The Minister of Economy, Martin Guzmanreplied tonight to the criticism of Cristina Kirchner and said that he remains in office despite the internal tension because he is doing everything so that Argentina becomes “stronger and has more opportunities. We seek to install a common sense to solve structural problems. We want you to work in peace and quiet.”
“What gives peace of mind is knowing that we are as a team doing what we believe will help unite the short with the long term, an Argentina that can fight inflation, that is inclusive, dynamic and with greater stability,” Guzmán explained. in TN. “I have an absolute commitment to Argentina and to President Alberto Fernández”, he added.
Regarding the internal ones, Guzmán specified: “What does happen is that there are issues, there are differences of ideas, and that it is unusual for it to be a public debate, also with central issues in which there are common points of view, for example, on the importance of generating employment” .
The minister’s statements came in the middle of President Alberto Fernández’s trip to Spain, Germany and France, in which there were also criticisms of Kirchnerism. The minister justified the 2020 emission and affirmed that it was reduced in 2021. “Of course, the emission must continue to be lowered,” he analyzed.
“We have always had dialogue and have built solutions from day one. This entire process has been worked on in order to point out the debt problems that Argentina was facing”, he added.
The minister defended his negotiation with the IMF. “[En] The issue of the International Monetary Fund is clear that Argentina had a very big problem created by the previous administration, which took on the largest debt: of 22 agreements that the country signed, it is the first time that an agreement passes through the National Congress . And it had an 80 percent yes vote. It would have been better for Argentina if there had been support from everyone, including our own political front. Yes, it was possible to advance with an agreement so that Argentina can build more conditions for stability, ”he explained in the program the two voices.
Guzmán also spoke about how he came to the cabinet of Alberto Fernandez and denied that it was due to a relationship with Cristina Kirchner. “Many things are said without knowing the true story. I had been talking with Alberto Fernández before he was designated as a pre-candidate for president. There was a meeting of visions on where to take the Argentine economy, ”he said about his landing as Minister of Economy.
“No”, he affirmed when asked if they were arming him a parallel economy ministry from Congress. “There is a division of powers and legislators can present the initiatives they want. Some were consulted and others were not. The issue of the minimum wage is obvious that in the context of the impact on prices that the war had, the wage beat inflation. There has to be an increase in purchasing power, ”he said, about the projects that Kirchnerism presented to modify the economic agenda.
Regarding April inflation, which will be released this Thursday, the minister warned: “It’s still a bad value, but clearly inflation is bad for the economic system, and you have to attack it permanently and consistently. It’s not resolved in five minutes. It requires a lot of strength. We have outlined a consistent program. Countries that previously had no inflation today have extremely high levels. At the G20 meeting the number one problem was inflation. It is what is happening in the world and that problem was not there before. Argentina also has a domestic component and a common sense of what to do must be built. There is inflation when the costs of things go up or when it is expected”.
When asked if not much had been broadcast during the pandemic, Guzmán said that this broadcast had to be put into context: “In a country that did not have instruments [frente a la pandemia] had to go to the monetary issue. What would have happened if the State had not subsidized salaries so that employment was not destroyed, the IFE, assistance to retirees. Whether it was broadcast a lot or a little leads us to think what would have happened if we didn’t broadcast. We have to keep lowering the emission. In 2021 the deficit fell a lot. Now we continue in that line”
“If we say that there is a bi-monetary economy, we have to lower the issue and value our own currency,” he said, alluding to the statements of the vice president in Chaco. She also responded to questions about income distribution: “Clearly the distribution improved. Yes, we must lower the problems generated by inflation. We recognize that greater political strength, greater order, generates more stability”, she specified.
“As economy minister I prefer to use the money from the subsidy to the fees of the rich in education. You have to build a common sense of what is needed. It is not convenient for Argentina to have 2.3 percent of the Gross Product in energy subsidies, ”he indicated about the hearings that are being held to analyze the increase in electricity and gas. “Segmentation is going to be done,” he explained.