The United States gave a sign of its support for the country: what happened in Cafiero’s meeting with Biden’s chief of diplomacy

To open a file Impasse Where negotiations appear to be tending to reschedule debt maturities with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government expected this Tuesday a clear signal of US third-party support between Argentina and the multilateral credit organization, which demands terms that Casa Rosada rejects.

Secretary of State Santiago Cafiero arrived in Washington for this purpose, where at the beginning of the afternoon he met his counterpart, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, in the Thomas Jefferson Room of the Harry Truman Building, where the State Department operates.

The meeting took place amicably. In a joint and public declaration, before the start of the working meeting, Blinken emphasized that Argentina is “a partner and friend in the hemisphere and beyond.” President Joe Biden, who has been in charge of the White House for a year, highlighted the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) that Argentina has held since January, and stated that A country that “strongly supports a vibrant Argentine economy”. There were no general references to the IMF.

The delegation headed by Cafiero and with the support of Argentina’s ambassador to Washington, Jorge Arguelo, expressed hope that the two sides would sign a declaration explaining the US position on negotiating with the International Monetary Fund.

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However, the attraction in the discussion does not pass through the State Department, but through the Treasury. So, Cafiero demanded a “message from the political authority” – that is, from President Biden himself – to the Treasury in order to obtain, in this way, “the support of the United States in the International Monetary Fund” and in this way “the growth of Argentina will not be constrained,” I formally informed the chancellor, after the meeting.

In the same sense, and in a sign of arrows towards the Treasury, the Minister of Economy, Martin Guzman, made statements to the news agency. France Press agency He stressed that he was waiting for a “signal” after the removal of interest fees that make paying debts more expensive. All chips refer to former Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

Regarding the meeting in Washington, the government confirmed that Biden’s right-hand man for international affairs “strongly supports negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and aspires to a quick positive solution.”. Blinken has also been said to highlight the macroeconomic growth rates revealed by Cafiero.

The meeting of foreign ministers takes place after the government decided to clarify the point of the biggest difference with the Fund: it is about the speed of the fiscal adjustment that allows to balance the state’s accounts, and to chart a path to strengthening the reserves in order to repay the loan of 44 billion US dollars released during the administration of Mauricio Macri.

In the aforementioned interview, Guzmán said there was “workable agreement” on the “initial financial outcome for which the economy should converge”, although “Difference with the IMF in velocities”, because you are “looking at different goals”.

Likewise, Cafiero and Blinken faced each other when Argentina had just assumed the presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Nations (CELAC), the only regional organization in which nearly all the countries of the region, including Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, meet as enemies Washington. Also, as President Alberto Fernandez’s trip to Russia and China approaches, other forces with goals opposed to those of the White House emerge.

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