The President of the Nation, Alberto Fernández, affirmed this Wednesday night that “We are trying to take care of the reserves and the problem we have is that the economy grows a lot and we have a very large demand for dollars”while making an appeal to reduce the fiscal deficit gradually.
The Head of State, in an extensive report with the cable channel C5N, emphasized that “In three days we have recovered 900 million dollars for reserves and to ensure that SMEs can have access to foreign currency, in order to continue producing. We all want to preserve the SME. We have an economic program that we are going to fulfill. I’m not here to tell people lies.”.
Fernández argued that “what we have to understand the Argentines is the moment that the world lives, we must listen to other presidents of the world what is happening with the increase in energy and food. The FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) warned that some 300 million people could go into famine. Knowing that wheat, corn, soybeans and sunflowers are lacking, there are investment funds speculating.”
Later, the President pointed out that “To be tough you don’t have to shout. You have to act rationally. What I ask is that you understand that you have to solve a problem that is in the world and is called war and what is happening in Ukraine has a devastating effect on the world economy and on inflation and much of our inflation comes from that war ” .
The President made a passionate defense of the management of the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, by pointing out that “blaming Guzmán for inflation is cruel, inflation was not brought by Guzmán, it has been around for a long time and when Argentina grows, the problem of inflation increases. What Guzmán did is renegotiate the debt with creditors and normalize financial relations and with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was an unpayable debt that we inherited and that today we meet the goals of the first quarter.”
The Chief Justice maintained that “what we have to do is contain the fiscal deficit, the fiscal deficit is bad. We have to reduce the deficit gradually, not brutally. There was no adjustment here. The improvement in income distribution shows that there was no adjustment in Argentina Inequality has improved, poverty has been reduced, the problem is not poverty but the economic model that generates it. The data we have from the first quarter is that poverty has been reduced, 1,200,000 jobs have been created and unemployment is below 7%.“.
Fernández remarked that “what we are not going to do is go look for dollars to solve a problem that is solved with pesos, as the macrismo did. They could not even pay the debt in pesos. The best way to help us is not to give an opinion.”
The Head of State maintained that “Lacunza (Hernán, former Minister of Economy during the Macri administration), defaulted but we are going to comply with each of the commitments assumed. For us it is inexcusable to default in pesos. We comply with our commitment . The macrismo did immeasurable damage and all the leaders of the world realize the damage they did. Let them shut up because they confuse, they left us with the worst economic scenario. We already know what each of them did.”
Regarding the cessation of activities arranged by the Agricultural Liaison Table for July 13the President assured that “the government is giving them diesel, what you have to understand is that there is a lack of diesel throughout the world. In Argentina, the greater economic activity means that more diesel is consumed. We do not have the necessary quantity to supply the demand. We are increasing the import of diesel. If the farmers want to remove their grains, it is because their production has improved. The problem cannot be solved with a strike because the problem is not only in Argentina but in the whole world. We have extended the cut with biofuels to be able to take advantage of diesel stocks. The bordering provinces let diesel escape in an incredible way. When you look, you can see how the neighboring provinces let gas oil escape across the border, for example Corrientes. We fixed that already, but those things shouldn’t happen. A province that lends itself to that game and lets it happen, you have to raise these things. I believe that the oil companies are producing at their maximum and the problems cannot be solved with a strike. What we need is to regain calm and put an end to the alarmist voices.”
In relation to the gas pipeline, Fernández said that “it has to continue and we will seek the financing that is necessary. I have spoken with the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, to whom I raised the need to finance other gas projects, such as the liquefaction plant whose cost is about 5,000 or 6,000 million dollars and this is very important because that is the gas that we have to export”.
On this topic, Fernández explained that in “Germany an energy emergency has been decreed because the only gas supplier they had, which was Russia, fell out, and it is there that we claim that we have gas to supply them. In Germany it is said that the poverty due to the lack of gas and the rise in the cost of energy”.
In relation With the issue of the bankruptcy of the Vicentin company, the President declined to give details, stating that “I prefer not to talk much because it is a judicial issue. What I do not want is for the State to lose money” and denied that they want to form a national food company.
Finally, the President ruled out emergency salary increases by decree because he stated that “the joint ventures are working very well.”
