Argentina is in no rush to sign IMF deal
The South American country doesn´t consider a deal one of their priorities.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said Monday he did not want a hasty deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amid broader concerns that a pre-set May date to reach an agreement could be missed. Addressing the country's Congress, Fernandez said Argentina will also take legal action to investigate the previous administration's agreement with the fund, which it had previously criticized for worsening debt levels. "We will continue our negotiations with full focus and with the firmness that we have always shown, we do not want to rush anything," Fernandez said, adding that the government's focus is on reviving economic growth brought about by the coronavirus. Pandemic was badly hit. "Our government is in a hurry to get production and work back on its feet to improve the situation of millions of Argentine families who have been plunged into the pit of poverty," he said. The Fernandez government is negotiating a new IMF program to meet its pending commitments to the fund. It had originally pushed for a quick deal to replace the 2018 program, but recently it signaled its willingness to wait until later in the year for investors who see an deal as key to restoring economic stability. Fernandez's center-left Peronist government faces mid-term elections in October and is keen to avoid austerity measures that would hit voters. The central bank said in a statement on Monday that it had requested an assessment of possible damage from the 2018 agreement with the IMF by then-President Mauricio Macri, which paid out over $ 44 billion to the country. Government officials tried to downplay any tension with the IMF, which counts Argentina as its largest government borrower. "The fact that we are investigating the responsibility for the debt with the IMF does not mean that we cannot continue to talk to them constructively," said Development Minister Matías Kulfas on Monday on local radio. Argentina restructured nearly $ 110 billion in foreign currency debt with private creditors late last year, which helped prevent the country's ninth national bankruptcy.





