2023-08-20 22:16:05
The Minister of Economy and Argentine presidential candidate, Sergio Massa, will travel to the United States on Monday to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund on the country’s refinancing disbursements amid the devaluation of the peso.
Massa will meet IMF and US officials on his two-day trip to Washington, according to state radio. Argentina is expected to receive a disbursement of US$7.5 billion by the end of August if the IMF Executive Board approves the agreement at the country’s staff level. Massa will also hold meetings with officials from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the US Treasury and the State Department.
The conversations take place after the victory in the primaries on August 13 of Javier Milei, a political outsider, who led the government to respond with a drastic change in policy, devaluing the peso by almost 18% and raising interest rates.
According to economists, devaluation was long overdue, but ultimately it was not enough to fix Argentina’s distorted economy. What’s more, it led businesses to raise prices by 20% overnight, fueling inflation that is already in triple digits.
IMF staff met with Milei’s economic advisers as well as those of her main contender, Patricia Bullrich, on Friday. It remains to be seen if Milei can maintain her lead in the polls before the first round of voting on October 22.. Milei led the most market-friendly opposition candidates by only 1.8% in last week’s vote.
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