The Minister of Economy of Argentina, Martín Guzmán, resigned this Saturday from his position amid strong internal divisions in the Government of Alberto Fernández and after a week of tensions in the markets as a reaction to measures that show the imbalances macroeconomics of the South American country.
Guzmán presented his resignation to Alberto Fernández in a letter made public through the social network Twitter.
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The management of Guzmán, who had been part of the Executive since December 2019, was the center of the criticism from both the opposition and the ruling wing led by the Argentine vice presidentCristina Fernández, who has questioned the fiscal adjustment committed to in the agreement sealed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last March.
POLITICAL AGREEMENT
“It has been a true honor to accompany him in the task of putting our country on its feet. Together we have taken steps so that the economy of our country recovers and grows. LNow you need whoever you have to take the reins of the ministry that until today I had the honor of leading”Guzman said in his letter.
He considered that “it will be essential that he work on a political agreement within the ruling coalition” so that whoever replaces him “has centralized management of the instruments of macroeconomic policy necessary to consolidate the progress described and face the challenges ahead”.
“That will help whoever succeeds me to carry forward the steps leading to economic and social progress with the political support that is necessary for them to be effective,” he said.
In his long letter, Guzmán reviewed his administration, marked by the restructuring of the debt with private creditors, the negotiation with the IMF, the challenges that it involved receiving an economy in recession since 2018 and then hit by the pandemic and the “disruptive” factor of the war in Ukraine.
He highlighted, among other points, that the year last year, the Argentine economy managed to recover 10.4%.
“Today the economy continues to grow and create jobs, having passed the first review of that program (with the IMF), and having managed to adapt it to the changing global circumstances in the context of the war in Ukraine,” he said.
“Going forward, it will be essential to continue strengthening macroeconomic consistency, including fiscal policies, monetary, financing, foreign exchange and energy, as well as coordination via price and income policiesto attack the inflationary problem that damages the functioning of our economy and manage to continue recovering the purchasing power of income,” he added.
SECOND RESIGNATION IN LESS THAN A MONTH
Guzmán’s resignation crowns a tense week in the foreign exchange markets, with the price of the dollar at record levels after the decision of the Central Bank to impose more restrictions on access to foreign currency by companies to pay for imports, a measure that seeks to take care of the country’s scarce monetary reserves.
Argentina also faces a scenario of acceleration of inflation and must meet challenging fiscal and monetary goals assumed in the agreement with the IMF, questioned by Cristina Fernández, who this Saturday, At the time Guzmán presented his resignation, he reiterated his differences regarding the economic management of the Government.
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That of Guzmán, a man who until now had publicly defended Alberto Fernández, is the second resignation that in less than a month occurs within the Government Cabinet.
At the beginning of June, also in the midst of tensions with the vice president, Matías Kulfas resigned as Minister of Productive Development, another man close to the president and key in the management of industrial policy.
