For the Minister of Economy, Martin GuzmanIt was a week full of nuances. On the one hand, it felt strengthenedagain, by President Alberto Fernández, who defended the virtues of the anti-inflationary plan during his tour of Europe.
There, in addition, he offered energy “made in Argentina” as the minister had suggested before he got on the plane to Spain, Germany and France. On the other, he received pats on the shoulder from the Red Circle and the container handshake from US Ambassador Marc Stanley at Amcham’s annual meeting. It was a signal in the midst of the first technical review of the IMF, which is monitoring the accounts for the first quarter. The next disbursement depends on that permission and in the Government all the optimism regarding the eventual approval.
However, Argentina is undoubtedly a palette of strong contrasts.
The fact that inflation was 6% in April according to INDEC and that this accumulated in just four months 23.1%. Only two countries exceeded the Argentine increases in April: Zimbabwe and Turkey; not even Ukraine and Russia have those increases while at War.
“I heard Guzmán say that he has no political support,” shot Máximo K
This Friday, Guzmán added more friendly fire and it was no longer the energy group linked to Christianity that runs him to the left in the face of the increase in rates. Climbing climbed.
In an act of the Buenos Aires PJ in Lanús, Maximo KirchnerHe shot him straight. “I heard Guzmán say that he has no political support. But he has the support of the IMF, Kristalina, the President, the labor unions and Clarín. What more support does he want? ”, Said the deputy and eldest son of Vice President Cristina Kirchner.
Máximo K left the presidency of the bloc of pro-government deputies with strong criticism of Guzmán for the letter of the agreement with the Monetary Fund, which contemplates a reduction in the fiscal red.
He was not the only one who sent artillery to the helmsman of the Palacio de Hacienda. He also yesterday the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Serge Massademanded from Guzmán an urgent increase in the non-taxable minimum income tax.
Economy’s response was immediate. Through a statement, the Treasury responded that this request “is obvious.”
There are Chicanas crossed within the friendly fire in the corridors of the Government. They maintain that the minister is furious and that there was a leak from the Palacio de Hacienda that Guzmán had already been working on an increase in that tax and that Massa was ahead of the game in public politics. There is more. This week the head of Deputies organized a barbecue at his house in Tigre with several economists and did not invite Guzmán.
“It is obvious”, the minister replied to the request of the head of Deputies
This combo of situations would have caused the minister’s monotonous tone to break in the last few hours. The reopening of parity, bonuses to retirees, including the modification of Earnings imposed by the law approved by the Lower House, are initiatives attributed to the Palacio de Hacienda that would have been appropriated now by the political wing to continue hustling the minister.
There are those who observe differences and similarities between the style of the minister and that of the helmsman of Deputies. Undoubtedly, none of them militates excessive modesty. Massa is credited with political tactics that the minister lacks, although the head of the Palacio de Hacienda is credited with the cold blood of a strategist. What seems to be clear is that the Economy helmsman, who insists that economic activity will grow this year, began to like the game of public declarations that the President himself enabled. In fact, on Thursday via zoom at midnight in Paris and in the afternoon in Buenos Aires, both would have exchanged celebrations about the soccer game in which Argentinos beat Estudiantes on penalties in favor of Gimnasia. The President tweeted from France about that result.
Returning to the national political arena, Guzmán said yesterday that the Government will comply with the law that updates the floor for the payment of the Income Tax for workers in a dependency relationship due to inflation, but he avoided commenting on the request for advance deadlines.
“It is obvious that the floor from which workers in a dependency relationship pay Earnings will be updated based on the evolution of inflation”, assured the official in statements to the press.
The response eludes the specific request of Massa, who sent him a letter requesting that the application of the update be brought forward and also slipped the suggestion of what the new floor should be.
According to the law, the income tax floor for workers in the fourth category is carried out in January of each year, but the Executive is empowered to modify it by decree. That’s how it happened last year. “It will be done as stipulated by law,” they affirmed from the Palacio de Hacienda.
The Fund, review
PR
The blue dollar fell $1 yesterday and closed its price lower with $202.50 for sale. So far in 2022, the price of the informal ticket accumulates a drop of $5.50 or 2.6% compared to the end of last year.
The wholesale dollar stood at $117.40, for which the exchange rate gap with respect to the blue is 73.3%. In the retail market, the North American currency is sold at an average of $122.94 and the solidarity trades at $202.95. The financial quotes operate with an upward trend: the spot price with liquidation does so at $210.04 and the MEP at $207.62.
This occurred in the week in which the first review of the agreement with the Fund on the accounts of the first quarter began, which will continue next week. In a virtual way, the economic team and the technicians of the organisms discuss the fine print.
The Government discounts that they will approve it and it is an essential condition for the next disbursement with which Argentina will have to face the next maturity of the debt.
On the other hand, the BCRA raised the reference interest rate to 49% per year.
You may also like
Discussion about this post