After the failed meeting with the government over the debt, the authorities of Together for Change (JxC) today closed the door to an eventual rescheduling of the appointment with the Minister of Economy, Martin Guzman. They decided that they will distance themselves from the negotiation of the Casa Rosada with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and renewed their request that the president Alberto Fernandez present an economic plan, which “favors” investment and job creation. At the top of the space, the lack of direction of the Executive in the face of the crisis worries.
The leaders of the opposition coalition claim “a serious agreement, without improvisations”. And they anticipated that they will only sit down to talk when the Government presents a letter of intent for the eventual arrangement with the international organization. “The treatment [del acuerdo] in Congress it must be transparent with all the political forces and with the people”, JxC indicated through a statement.
In turn, they stressed, the opposition coalition “has always shown signs of collaboration and responsibility for the achievement of international financial agreements.” The statement of the force was in line with the proposal that the CC, the force that leads Elisa Carrio. In other words, the dialogue must take place in Congress, which must approve the eventual agreement, and with the presence of all the opposition forces.
“The Guzmán thing is a closed chapter. This was an irresponsibility of the Government. When they have an understanding with the Fund, we will discuss it in Congress”, pointed out a chief of the UCR.
With an erratic strategy, the Government managed to align positions in PvC. Is that the president’s decision Fernandez to suspend the meeting between Guzmán and the highest authorities of the opposition coalition to inform you about the status of the negotiation with the Fund aroused a strong discomfort in all aspects of space. Both the referents of the moderate wing, who advocated in the internal debates to facilitate an instance of dialogue with the Casa Rosada on the debt, as well as the heads of the most extremist sectors of the opposition conglomerate, launched a battery of criticism against Fernández and the minister of Economy for the suspension of the meeting.
“Let’s get out of the IMF issue. We cannot submit, enough of ‘smallness’. That the Government negotiate and bring something concrete”, pointed out one of the chiefs of the force. They suspect that Guzmán did not want to give the opposition details about the agreement that he is negotiating with the Fund.
After the frustrated summit with the Government due to the debt, the national leadership table of the main opposition coalition met this afternoon at the headquarters of the UCR committee to define the next steps of JxC. It is that the original reason for the meeting was to debate the position that the representatives of the opposition would take to Guzmán’s exhibition. Frustrated the presentation, the hierarchs of the force decided to keep the meeting standing.
Today, the national table of JxC asked the Government to present “a plan that solves the serious problems of development of the sectors of the economy”, that “favors productive investment” and job creation. In addition, they indicated, this program must provide solutions to the “inflation, poverty and brain drain that hit the whole of society.”
In the opposition, different views on economic management coexist. While Horacio Rodríguez Larreta questions the absence of a plan, Patricia Bullrich (Pro) believes that the ruling party’s economic program aggravated the country’s social situation. “Argentina needs a change of orientation. The Government has a plan, which generates inflation, does not allow growth and puts obstacles”, they point out close to the former minister.
Although the conclave was in person, several opposition leaders will participate in the discussion via Zoom. Minutes before 12, Gerardo Morales (Jujuy), Gustavo Valdes (Corrientes) and the head of the Buenos Aires government Larreta entered the building of the centenary party. Also attending are Mario Negri (UCR), Louis Naidenoff (UCR), Maximilian Ferraro (CC), John Manuel Lopez (CC) and Maricel Etchecoin (CC).
The ex-president Mauricio Macri, Bullrich (Pro), Christian Ritondo (Pro), Humberto Schiavoni (Pro), Alfredo Cornejo (UCR), Martin Lousteau (RCU) and Miguel Angel Picketto They connected remotely.
In addition to discussing the economic situation, the heads of JxC agreed that they will unify the projects linked to the reform of the Judicial Council and that they will renew their repudiation of the march called by Kirchnerism against the Supreme Court of Justice.
The call for the Government’s dialogue for the negotiation with the IMF had divided waters within JxC. After being anointed as president of the UCR, Morales took the lead in efforts to unify positions between “hawks” and “doves”, and get Fernández and Guzmán to grant exclusive exposure to the authorities of the main opposition coalition. In JxC they suspected that the Casa Rosada was looking for a “photo” with the opposition in the final stretch of the fight with the IMF. For this reason, Larreta, Morales, Valdés and Rodolfo Suárez (Mendoza) did not go to the exhibition that Guzmán gave at the Bicentennial Museum before the governors. In Pro, the UCR and the CC argue that the dialogue with the ruling party must take place in Congress. “There was no transfer of bills to Morales, but we have to be careful with the strategy. The Government wanted to use us for the photo,” says one of Pro’s swords.
After several comings and goings, the leadership of JxC confirmed that they would attend the “exclusive” meeting with Guzmán to learn about the negotiation with the IMF, but they conditioned their support on the Government presenting an economic program and the goals that it discusses with the organization. international. They demanded that the Minister of Economy present “concrete and substantial” information about his plan and a “letter of intent” of the agreement with the IMF. They also want to know if the Casa Rosada has a plan B in case it fails to close the deal.
As the days went by, the possibility of Guzmán meeting with the bosses of JxC lost strength. The change of venue ordered on Friday by the President himself – he said that it would not be in Congress, as he had agreed with Morales, but in the headquarters of the Palacio de Hacienda – put the presentation in check. It is clear that the opposition wanted it to be in Parliament, with the governors and the heads of the blocs. The CC, even, struggled so that all the spaces with parliamentary representation attended. During the weekend, the JxC authorities remained in suspense waiting for an official confirmation. But yesterday the emissaries of the Frente de Todos confirmed to the Cambiomite referents that the meeting with Guzmán was not taking place. The move by the ruling party generated outrage in the ranks of the opposition, especially among the moderates who demanded openness to dialogue between their partners.
“Minister Guzmán does not want to show the adjustment that he will propose to the IMF. Faced with the worrying indebtedness of the country, from the opposition we choose to have a responsible attitude, aware of what this implies for the people. Unfortunately, the government suspended the dialogue,” Morales said.
The man from Jujuy suspects that the Economy Minister did not want to reveal details of a supposed proposal that would elevate the organization during the next few hours. Guzman last night was seen with Cristina Kirchner.
For its part, Patricia Bullrich (Pro), who suspects that the Casa Rosada does not intend to close an agreement with the IMF, launched: “This is a government with a closed book model. They talk to themselves,” he said. And he added: “We ask for information and it is clear to us that they only want approval with submission. And that is what we are not going to allow.”
Meanwhile, the force of Elisa Carrio He demanded “a serious agreement without improvisation for the good of all of Argentina and so that things do not get worse.”
“If there is a letter of intent in agreement with the IMF, its treatment in Congress must be transparent with all political forces and with the people,” said Ferraro, head of the CC.
Larreta, who expected Guzmán to present details of a plan and a possible agreement with the Fund, reiterated today that the President must show an economic program. “The economic plan is more important than the meeting. We were willing to participate with all the governors”, said the Mayor of Buenos Aires, after the suspension of the meeting.
“The most worrying thing is that there is no economic plan that indicates how we are going to have a more even and federal development throughout the country,” he added.