and growth, and without forgetting the 40% of the population below the poverty line,” Fernandez told C5N television channel on Saturday.
He praised the IMF for having said that debt must be sustainable, adding that “this means that countries need to be able to pay their debt without postponing their development.”
Argentina’s economy shrunk 9.9% in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit hard.
Inflation was 36.1%, which was at least lower than the 53.8% of 2019.
Inflation is expected to reach 48% this year – the second highest in the world. – AFP, March 29, 2021
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