Argentine Senate approves IMF deal

In a session that lasted more than ten hours, the Argentine Senate approved this Thursday (17) the agreement with the IMF (International Monetary Fund), allowing the restructuring of the debt that the country has with the fund, of US$ 44 billion. .

The indebtedness occurred during the administration of the previous president, Mauricio Macri, and is a divisive element in the current government.

The result of the vote was 53 votes in favour, 13 against and three abstentions.

The sector of the government closest to President Alberto Fernández was generally in favor of the agreement, while the more radical sector linked to the vice president, Cristina Kirchner, was against it. A good part of the opposition voted in favor, avoiding another default by the country.

The approval was surrounded by tension. As with the vote in the Chamber of Deputies, there have been protests outside the Congress since the beginning of the day, with the participation of various social organizations. Many carried posters against the IMF and accusing the president of being a traitor.

Former economy minister and now opposition senator Martín Lousteau said that the agreement is “only the first step and will avoid greater suffering that our people already suffer. If we do not support this agreement, there will be more poverty, more inflation and more devaluation of the currency.” .

Currently, Argentine inflation is at 50% per year. President Alberto Fernández announced that, this Friday, he will announce a package of measures to carry out “a war against inflation”. There are rumors of more price freezes and export restrictions.

Senator Silvia Sapag, who was against the agreement and abstained from voting, said that “in 2016, we were out of debt, and suddenly, in 2018, we already had the IMF on us. it served for capital flight and to fill the friends of power, the banks, who left us in ‘default’ with gold. It was a perfect plan”.