The climate of strong internal tension in Alberto Fernández’s coalition in Argentina, growing in recent weeks, led the Secretary of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency, Gustavo Béliz, to announce his resignation this Thursday afternoon (28).
He was considered one of the closest members of the leadership to the president, reinforcing the loss of space in the wing linked to him. This movement has intensified more and more since the deputy, Cristina Kirchner, began to call for more radical changes in the ministerial cabinet with the worsening of the economic crisis.
The country faces a moment of uncontrolled prices, with high inflation (64% per year), and faces the need for adjustments as a counterpart to the renegotiation of the debt with the IMF. Cristina was against the agreement and considers that the time is not to carry out tariff increases, but to increase monetary issuance, so that the poorest population can face the consequences of the impact of the pandemic in the country. More moderate, Fernández defends fiscal responsibility.
The current crisis began when the then Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, in line with the president’s vision, resigned earlier this month.
On the night of this Wednesday (27), rumors began to circulate that Sergio Massa had leaked to the press the news that he would enter the government, in some way. With the backlash, he took to Twitter to deny that possibility.
The Peronist, now government leader in the Chamber, is from the Renovating Front, that is, he does not belong to the Kirchnerist wing, but he regained Cristina’s trust after years of separation – he became chief of staff when the current vice was in the Presidency. , but ran against her in 2015.
The initial idea, according to rumors, was that he would assume the Ministry of Economy, which for just four weeks has been headed by Silvina Batakis, a former secretary in the province of Buenos Aires. Amid speculation that her post would be reduced to the formation of a super-ministry, the Casa Rosada announced that no decision would be taken before Batakis returned from the US.
The minister traveled for meetings with the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, to whom she said that the restructuring of the country’s debt with the entity, of US$ 44 billion, will continue as it was negotiated with Guzmán. She arrived in Buenos Aires this Thursday morning.
Béliz, according to the local press, would have felt too uncomfortable with the internal fight of the Peronists and with an affirmation by the president of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), Maurcio Claver-Carone, that Argentina is not in a position to approve new credits in the outside.
According to the newspaper La Nación, Béliz also complained about Cristina’s greater interference in the direction of the government — something that had already happened shortly after the defeat in the legislative primaries last year. The vice then ordered Fernández to change ministers, putting names from Kirchnerism or representatives of governors in the cabinet, a group that is usually more loyal to her.
The most symptomatic case of the beginning of Fernández’s loss of power was last September, with the departure of his chief of staff, Santiago Cafiero, for the appointment of former Tucumán governor Juan Manzur. The president, in any case, managed to keep the auxiliary close, in the post of chancellor.
Late Wednesday night, Fernández and his top aides met at the Casa Rosada, and announcements of more changes are expected. After a four-hour meeting with Cristina over the weekend, the president had kept to the idea of changing only the Economy portfolio, while the vice president supported a complete overhaul of the team.
The two are concerned about a left-wing demonstration scheduled for Saturday, when a meeting between ruralists at the traditional Rural Society ends.
