As planned, at 12:00 noon, Alberto Fernandez The new legislative period began, which will come into force from today until November 30 of this year.
Although it was expected that President take a strong stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Alberto Fernandez he made little reference to the subject and requested a minute of silence for the victims of the war at the beginning of the session.
Nevertheless, Alberto Fernandez He insisted that violence “destroys human lives”, for which he called for peace: “This is the moment when we must give peace a chance”he expressed.
Next, the president alluded to the effects caused by the coronavirus pandemic on the national economy and assured “that the country is capable of overcoming adversity.”
This given that Argentina, throughout its history, has faced several moments of difficulty, for which the president highlighted the resilience of the countrymen for this particular situation.
The president also expressed that, added to the pandemic, the country faced an inflationary acceleration in the last year, which aggravated the economic crisis, so reducing inflation will be the Government’s main challenge.
Although no one was prepared to face the health emergency, the State gradually managed to strengthen the health system and start vaccination, which reduced serious illness and the number of deaths, as extolled by the president.
In addition, Fernandez highlighted that Argentina has one of the highest vaccination rates with 112 million doses received, 89% of the population with one dose and 79% with a complete regimen.
Also, the president referred in his speech to the economic recovery that the country had in the midst of the pandemic and emphasized both the growth of automotive production and exports.
“We are traveling a better path,” noted the Head of State to affirm that, despite the difficulty, the country has hope of recovering, for which he also promised to improve the income of Argentines.
In this way, Fernandez He argued that “a true State is capable of protecting each member of the community” and that this is achieved with development policies, social protection and job creation.
For this reason, the president also referred to the scope of various programs, especially the Progresar and Pre-Trip Scholarships, since the latter became a promoter of the reactivation of national tourism.
Alberto Fernández spoke about the external debt and the agreement with the IMF
As expected, President He referred to the current negotiation that the Government is carrying out with the International Monetary Fund, for which he brought out some aspects of the previous administration.
In the first instance, the president stated that the debt that Argentina has today is due to the indebtedness assumed by Mauricio Macri for 57 billion dollarsof which 19 billion must be paid this year.
Fernandez He also pointed out that the past administration assumed unpayable payments without the consent of Congress, so refinancing the debt is the best path for the nation.
“The country is interested in paying but lacks the capacity,” said the president, adding that there is now “a way to solve it” and that, despite criticism, the agreement “was the best that could be achieved.”
With that, the president stressed that Argentina “will not accumulate new debt” and that it will not “use national resources” but of the Fund to pay what is owed; He also assured that said payments will begin in 2026 and will end in 2034.
In addition, the president stated that “there will be no pension reform” and “the retirement age will not be altered”, in addition, the subsidies will be for those who really need it, which was one of the biggest concerns about the agreement.
Thus, the Head of State assured that the economic team is still in talks with the agency’s staff, and that the final proposal will be presented this week to Congress for evaluation.
